Philip Montgomery | American Cycles

PHILIP MONTGOMERY
American Cycles

How can people continue to live in solidarity with those they perceive as ‘others’?

This is just one of the many questions, the Mexican-American photographer Philip Montgomery seeks to address  throughout his documentary work portraying society in the United States – its conflicts and alliances – through iconic black-and-white images. Whether Montgomery is working in Minneapolis after the murder of George Floyd or in Miami during Hurricane Irma, his photographs are characterized by a palpable tension between the timelessness of his dramatic visual language and the urgent narrative of the moment. “American Cycles”, is the first solo show of Montgomery in Poland.

From Donald Trump’s first populist campaign to the Black Lives Matter movement, and from natural disasters fueled by a changing climate to economic crises and their impact on communities, the exhibition presents roughly 110 works spanning 2014 to the present. Together, they offer a rare insight into a decade of American history marked by political upheaval and the resurgence – often deliberately stoked – of social and ethnic conflict.

For Montgomery, documentary photography is never synonymous with emotional restraint or supposed neutrality. He reveals the realities of American life – immediate and unposed, yet transformed by his distinct aesthetic. Through his use of flash and dynamic visual composition, Montgomery discovers unsettling connections and a fragile, often surreal beauty. 

“American Cycles” offers a rare insight into a decade of American history marked by political upheaval and the resurgence of social and ethnic conflict. At the same time, it captures the unbroken power of solidarity and community.

This is United States of America as they are – un-staged and direct.

Exhibition curator: Nadine Isabelle Henrich

The exhibition was created in cooperation with Deichtorhallen Hamburg, the Foundation of Visual Education, and the City Art Gallery in Łódź – Center of Art Promotion.

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» GET TO KNOW THE ARTIST «

Philip Montgomery is a regular contributor to The New York Times Magazine, