John Gossage. Untitled, 1982/89, printed 2003/06. Gift of Michael Abrams and Sandra Stewart.

Throughout his career, John Gossage has enjoyed the enigmatic, forgotten and forbidden. This has included the destitute areas of Berlin in the 1980s and areas deemed hazardous by the Environmental Protection Agency. Now his work will come completely out of the limelight thanks to the Art Institute Chicago.

The first museum survey of American photographer John Gossage’s career ever mounted, this “retrospective in a room” brings together several decades’ worth of work
to show three distinct ways, or routines, in which the artist has approached photography.

One routine concentrates on his intensely productive time in Berlin in the 1980s; on display are two dozen images from the nearly 600 that make up his Berlin series, which the Art Institute is fortunate to own in its entirety. The second routine comes from Gossage’s recent year spent traveling the United States on a prestigious Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship, making portraits of art students and capturing views in smaller towns and cities, from Albuquerque, New Mexico, to Rochester, Minnesota. The third offers a “medley” of images from across his career, which he began in his teenage years as a student of Lisette Model, Alexey Brodovich, and Bruce Davidson. In addition to highlighting the various photographic methods Gossage has used throughout his career, the exhibition includes a reading table with a selection of the artist’s publications, showcasing his talents as a consummate printer and an ingenious book artist.

The exhibit is now open until May 3rd, leaving more than enough time to plan a trip to Chicago.

For More Information: Art Institute Chicago