April 28, 2025

The Photography Show

 

RUTH ORKIN | COUPLE IN MG, FLORENCE, 1951 | CAVALIER GALLERIES

 

The Photography Show Presented by AIPAD is the longest-running fair dedicated to photography in the world. Held annually at the landmark Park Avenue Armory on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, the show presents exhibitors from around the globe, showcasing an exciting and diverse mix of photographic works. In addition, the event features educational programming, artist talks, and cultural activations.

The Association of International Photography Art Dealers (AIPAD) was organized in 1979. With members in the United States, Australia, Canada, Europe and Japan, the Association has become a unifying force in the field of photography.

Though the 2025 show is now closed, the photographs exhibited are still available at their respective galleries. Presented below are our sport inspired favorites: Read More

 

April 8, 2025

Below Deck

 

From top: Sperm whale, Domenica; Mother and baby sperm whale below in Dominica; Their whales tails

“When the guide spots the whales you are dropped in their path no less than three hundred feet away. They will often swim with in ten feet of you if they do not feel threatened.”

 
I’ve known Brad Roaman since we were kids in high school, growing up in New York City. He has always been an avid sailor, sharing his love of the water on his boat with his friends, myself included, from above the surface. When he recently showed me these images of whales he had photographed below the surface, I was mesmerized. Brad is a fashion photographer, and I was familiar with that body of work, but for me this was a whole different level in a whole new environment.

Brad began shooting what he calls “Waterscapes” about a year ago. It began with him photographing his son and friends jumping off the boat from the water. He was shooting on his phone, trying to stay afloat with one hand, and taking pictures with the other. His perspective was just below the surface, water filling different parts of the frame from below. “The beauty of the water”, he told me, “is you never know what you’re going to get, how the water is going to frame the foreground and people in the background”. Read More

 

November 14, 2024

Get In The Game

 
 
CLOCKWISE TOP LEFT: GABRIEL OROZCO, PING POND TABLE, 1998; MAURIZIO CATTELAN, STADIUM, 1991; HANK WILLIS THOMAS, GUERNICA, 2016; HOLLY BASS, NWBA (JORDAN) 2012; CATHERINE OPIE, DIANA, 2012; JENIFER K WOFFORD, VMD, 2024
 
 

Now on view at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) is Get in the Game: Sports, Art, Culture. The exhibition explores the powerful influence of sport in our culture, and is the museum’s most expansive presentation dedicated to a subject with more than 200 artworks that include paintings, sculptures, photographs, design objects — together with sports gear, gaming and apparel — by some of today’s most influential artists.

The exhibition is organized around five key themes that look at the intersection of visual art, sports, and design from multiple perspectives: Mind and Body, Winning and Losing, A Fan’s Life, Breaking Records, and Rules and Field of Play. Among the more than 70 artists featured in the exhibition are Emma Amos, Ernie Barnes, Kevin Beasley, Karla Diaz, Derek Fordjour, Jeffrey Gibson, Michael Jang, Ivan Salcido, Thenjiwe Niki Nkosi, Catherine Opie, Paul Pfeiffer, Cheryl Pope, Robert Pruitt, Ben Sakoguchi, William Scott, Joan Semmel, Gary Simmons, Tabitha Soren and Hank Willis Thomas. Read More

 

September 24, 2024

Nike: Form Follows Motion

 

 

Now on view at the Vitra Design Museum in Weil am Rhein, Germany is Nike: Form Follows Motion, the first ever comprehensive museum exhibition about Nike. The show explores the company’s five-decade ascent from a grassroots start-up to a global phenomenon, with a focus on Nike’s design history: from the company’s beginnings in the 1960s and the design of its famous swoosh logo; to iconic products such as Air Max and Flyknit; and current research devoted to future materials and sustainability. The exhibition highlights how sport is a catalyst for both design innovation and social change, and also sheds light on the almost mythical devotion to sneakers and sportswear in popular culture.

