Rye Arts Center Presents Black and White Portraiture of the Seventies and Eighties

Rye Arts Center presents a rare look at spontaneous portraiture from the 1970s and ‘80s in its new exhibition, A Way of Seeing: The Street Portraits of Cal Swanson. Trusting his instincts, photographer Cal Swanson captured the people and expressions that caught his interest. With a magnetic draw to the human figure, and especially to peoples’ faces, he sought to reveal emotion through his subjects’ eyes. The black and white photographs represent people who attracted Swanson’s attention amidst the edginess of Times Square, suspending time through their slices of life.

This represents the first time a collection of Swanson’s work will be exhibited. The exhibition, curated by Patrick J. Cicalo, is on view through April 8. An opening reception will take place on March 11. For more info, visit: ryeartscenter.org.

A version of this article first appeared in the March 2017 issue of ArtsNews, ArtsWestchester’s monthly publication. ArtsNews is distributed throughout Westchester County. A digital copy is also available at artsw.org/artsnews. 

Photo credit: Cal Swanson