Alex HarsleyBorn 1938
Documentary Photographer Curator, The 4th Street Photo Gallery Founder, Minority Photographers Inc |
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Alex Harsley has curated The 4th Street Photo Gallery and The Minority Photographers non-profit since the early 1970's. His own reportage style of photography started in 1958 as the first black photographer for the New York City District Attorey. Since that time he has continued to capture the true intimate moments and personality of New York City. His collection contains the historical lineage of musicians, politicians, street folk, landscapes and neighbors from the 1950's through present day. His documentary medium consists of film, digital photography and digital sound and video.
Collections
Vintage Harlem
Harlem 1959
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Harlem 1980
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Black Political Leaders
1969 Presidential Rally for Shirley Chisholm
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Harry Belefonte, Coretta Scott King, Angela Davis
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Musicians
Charles Mingus
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John Coltrane at the Apollo 1959
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The Lower East Side/East Village
Wigstock 1990s
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1970s 4th Street
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Coney Island
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More from the Archives
Mohammad Ali
Accomplishments
Born Rock Hill, South Carolina, 1938
Lives and works in New York City
Education
Private studies with Lloyd Varden (scientific advisor to photographic industry)
Solo Exhibitions
2022 60 Years of Images From My NYC Community, Studio One, New York
2021 The First Light from Darkness Alex Harsley, Pioneer Works, New York
2019 Entanglements, The Sheen Center for Thought and Culture, New York
Harlem Postcards, The Studio Museum, New York
2017 Alex Harsley: An Overview, June Kelly Gallery, New York
2014 A Visual History of the Lower East Side/ East Village, June Kelly Gallery, New York
Alex Harsley: The Comeback of Mohammed Ali, Torch Gallery, Amsterdam, Netherlands
2013 The Four Seasons of Alex Harsley, AyzART, New York
2012 50 Years of Fine Art Images, June Kelly Gallery, New York
2005 Dualities, 4th Street Photo Gallery, New York
2004 44 Years of New York, June Kelly Gallery, New York
2002 Patchworks, essay by Dawoud Bey, June Kelly Gallery, New York
1997 Chiaroscuro, June Kelly Gallery, New York
1973-97 4th Street Photo Gallery, New York
1978 Black History Museum, Hempstead, NY
1974 Parallels of Inspiration, Berkshire Museum, Pittsfield, MA
1971 Optional Art One; Optional Art Two; Man, Matter & Art, Image Gallery, New York
Selected Group Exhibitions
2007 Celebration: Nine Artists Commemorate the 35th Anniversary of Winston-Salem Delta Fine Arts,
Winston-Salem, NC; brochure
2004 A Universe of Art, organized by Corporate Art Directions, Credit Suisse First Boston, NY
1976 Rhythms of Vision, Contemporary Arts Gallery, New York
1973 Communications ’73,Union Carbide Gallery, New York
Communications ’73, Long Island University, New York
1972 Symbols in the Mind - A Closer Look, Long Island University, New York
Selected Periodicals & Reviews
2015 Lynne Tillman, "Alex Harsley: The President Resigns" Osmos Issue12
2014 Elana Scherr, "A Daily Driver 1968 Dodge Dart GTS," Motortrend Feb 10, 2014
2013 Safran, Yehuda E., “Philip Johnson in MoMA’s Garden,” Potlach: A Journal of the
Potlach Lab at Columbia University GSAPP, Issue #3, Spring, pp. 81-83, one photograph
2012 Kley, Elisabeth, reviews: new york, “Alex Harsley, June Kelly,” ARTnews, September, pp.110-111
Cotter, Holland, “Alex Harsley,” Art in Review, The New York Times, June 15, p. C25
Boyd, Herb, “Alex Harsley’s Photos at June Kelly’s Gallery, The Network Journal, Friday, June 15
2004 Bey, Dawoud, “Into the Light,” review, art on paper, May/June
Aletti, Vince, review, Village Voice, February 4-10
2002 Tabron, Christopher, “Tiny ‘Patchworks’ of Art,” SoHo Weekly News, April
1997 Schjeldahl, Peter, “Whitney Biennial,” video collaboration with installation artist
David Hammons, Village Voice
1985 Braff, Phyllis, “Pictures Worth a thousand Words,” The New York Times, Sunday, April
