Coming Down to Earth: Gita Lenz
Coming Down to Earth:
GITA LENZ
The photographer whose archive was the initial catalyst for Candela’s gallery and book publishing efforts, Gita Lenz worked in the 1940s as an amateur photographer living in New York, spending her time documenting the city and capturing intimate urban life. Alongside her social documentary work, Lenz became an early practitioner of abstraction during the rise of Abstract Expressionist movement. Through the 50s and 60s, Lenz achieved success working professionally for commercial and editorial clients.
While her work was featured in numerous photography magazines, Lenz's received notable recognition during her career. In 1951, Lenz's work was featured along her peers in Abstraction in Photography, a group exhibition curated by Edward Steichen for the Museum of Modern Art. In 1952, Lenz’s work was included in a three-person exhibition, The Third Eye at the Brooklyn Museum of Art. In 1955, Edward Steichen included Lenz in another seminal exhibition, The Family of Man at the MoMA.
Lenz’s abstracted images from the Bronx botanical garden were the initial inspiration for the works selected for the current exhibition, Coming Down to Earth. Lenz, as well as ten other artists whose works tie back to the land, can be seen in the gallery through April 23.
Coming Down to Earth will be on view at Candela Gallery through April 23, 2022.