NEW YORK | 2026
Every winter, I take a little trip to New York to fill my bucket with art and culture from one of its true centres. This trip is integral to my work, keeping my eyes engaged and evolving, and, personally, it helps me stay interesting at dinner parties.
This year was no different. A clear thread of nostalgia, experimentation, and bold colour ran through everything we saw, sparking ideas and new ways of seeing, exactly as every trip should.
MAYBE HAPPY ENDING
I had heard great things about the musical Maybe Happy Ending for a few years and had always meant to see it. This year was finally the year. I went in knowing very little, other than that the music was supposed to be beautiful, which it truly was.
The show felt incredibly refreshing. Simple, modern sets paired with a thoughtful use of colour and a striking understanding of negative space gave the story room to breathe. A thread of nostalgia ran through the wardrobe, set design, and jazz standards, creating a familiar, heartwarming feeling that stayed with me long after the curtain closed.
Set in a near-future predicament, it felt unexpectedly personal and intimate for a Broadway musical.
If you get the chance to see it, let me know what you think.
Guggenheim - Rashid Johnson: A Poem for Deep Thinkers & Gabriele Münter
I caught the final week of Rashid Johnson: A Poem for Deep Thinkers at the Guggenheim Museum. As a rule, I enjoy immersive work that brings you into the artist’s world. It can be fun and engaging, though this kind of immersive work has become increasingly popular and is sometimes driven more by commerce and mass appeal than by a meaningful artistic experience.
A Poem for Deep Thinkers brought viewers fully into its environment through plants, structures, and domestic elements, aiming to create the feeling of moving through someone’s home rather than a gallery. In a space like the Guggenheim, however, that intimacy didn’t land as strongly as it might have elsewhere. The scale and architecture of the building seemed to work against the intended closeness, tempering the impact of what was otherwise a thoughtful and carefully constructed world.
The video work near the top, Poem of Home, was the most compelling piece in the exhibition. In one moment, a mother tends to a garden. When she is finished, her husband and children appear and move around her as she stands still. It made me think about what it means to be the quiet pillar of a home, present, anchoring, often unnoticed and taken for granted.
Learn more: https://www.guggenheim.org/exhibition/rashid-johnson-a-poem-for-deep-thinkers
Gabriele Münter: Contours of a World
Tucked away in the side rooms was a wonderful exhibition of Gabriele Münter's work. Before she was a painter, she was a photographer, and you can feel that history carried through the work. The framing is direct and deliberate, unmistakably photographic, which is likely why it resonated so deeply with me. Even though she died in 1962, the work still felt fresh, alive, and human. I love how her bright, confident palette contrasts with the expressions and scenes she paints. The colour is full of life, paired with moments that feel quiet, restrained, and deeply personal. You stop because of the colour, but you stay because of the intimacy. I’m interested in how bold colour and intimacy might live together in portraiture, and I’m excited to explore this further in my work.
This exhibition runs until April 26, 2026, at the Guggenheim Museum, and it will likely travel afterward, so keep an eye out. If you have the opportunity to see it, I’d love to know what you think.
Learn More : https://news.artnet.com/art-world/gabriele-munter-german-expressionist-thyssen-guggenheim-2601602
THE MET - Man Ray: When Objects Dream
The main reason I was in New York was to see Man Ray: When Objects Dream at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and it was, quite simply, incredible.
As a photographer, Man Ray has always been one of the greats for me. He took photography in entirely new directions, pushing its limits and experimenting fearlessly at a time when the medium was still finding its footing. His work bridged Dada and Surrealism, blurring the line between dreams and reality and radically expanding what photography could be.
“Before my eyes, an image began to form, not quite a simple silhouette of the objects as in a straight photograph, but distorted and refracted. In the morning, I examined the results, pinning a couple of the Rayographs on the wall. They looked startlingly new and mysterious.”
— Man Ray
Seeing this work in person really hit home how safe and structured I have been playing it in my own practice. It made me reflect on my relationship with digital photography, and how difficult it can be to know when to begin, when to stop, and where photography ends and digital art begins. That tension is something I continue to grapple with, and this exhibition brought it sharply into focus. It made me realize that if I stop experimenting, the work slowly dies.
I’m also a long-time admirer of Lee Miller, who spent three years apprenticing with Man Ray before leaving as an artist very much in her own right. She played a significant role in the development of solarization, and it was such a treat to see these works in person. Legend has it that the first solarized image happened by accident, when Lee briefly turned on the light mid-exposure after a mouse ran across her foot, then quickly turned it off again, leaving that unmistakable halo. A happy accident that only film and chemistry could create.
Unfortunately, the exhibition closed on February 1. I do, however, own the ten-pound catalogue, if you ever want to come by and spend some time with it.
Learn More: https://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/man-ray-when-objects-dream
Vince Giordano & The Nighthawks at Birdland Jazz Club
Last but not least, I had the pleasure of seeing Vince Giordano & The Nighthawks at Birdland Jazz Club. Vince, an old-school jazz bandleader, leads the ten-piece Nighthawks in a beautiful celebration and preservation of the art of jazz. You can see how deeply the music lives in the musicians. Watching the players who were not actively playing close their eyes and truly feel the music gave me goosebumps.
Throughout the evening, Vince shared anecdotes and historical context for each piece, giving every song a sense of place and meaning. It felt inviting. He made you connect and feel part of the story.
As someone who has recently begun giving more talks about photography, I found myself quietly taking notes. The way he presented information, with warmth, clarity, and deep respect for the audience, made jazz accessible to everyone, which is not always the case in the arts. That kind of accessibility is something I will be thinking about as I continue to share my own work and ideas.
Vince plays at Birdland regularly, and I would highly recommend catching a show if you can.
https://www.birdlandjazz.com/tm-attraction/vince-giordano-and-the-nighthawks/
In Closing
I always leave New York excited and reenergized as a photographer, not necessarily as a person. New York usually takes a few hard nights of sleep to recover from. What stays with me is thinking less about what to make next and more about how I want to work. That distinction feels important. I come back to the studio informed, not by references, but by reminders to take risks, make mistakes (who knows they may turn out happy), be human, and keep the work and my world fresh and exciting.
