From the Archive:

GITA LENZ
May 7 – June 18, 2021

Candela Gallery is delighted to revisit the work of Gita Lenz (1910-2011). Lenz was Candela's first book project and one of the gallery's first exhibitions. Almost nine years later, From the Archive with Gita Lenz, features a series of Lenz's vintage black and white vintage photographs.

Starting in the 1940s as an amateur photographer living in New York, Lenz spent 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.