1975 Henni, P., “SWN Discoveries,” Soho Weekly News
1971 Coleman, A. D., “Latent Image,” Village Voice Coleman, A. D., “Shows We’ve Seen,”
Popular Photography
Public Collection
Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of African American History and Culture,
Washington, DC
Public Commissions
2000 Health and Hospital Corporation, Woodhull Medical Center, Brooklyn, NY
Professional Experience
2004 Artist-in-Residence, Light Work, Syracuse, New York
1975-2003 Collaborative work with Dawoud Bey and David Hammons
1991-1999 Freelance: Schomburg Library for Research in Black Culture
1991-1992 Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration and Harlem Textiles Works
1971 Photojournalist, Relevant Magazine, photographing Muhammad Ali at training camp,
Deer Lake, PA
1970-1971 Arverne Photographic Project
1967-1970 Supervisor, Color Lab (Types C&R)
1964-1967 Freelance for variety of black publications
1961-1963 Photographer, U.S. Army
1959 Photographer, New York County, District Attorney’s Office
Film/Video
1994-2001 Collaboration with choreographer Rod Rogers
2000 Collaboration with poet John Farris at Tribes Gallery
1996-2000 Feature video, “The Life and Work of Vincent Smith”
1999 “Circles,” video collaboration with Candida Alvarez
“Passages,” feature piece for The Studio Museum in Harlem, New York
1989-1999 Produced video for Harlem Textiles Works with the late director Kerris Wolsky
1998 Produced DVD for David Hammons
1995 “Kick the Bucket,” video collaboration with installation artist David Hammons
“The Plastic Man,” video collaboration with installation artist David Hammons
Contributor to the following publications:
1976 UNICEF Calendar, UNICEF, New York
1975 Looking Ahead, Harcourt Brace Jovanovic, Inc., New York
1974 Creative Photography, Eastman Kodak, Rochester, NY
Achievements
1973-present Opened the 4th Street Photo Gallery, as owner and director
1971 Founded Minority Photographers, Inc, where he organized work and exhibitions of
emerging photographers and acted as consultant
Published, “Person, Camera & The Image” newsletter (2,000 readership) to which he was
a regular contributor with a piece called “To What Purpose a Leaf”
Organized special collection of photos taken in China, 1927-31by G.W. Meacham,
U.S. merchant sailor
Biography
2000 Dictionary of International Biography, International Biographical Centre, Cambridge, England
The Complete Book of Photographers, Macmillan
1988 Willis-Thomas, Debra, An Illustrated Bio-Bibliography of Black Photographers, 1940-1988,
Vol. 2, Garland Publishing Company, New York, 1988
Miscellaneous
1971 Coached and collaborated with cyclist Patrick Gulanau who won national and
international races both on track and road. In 2003, Gulanau won the Masters
National Track championship
1960 Trained and collaborated with cyclist Herbert Francis, Olympics in Italy
1959 Photographed the six-day indoor bicycle races at Madison Square Garden, New York
Lives and works in New York City
Education
Private studies with Lloyd Varden (scientific advisor to photographic industry)
Solo Exhibitions
2022 60 Years of Images From My NYC Community, Studio One, New York
2021 The First Light from Darkness Alex Harsley, Pioneer Works, New York
2019 Entanglements, The Sheen Center for Thought and Culture, New York
Harlem Postcards, The Studio Museum, New York
2017 Alex Harsley: An Overview, June Kelly Gallery, New York
2014 A Visual History of the Lower East Side/ East Village, June Kelly Gallery, New York
Alex Harsley: The Comeback of Mohammed Ali, Torch Gallery, Amsterdam, Netherlands
2013 The Four Seasons of Alex Harsley, AyzART, New York
2012 50 Years of Fine Art Images, June Kelly Gallery, New York
2005 Dualities, 4th Street Photo Gallery, New York
2004 44 Years of New York, June Kelly Gallery, New York
2002 Patchworks, essay by Dawoud Bey, June Kelly Gallery, New York
1997 Chiaroscuro, June Kelly Gallery, New York
1973-97 4th Street Photo Gallery, New York
1978 Black History Museum, Hempstead, NY
1974 Parallels of Inspiration, Berkshire Museum, Pittsfield, MA
1971 Optional Art One; Optional Art Two; Man, Matter & Art, Image Gallery, New York
Selected Group Exhibitions
2007 Celebration: Nine Artists Commemorate the 35th Anniversary of Winston-Salem Delta Fine Arts,
Winston-Salem, NC; brochure
