E-Photo Newsletter: New York Photography Show, Presented by AIPAD, Returned to Form at the Park Ave. Armory

 Via The E-Photo Newsletter

May 14, 2024

By Michael Diemar

"The 43rd edition of The Photography Show felt very much a homecoming for exhibitors and visitors alike. Following stints at Pier 94 and Center415, the fair returned to what many regards as its rightful home, the Park Avenue Armory. The venue itself looked better than ever and the overall quality of the works on show was excellent. But there was also something else that came into play. While most of the people I talked to described the fair as beautiful, they also pointed out that it was manageable. There were 77 exhibitors in all, plus a separate section for publishers and rare book dealers. Some art fairs have twice that number of exhibitors, if not more, and it gets exhausting, plus, quality tends to suffer."  Click for full article.

"Next, I spoke to Sidney S. Monroe, of Monroe Gallery, Santa Fe. The gallery showed a powerful presentation of photojournalism, including works by Mark Peterson, Ryan Vizzions and Sanjay Suchak.

Monroe explained. "Photojournalism has been our focus for over 30 years, photographers who document our history and our times. We have a wide roster of photojournalists, some go back to the mid-20th century and right up to events that are happening today. For this edition of the fair, we brought a little bit more of the contemporary work than we have in the past. It's important work and artistic work but I think with all the challenges the world faces, it's more important than ever."

I was particularly struck by Sanjay Suchak's images of a statue of Robert E. Lee in Charlottesville being melted down and repurposed. Monroe told me, "The monument was a flashpoint for the protests following the death of George Floyd, as were the other Confederate monuments in the South. Sanjay photographed the protests at the statues, the removal of them, and we are including two images of the melting down of the Charlottesville statue, the end of the circle for that community, and we have had great success with them here. Our booth has been very well received. We have always had great success with museums at this fair. It's extremely satisfying to see museums taking the leap towards contemporary, more immediate work. When all is said and done, I think it will have been a very successful fair for us."

Photojournalists on the Front Line: The Emotional Toll Moderated by Gallery Photographer Sanjay Suchak

 Photojournalists on the Front Line: The Emotional Toll — Karsh Institute of Democracy (virginia.edu)

Via University of Virginia Karsh Institute of Democracy

Tuesday, April 9, 2024

Photojournalists document the world around us. We see their images directly on our devices and televisions, capturing emotions and connecting us to stories at home and abroad. How do photojournalists help us understand difficult topics and breaking news? How does covering complex and emotional issues affect photojournalists personally?

Join a distinguished panel of photojournalists—including Pulitzer Prize–winning photographers—as they explore how their profession keeps the public well-informed and share their perspectives on what it’s like to work in some of the most challenging areas in the world.

Co-sponsored by UVA's Karsh Institute of Democracy and Public Service Pathways.

SPEAKERS

Michael Robinson Chávez

Freelance Visual Journalist (Washington, D.C.)

Ryan M. Kelly

Freelance Photojournalist (Richmond, VA)

Kirsten Luce

Independent Photojournalist (Brooklyn, NY)

Sanjay Suchak (moderator)

Practitioner Fellow in Democracy, Karsh Institute of Democracy

Independent Documentary and Commercial Photographer (Charlottesville, VA)

WHEN:

Tuesday April 9, 2024

1:00pm - 2:15pm

WHERE:

UVA's Rotunda (Dome Room)

1826 University Avenue Charlottesville, VA

REGISTER HERE

Sanjay Suchak's photographs from his "Take Them Down" project documenting the process of dismantling Confederate iconography across the Commonwealth will be on exhibit during the AIPAD Photography Show in New York City, April 25-28.  The next step of this project aims to answer the question of “what's next” for these relics of the Jim Crow era. A short documentary was filmed about his work on this project.

Lawsuit to halt melting of Confederate statue at centre of deadly Virginia rally largely dismissed

Via The Art Newspaper

July 19, 2023 

A lawsuit brought by two organisations seeking to block a museum from melting down the equestrian statue of Confederate general Robert E. Lee that was at the centre of the deadly 2017 rally of white supremacists in Charlottesville, Virginia, has been largely dismissed.

Sanjay Suchak and Ryan Vizzions both documented the memorial in Richmond, Virginia in 2020..

Sanjay Suchak: Robert E. Lee Monument Overhead, Richmond, Virginia, July 2, 2020

Ryan Vizzions: Robert E. Lee Memorial, Richmond, Virginia, January 7, 2020

NY Times Features Gallery Photographer Sanjay Suchak's Photographs of Removal of Confederate Statues

 Via The New York Times

April 17, 2022

Sanjay Suchak: Removing Jackson, Richmond, Virginia, July 1, 2020

RICHMOND, Va. — As Devon Henry and his construction team take down the last remnants of statues that long dotted this former capital of the Confederacy, they have developed a grim game.

Random passers-by, some in vehicles, others on foot, often make known their disapproval of Mr. Henry’s work — so often, in fact, that Mr. Henry, who is Black, began to keep count of the many times he or a Black crew member were called an incendiary racial slur.

The count is 72 and climbing, according to Mr. Henry, who has emerged as the go-to statue remover not only for this city, but for all of Virginia and other parts of the South. (Full article)

Monroe Gallery will exhibit Sanjay Suchak's photographs at the AIPAD Photography Show in New York May 20 - 22 in booth #113

Gallery Photographer Sanjay Suchak: "There's no better example of democracy and photography than the statue removals happening around Virginia"

 

Via VPM Instagam

November 7, 2021

Gallery photographer Sanjay Suchak's "Take 'em Down" series covering the removal of confederate statues in Virginia as the only official photographer allowed to be part of the wrecking crew was featured on Virginia Public Media (VPM). His work was featured in Monroe Gallery's "Present Tense" exhibit earlier this summer.

Sanjay Suchak: Removing Jackson, Richmond, Virginia, July 1, 2020

"There's no better example of democracy and photography than the statue removals happening around Virginia. I've always liked documenting construction - more destruction of things, abandoned buildings, tearing down arenas, places filled with such life that you tear down piece by piece. So the idea of dismantling these statues, which are celebrated at some point, for all the wrong reasons is very attractive to me as a photographer.”

- Sanjay Suchak

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by VPM (@myvpm)