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What connects Ansel Adams’ iconic 1948 image of the moon rising above the village of Hernandez with Glen Luchford’s 1994 photograph of Kate Moss on her first visit to Times Square? What is the link between the swirling impression made by eddies of water on a piece of cibachrome paper as created by Susan Derges and the bright white rectangle of a movie theatre screen made by Hiroshi Sugimoto exposing the negative for the duration of an entire movie? What makes a series of self-portraits by the little known Hungarian photographer  Ujj Zsuszi so intriguing? For those with a passion for the wealth and subtleties of visual language, the discovery, understanding, and sharing of such images is as essential a way of communicating as the spoken or written word.

The photographs in this show come largely from the photographic artists the gallery is privileged to work with. They have been selected for the opening of our new Los Angeles gallery not only because they celebrate the medium; but more importantly, what they have in common is that each is as unique as a fingerprint. Great photographs don't just open a door to the worlds they capture, they open a door to the mind and idea of their creators.

After 30 years of having a gallery in New York, 2022 marks the opening of Danziger Gallery’s first space in Los Angeles. So this inaugural show in many ways has the notion of being assembled over years if not decades. Finding great pictures takes time. Content matters as does concept. In so much as each individual gallery has a particular aesthetic that can be defined,  I hope the pictures in this show are mostly uplifting and speak for themselves.

I like to think this medium resonates because there is no fooling anyone in photography. (I don’t mean as in Photoshop which as several pictures in this show demonstrate has increasingly become a vital photographer’s tool.) I mean that generally speaking no-one feels they need to have a photograph explained or a Master’s degree to understand it. There is no art form where work speaks for itself more clearly than in photography.

Covering a broad stretch of the history of the medium, these pieces of paper plumb unexpected depths. In a world awash in images, these pictures invite the viewer to stop and relish the moment. They ask questions of authorship and intent. They ask the viewer who is drawn to a particular image to reflect on what it is that provokes a response. A photograph is not just a door. It is an invitation.

James Danziger.