Acumen, in conjunction with UNIX Gallery, is pleased to present Faces Of Change, a solo exhibition by German photographer Martin Schoeller. This exhibition marks the strong continuation of Acumen’s mission to tackle worldwide poverty issues and empower the poor to participate in the global economy with strength and dignity, a mission that is visually represented by Schoeller’s imagery. Faces Of Change opens to the public with a reception on March 8, 2018 and the exhibition continues to run through April 20, 2018. Proceeds from the exhibition will benefit Acumen’s global programs.
In May 2016, Martin Schoeller traveled to the field to meet Acumen’s customers to give voice and visibility to some of the poorest communities in the world. Using his iconic austere yet gripping style of photography, Schoeller created up close and personal portraits of Acumen’s customers, pushing audiences to see the poor as individual human beings while simultaneously changing the visual narrative of how “the poor” are depicted. These portraits bring forth the inner and outer beauty and dignity of his subjects. This unique series coincided with #SeePeople, a campaign aimed to change the way the world sees the poor and how poverty is portrayed. #SeePeople was launched in conjunction with the UN’s International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, with activations across New York City and around the world on social media.
Martin Schoeller (German, b. 1968) is an award-winning portrait photographer renowned for extreme close up portraits. Familiar faces are treated with the same levels of scrutiny as the un-famous. The unknown and the too-well-known meet on a level platform that enables comparison, where a viewer’s existing notions of celebrity, value, and honesty are challenged. Growing up in Germany, he was deeply influenced by August Sander’s countless portraits of the poor, the working class, and the bourgeoisie, as well as by Bernd and Hilla Becher, who spawned a school known as the Becher-Schüler. Schoeller’s close-up portraits emphasize, in equal measure, the facial features, both studied and unstudied, of his subjects—world leaders and indigenous groups, movie stars and the homeless, athletes and artists—leveling them in an inherently democratic fashion.
Faces Of Change will be on view at UNIX Gallery from March 8 through April 20, 2018. UNIX Gallery is located at 532 W. 24th Street, New York, NY 10011. Telephone: 212-209-1572. Website: www.unixgallery.com. Email: [email protected]. The gallery is open Tuesday through Saturday, 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM. For more information or further inquires please contact Robert Berry at [email protected] or by phone at 212-209-1572.