Meryl Meisler at Steven Kasher Gallery, New York

Meryl Meisler
Man in a 3 Piece Suit Dancing Within the Circle at a Wedding, Rockville Centre, NY, March 1976
Vintage gelatin silver print, printed 1976. 8 x 10 in. Signed, titled, dated and stamped by photographer verso

New YorkArt & Culture

Meryl Meisler at Steven Kasher Gallery, New York

Uncovering the earliest works of Meryl Meisler, the photographer who defined 1970s New York...

The work of New York photographer Meryl Meisler has been covered extensively in these pages. We spoke to the artist last year about the release of her compelling publication, A Tale of Two Cities: Disco Era Bushwick, and dived into the hedonism of her follow up Paradise and Purgatory: SASSY ’70s Suburbia and The City a few months later.

Self-Portrait Playmate Hostess

Meryl Meisler,
Self-Portrait Playmate Hostess, NY December 1978
Gelatin silver print, printed 2016.

Everything you need to know has been written here. Meisler’s photography comes with an inbuilt crackle of energy; she found her way past the red velvet ropes of Studio 54 courtesy of her favourite doorman Marc; she committed the intimate moments of the city’s pleasure-seekers to film, time and time again; she laboured on the powerful juxtapositions of the party and a city teetering on the edge. She has one of the most prized collections of imagery from a time in New York’s history that has been written into folklore. Meryl Meisler is a true icon of New York photography.

It’s a privilege to be publishing the photographer’s individualistic work here again, this time as she sets alight Manhattan’s Steven Kasher Gallery; where her earliest photographs are explored, in solo exhibition that includes over 35 black-and-white prints. The euphoria of the 1970s is here again — from the clubs and music venues that would make history, to Meisler’s hometown in Long Island; self-portraits to irresistible profiles of friends and family. We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: energy, melancholy, sass … Meryl Meisler’s photography takes its viewers on a ride, at times uncomfortable, at times exultant, always riveting.

Meryl Meisler at Steven Kasher Gallery, New York, continues until 9 April.

@stevenkasher
@MerylMeisler

East Meadow, NY, June 1975

Meryl Meisler
Butterfly Bedroom Telephone, East Meadow, NY, June 1975. Vintage gelatin silver print, printed 1975
20x 141/2in. Signed, titled, dated and stamped by photographer verso

Cherry Grove Fire Island, NY August 1977

Meryl Meisler
Parrot Pants, Cherry Grove Fire Island, NY August 1977
Gelatin silver print, printed 2016. Edition 1 of 5 + 2 APs
Signed, titled and dated by photographer verso

Ringling Brothers Barnum Bailey Circus, New York, NY April 1977

Meryl Meisler
Three Clowns in Monkey Suits at the Ringling Brothers Barnum Bailey Circus, New York, NY April 1977
Gelatin silver print, printed 2016. Edition 1 of 5, + 2 APs
Signed, titled and dated by photographer verso

Florida, 1978

Meryl Meisler
My 2nd cousins Milton and Betty Schwartz’s grandson Todd jumping off their couch in the den, Florida, 1978.
Vintage gelatin silver print, printed 1978. 14 x 11 in. Signed, titled and dated by photographer verso

North Massapequa, NY June 1979

Meryl Meisler
Mom Getting her hair Teased at Besame Beauty Salon, North Massapequa, NY June 1979
Gelatin silver print, printed 2016. Edition 1 of 5, + 2 APs
Signed, titled and dated by photographer verso

Dead Boys Concert CBGB, New York, NY April 1977

Meryl Meisler
Kissing in Black Leather Jackets During last Dead Boys Concert CBGB, New York, NY April 1977
Gelatin silver print, printed 2016. Edition 1 of 5, + 2 APs
Signed, titled and dated by photographer verso

North Massapequa, NY , September 1975

Meryl Meisler
Cousin Jennifer Cash Wiener on the Throne, Rosh Hashanah, North Massapequa, NY, September 1975
Vintage gelatin silver print, printed 1975. 10 x 8 in
Signed, titled and dated by photographer verso

CBGB, New York, NY March 1977

Meryl Meisler
Two Blondes in a band at CBGB, New York, NY March 1977
Gelatin silver print, printed 2016. Edition 1 of 5, + 2 APs
Signed, titled and dated by photographer verso

North Massapequa, NY , January 1975

Meryl Meisler
Self-Portrait, The Girl Scout Oath, North Massapequa, NY , January 1975.
Vintage gelatin silver print, printed 1975. 20x 141/2in. Edition 1 of 1; Signed, titled and dated by photographer verso

North Massapequa, NY, January 1975

Meryl Meisler
Self-Portrait, A Falling Star North Massapequa, NY, January 1975.
Vintage gelatin silver print. 10 x 8 in. Edition 1 of 2
Signed, titled and dated by photographer verso
All images courtesy Steven Kasher Gallery, New York

Rosh Hashanah, September 1974

Meryl Meisler
The Meisler, Forkash & Cash Clan Welcoming a Sweet New Year, North Massapequa, NY, Rosh Hashanah, September 1974
Vintage gelatin silver print, printed 1978. 14 x 11 in
Signed, titled and dated by photographer verso