Named after the Greek goddess of victory, Nike has become more than just a brand. It is a whole design culture. Products have been developed with a blend of scientific study, sports research, and aesthetic sensibility — from material engineering to biology to body mechanics. Athletes have played a uniquely influential role by bringing their own experiences and requirements into product development. Nike: Form Follows Motion offers a look behind the scenes of this design laboratory for the first time. Read More

 

May 24, 2024

The Architect of Pool Skateboarding

 

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: HORNES NEST, 2016, ARTO SAARI; RAY BARBEE, POOLTOWN, 2012, ARTO SAARI; RUNE GLIFBERG, 2015, ARTO SAARI

 

Now on view through September 2024 at the Aalto2 Museum Centre in Jyväskylä, Finland is The Pool – The Origin of Pool Skateboarding, a series of four exhibitions that explore the pool design of legendary Finnish architect Alvar Aalto, and its intersection with international skateboarding culture, as well as rap and hip-hop culture.

Three exhibitions focus on skateboarding, and the theme of the kidney-shaped design of the swimming pool at Aalto’s Villa Mairea that influenced Southern California pool design and skateboard culture. The fourth exhibition delves into the history of Finnish rap and the significant role of Central Finland in shaping the nation’s hip-hop culture.

Aalto2 Museum Centre is a unique meeting place of architecture, design and cultural heritage in the heart of Central Finland, and fulfills Alvar Aalto’s desire to create a forum to bring together a variety of art forms. It combines two buildings designed by Aalto: the Museum of Central Finland and the Alvar Aalto Museum. Read More

 

April 5, 2024

New Jersey to Hawaii: Surfing USA

 

 

Two new surf photography books published by Rizzoli make their debut this month, spanning the shores of the Atlantic and Pacific, from New Jersey to Hawaii: I Heard There Were No Waves in New Jersey: Surfing on the Jersey Shore 1888-1984 by Danny Dimauro and Johan Kugelberg, and Carissa Moore: Hawaii Gold: A Celebration of Surfing by Carissa Moore.

I Heard There Were No Waves in New Jersey: Surfing on the Jersey Shore pays homage to the beaches and boardwalks of the Jersey Shore, often overlooked for the warmer waters of its Hawaii and California counterparts. This visual history celebrates the unique surf culture that has thrived on the Atlantic coast of New Jersey, and its influence on the worlds of surfing, skateboarding, and beyond. Read More

 

September 8, 2023

History Of Basketball In Fifteen Sneakers

 

 

The ultimate book for both hoops fans and sneaker obsessives, A History of Basketball in Fifteen Sneakers is a celebration of the iconic shoes and superstars who have defined the sport. Converse Chuck Taylor All Stars, Reebok Pumps, Air Jordans and more, each chapter breaks down how each sneaker represented an era, transformed the culture, and changed the game.

A History of Basketball in Fifteen Sneakers is written with authority by former Complex and SLAM magazine editor Russ Bengtson. With full-color sneaker photographs and detailed illustrations throughout, the book is a kaleidoscopic celebration of the players, styles, and iconic moments that have shaped hoops both on and off the court. Read More

 

July 22, 2023

Shaping Surf History

 

 

 

FROM TOP: TOM CURREN, 1981; AL MERRICK AND STUDENTS, 1980; AL MERRICK WITH ONE OF HIS INNOVATIVE TWIN FIN SHAPES

 
Shaping Surf History: Tom Curren and Al Merrick, California 1980-1983, a new surf book from Rizzoli, documents a brief but influential period in surf history in Santa Barbara, California. It was an era that saw an extraordinary mix of innovation, individuals, and epic surf conditions on the back of a record-breaking El Nino — beautifully captured by author and photographer, Jimmy Metyko, in a visual encapsulation of one of the most fertile periods in the sport.

With dramatic action shots and personal vignettes, Metyko follows the rise of young legend-to-be and future three-time world champion Tom Curren, whose preternatural wave-riding abilities would help establish California at the forefront of contemporary surfing. He puts us on the waves with a remarkable view and insider’s perspective of the sport’s evolution embodied by this young surfer, whose singular style was enhanced by revolutionary board shaper Al Merrick of Channel Island Surfboards.

We recently chatted with Metyko about this era in surf history, his own evolution from surfer to photographer, and the compilation of work in his first book… Read More

 
 

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