2004 A Universe of Art, organized by Corporate Art Directions, Credit Suisse First Boston, NY
1976 Rhythms of Vision, Contemporary Arts Gallery, New York
1973 Communications ’73,Union Carbide Gallery, New York
Communications ’73, Long Island University, New York
1972 Symbols in the Mind - A Closer Look, Long Island University, New York
Selected Periodicals & Reviews
2015 Lynne Tillman, "Alex Harsley: The President Resigns" Osmos Issue12
2014 Elana Scherr, "A Daily Driver 1968 Dodge Dart GTS," Motortrend Feb 10, 2014
2013 Safran, Yehuda E., “Philip Johnson in MoMA’s Garden,” Potlach: A Journal of the
Potlach Lab at Columbia University GSAPP, Issue #3, Spring, pp. 81-83, one photograph
2012 Kley, Elisabeth, reviews: new york, “Alex Harsley, June Kelly,” ARTnews, September, pp.110-111
Cotter, Holland, “Alex Harsley,” Art in Review, The New York Times, June 15, p. C25
Boyd, Herb, “Alex Harsley’s Photos at June Kelly’s Gallery, The Network Journal, Friday, June 15
2004 Bey, Dawoud, “Into the Light,” review, art on paper, May/June
Aletti, Vince, review, Village Voice, February 4-10
2002 Tabron, Christopher, “Tiny ‘Patchworks’ of Art,” SoHo Weekly News, April
1997 Schjeldahl, Peter, “Whitney Biennial,” video collaboration with installation artist
David Hammons, Village Voice
1985 Braff, Phyllis, “Pictures Worth a thousand Words,” The New York Times, Sunday, April
1975 Henni, P., “SWN Discoveries,” Soho Weekly News
1971 Coleman, A. D., “Latent Image,” Village Voice Coleman, A. D., “Shows We’ve Seen,”
Popular Photography
Public Collection
Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of African American History and Culture,
Washington, DC
Public Commissions
2000 Health and Hospital Corporation, Woodhull Medical Center, Brooklyn, NY
Professional Experience
2004 Artist-in-Residence, Light Work, Syracuse, New York
1975-2003 Collaborative work with Dawoud Bey and David Hammons
1991-1999 Freelance: Schomburg Library for Research in Black Culture
1991-1992 Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration and Harlem Textiles Works
1971 Photojournalist, Relevant Magazine, photographing Muhammad Ali at training camp,
Deer Lake, PA
1970-1971 Arverne Photographic Project
1967-1970 Supervisor, Color Lab (Types C&R)
1964-1967 Freelance for variety of black publications
1961-1963 Photographer, U.S. Army
1959 Photographer, New York County, District Attorney’s Office
Film/Video
1994-2001 Collaboration with choreographer Rod Rogers
2000 Collaboration with poet John Farris at Tribes Gallery
1996-2000 Feature video, “The Life and Work of Vincent Smith”
1999 “Circles,” video collaboration with Candida Alvarez
“Passages,” feature piece for The Studio Museum in Harlem, New York
1989-1999 Produced video for Harlem Textiles Works with the late director Kerris Wolsky
1998 Produced DVD for David Hammons
1995 “Kick the Bucket,” video collaboration with installation artist David Hammons
“The Plastic Man,” video collaboration with installation artist David Hammons
Contributor to the following publications:
1976 UNICEF Calendar, UNICEF, New York
1975 Looking Ahead, Harcourt Brace Jovanovic, Inc., New York
1974 Creative Photography, Eastman Kodak, Rochester, NY
Achievements
1973-present Opened the 4th Street Photo Gallery, as owner and director
1971 Founded Minority Photographers, Inc, where he organized work and exhibitions of
emerging photographers and acted as consultant
Published, “Person, Camera & The Image” newsletter (2,000 readership) to which he was
a regular contributor with a piece called “To What Purpose a Leaf”
Organized special collection of photos taken in China, 1927-31by G.W. Meacham,
U.S. merchant sailor
Biography
2000 Dictionary of International Biography, International Biographical Centre, Cambridge, England
The Complete Book of Photographers, Macmillan
1988 Willis-Thomas, Debra, An Illustrated Bio-Bibliography of Black Photographers, 1940-1988,
Vol. 2, Garland Publishing Company, New York, 1988
Miscellaneous
1971 Coached and collaborated with cyclist Patrick Gulanau who won national and
international races both on track and road. In 2003, Gulanau won the Masters
National Track championship
1960 Trained and collaborated with cyclist Herbert Francis, Olympics in Italy
1959 Photographed the six-day indoor bicycle races at Madison Square Garden, New York