The work of Philip-Lorca diCorcia (*1951) inhabits a space between documentary and fiction, combining real people and locations with elaborate cinematography. His meticulously executed photographs explore the tensions between candid and fated scenarios, often examining the reality of the so-called American Dream. He is perhaps best known for his iconic series Hustlers, in which he photographed male prostitutes of Los Angeles, using a government grant to pay his subjects, all against the backdrop of the AIDS crisis in the early 1990s. Since then he has redefined street photography with his series Streetwork (1993–97)—frozen moments on the sidewalks in cities around the world that capture haunting fragments of urban drama with the vibrant color and detail of Old Master paintings.
Philip-Lorca diCorcia
Odessa, 1996
March 29–April 19, 2022
In 1996, the American photographer Philip-Lorca diCorcia shot hundreds of frames in the Ukrainian city of Odessa. As a strategic and cultural hub on the Black Sea, Ukraine’s third-largest city occupies a unique position both geographically and within the psyche of a nation that now finds its future sovereignty in peril. In this online exhibition from Sprüth Magers, a run of unlimited edition prints of the photographs depicting the everyday life of a city at peace will be sold with all the proceeds donated to the Red Cross to aid the humanitarian crisis currently unfolding in Ukraine.
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