A collection of largely unseen portraits by photographer Don Herron is set to be shown at New York’s Daniel Cooney gallery over the next few months.
A uniquely intimate series, the shots capture a slew of luminaries from the vibrant 80s New York art scene – from Keith Haring to Robert Mapplethorpe – naked in their bathtubs.
A largely unseen series of portraits featuring 80s New York art scene luminaries nude in their bathtubs is being exhibited for the first time.
Although a largely unknown photographer today, Herron had close ties in the New York art scene as a budding photographer, connections that allowed him access to some of the most important figures of the day, although exactly how he knew some of his subjects remains a mystery.
“There are 65 portraits in the show and the individual stories are interwoven, creating a landscape of the cultural times,” Daniel Cooney told Dazed.
The guardian of his estate doesn’t know exactly how he met his subjects and many of the subjects don’t remember how they met him. The ones who do remember tell me that they were introduced through another sitter but no one seems to have known the artist very well.”
Fittingly titled Tub Shots, the series was captured across 15 years, from 1978 to 1993. “This work has never been shown in such depth,” says Cooney. “So it will be a new discovery for most audiences. I hope that people will understand the subtexts of community, loss and perseverance.”
Check out some of the series via Dazed. And find out more about the exhibition here.
