October 30, 2009

In the 1980s, Neil Winokur would invite his friends over in the early evening, photograph them in his New York loft, and offer them a drink or two before they headed out together into the downtown Manhattan nightlife. Some, such as Andy Warhol and Alex Katz, were already art world fixtures, but others, like Nan Goldin, Betsey Johnson and William Wegman, were just the people he knew from the neighborhood, so to speak, who were only beginning to experience fame. Today Winokur’s portraits compose an outré pantheon of arts and letters, and 40 of them are currently on exhibit at Janet Borden Inc. through November 25.

I particularly love the Nan Goldin and Ann Magnuson (look at that hair!) photos. More photographs, including Andy Warhol, Philip Glass, and David Byrne, underneath the cut.