Peter Hujar at Centro Pecci

Peter Hujar’s “Performance and Portraiture / Italian Journeys”

Peter Hujar’s “Performance and Portraiture / Italian Journeys” currently on view at Luigi Pecci Contemporary Art Center, Prato. Curated by Grace Deveney with Stefano Collicelli Cagol.

14.12.2024 – 11.05.2025

While photography has long been associated with documentation and memory, Peter Hujar (USA, 1934-1987) sought to produce images that constructed a new reality through subtle exchanges between himself and his subjects. The artist created direct yet enigmatic portraits of people and animals, images of performers and male nudes, closely attuned to the scene that characterized New York’s East Village in the 1970s, where the language of performance emerged and the study of movement was affirmed.

The exhibition connects the experimentation pursued by Hujar and his subjects and the new realities that each of them created, both through photographs and performances. The exhibition itinerary includes 59 shots by Hujar and, in line with the spirit of collaboration and exchange that characterized the New York scene of the Seventies, includes a video by Sheryl Sutton and 3 works by David Wojnarowicz, two of the artists and performers belonging to the American photographer’s circle.

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Photo ©️ Alessandro Saletta – DSL Studio

Exhibition Design: Ibrahim Kombarji

All images ©️ and courtesy The Peter Hujar Archive / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York and Pace Gallery