"I view the world of photography as an ongoing historical narrative," commented Martin Z. Margulies. "...these photos of everyday subjects, ordinary people, places and things speak to me of the human condition, so touching and memorable. Categories don't matter, dates don't matter, and nationality doesn't matter; the subjects are timeless."
Bakehouse Art Complex inaugurates Fresh Goods Gallery's first Viewing Room with a generous gift of 55 vintage and contemporary photographs from the esteemed collection of the Martin Z. Margulies Foundation. In accordance with the donor's intent, revenues generated from the sale will support the organization's charitable mission to address the critical need for affordable workspaces for Miami-based artists along with programs that create strong connectivity between Bakehouse, its artists, and the Wynwood Norte community in which we are embedded.
Internationally recognized Miami-based collector Martin Z. Margulies has built one of the world's most significant collections of modern and contemporary art. Within his vast holdings are an exceptional archive of approximately 5000 photographic works from the 1930s to today, acquired over approximately three decades. While the photography collection does not adhere nor attempt to be a complete history, its cadence and rhythm touch on the most important figures and movements.
The strength and cohesiveness of Margulies' photography collection are represented in the groupings he donated to Bakehouse Art Complex. They are a cross section of images with ties to renowned historical precedents and emblematic of Margulies' interest in the human condition: empathetic portraits and a sensibility to the spaces we inhabit or invent.
The gifted works capture and reflect poignant portraits, scenes of regionalism, social realism, poverty, work conditions, visions of urban life, the vanishing rural landscape, and the everyday experience.
Bakehouse thanks Jeanie Ambrosio, Associate Curator, The Margulies Collection at the Warehouse, for her research and assistance with texts.
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Gay Block, who grew up in a strict Jewish household in Houston, Texas, was attracted to the easy-going and relaxed lives of the South Beach Jewish retirees she photographed in the 1980s. She fell in love with their Yiddish accents and carefree demeanor, saying that they were “the bubbes and zaydes (grandmothers and grandfathers)” she had longed for. The comfort and nonchalance of the individuals before her camera is almost akin to gestures found in family photographs. Instead of vacationing in South Beach, the Art Deco-era hotels became temporary winter residences for these retirees.
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Anastasia Khoroshilova’s images reflect the diversity of people from her Russian homeland. Her photographs of the rural countryside have been compared to social documentary images of the early, twentieth century German photographer August Sander.
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The exquisitely large, humanistic works by Brenda Ann Kenneally depict images of poverty, drug use, and life in derelict conditions on her block in Brooklyn, New York. Children in masks, playing in fire hydrants, and graffiti on the sidewalk, recall Helen Levitt’s photographs of New York in the 1930s, 40s, and 50s.
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Dave Anderson’s nine photographs of Vidor, Texas, taken in the early 2000s, create an “ethereal portrait of a place” through dignified portraits of people, pets, and the environments in which they are placed. Vidor’s is known for its complicated racial history as a former bastion of white supremacy and a stronghold of the Ku Klux Klan. Anderson’s black and white photographs, taken with a large format camera, are characterized by bright subjects in the foreground against dark, soft-focused backgrounds.
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Rina Castelnuovo, who lives and works in Israel, has been documenting conflict between Israel and Palestine for 30 years. Always aware that Israel is her home, she takes care to show balanced images—ones that do not overtly depict violent nor are overly sentimental. Rather, her images show complicated facets of daily life and war.
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Barbara Neijna, Untitled #1 from the Survival Series-Lerma, 1999 -
Barbara Neijna, Untitled #16 from the Survival Series-Lerma, 1999
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Kim Stringfellow, Garner Homestead, Us Patent No. 1161913, 2006
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Laura Larson’s photograph was taken in the Athens Lunatic Asylum in Athens, Ohio—an image made for the camera or constructed reality. It may be easy to guess the subject is depicted in an institutional setting based on the muted wall colors. The ethereal white form references the spirit photography of the 19th century and was an effect created by Larson using cigarette smoke.
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The lack of people or signage make Kate Belton and Igor Mischiyev’s photographs feel otherworldly, placeless. Likewise, Lee Materazzi’s image of Betty in a perpetual state of pouring coffee, stuck in her role as a waitress, is not tied to any particular place; rather, it questions her state of mind.
The vintage black and white photographs by James Sawders and Edwin Rosskam are emblematic of American agriculture, industry, and labor. Sawders depicts romantic views of farming, while Rosskam focuses on people getting paid for their jobs with Standard Oil, just a few years after the Depression. Emil Lichtenberg’s photograph of the Henkel Factory is celebrates German progress, showing pride in architecture and manufacturing in one image.
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Peggy Levison Nolan has been taking pictures of her neighborhood for decades, documenting the chaos of the urban environment and family life in Miami.
