Arlene Gottfried
Sometimes Overwhelming
New York City in the 70’s & 80’s
November 6 – December 20, 2014
Daniel Cooney Fine Art is pleased to present Sometimes Overwhelming, the gallery’s first solo exhibition by photographer Arlene Gottfried. Gottfried’s work chronicles the people and landscape of New York City in the 1970’s and 80’s with classic black and white photography.
Born in Brooklyn, Gottfried started photographing her personal experience of New York after high school and continued to document her beloved city throughout her life. She is a lifelong resident of the city and currently lives in the West Village. Working in the style of documentary street photography Gottfried’s vision has a distinctive humor and affection that exemplifies her spirited personality. She clearly loves the people and the city that she photographs. Sometimes Overwhelming is a celebration of the individuality and diversity that makes New York great.
The exhibition will feature approximately 30 vintage prints of images made in Brooklyn, Soho, the Lower East Side, Riis Beach, Rikers Island, Central Park, Coney Island and other parts of the city that Gottfried traveled to for work and play. The images reveal unexpected innocence and humanity among the grittiness of a bygone era that is truly the photographer’s unique view of her home and her people.
Gottfried graduated from the Fashion Institute of Technology and worked at an ad agency and as a freelance photographer and teacher. Her work has appeared in the New York Times, Life, Fortune and The Independent in London among other publications. She has exhibited at the Alice Austen House, the Smithsonian and the Leica Gallery in New York. Her photographs are in the collections of the New York Public Library and the Brooklyn Museum. Her four monographs are titled Bacalaitos and Fireworks (2011), Sometimes Overwhelming (2008), Midnight (2003), all published by PowerHouse Books and The Eternal Light published by Dewi Lewis. Known as the Singing Photographer Gottfried also performs gospel and soul music