Architectural Photos by Ezra Stoller

Yossi Milo Gallery just completed an exhibition of architectural photos by Ezra Stoller (1915-2004). Stoller was the preeminent recorder of American modernist architecture and he used a large format camera to capture the TWA terminal at JFK, the Guggenheim, the Seagram buildings, to name a few, in black and white silver gelatin prints. He was often commissioned by the architects themselves (Wright, Saarinen, Johnson et al.) and what he turned out was exquisite, crisp photographs highlighting the elegant forms, texture and sinuous symmetry of his subjects. One of my favorites is a night scene, where the streets are glistening mirrors with rain and the building glows from within. As a reminder, these photos were taken upon completion of the structure. What is not lost now is the clothing of the few people that populate the photos, the vintage cars, the modernist style of furniture which has also been captured in these scenes. With today's trend for the mid century and a zeitgeist for all things "Mad Men", these depictions look especially stylish in their cold simplicity and slickness. Many of his prints are held in museum collections, however, the gallery offered posthumous prints in this exhibition, which are very reasonable in price.