Duane Michals: The Portraitist presents the first comprehensive overview of photographic portraits by one of the medium’s most influential artists. Best known as a pioneer who broke away from established traditions of documentary photography in the 1960s, Michals is widely recognized both for the balance he strikes between imposing his style on a subject and allowing his sitters to express themselves, as well as for the sequences he assembles to convey personal visual narratives, often adding handwritten messages and poems on the photographic print surface.
More than 125 portraits by the 89-year-old photographer are included in this exhibition. In his commissioned portraits of actors, writers, musicians, and other celebrated individuals, Michals relished the challenge of distinguishing each personality with a unique approach.
This exhibition is curated by Linda Benedict Jones and traveled by Curatorial Assistance Traveling Exhibitions, Pasadena, California.
The Portraitist is generously sponsored by the Arnold and Augusta Newman Foundation and made possible thanks to additional support from the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council, the Miami-Dade Mayor and Board of Commissioner, the State of Florida Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs and the Florida Council on Arts and Culture, and the City of Coral Gables.
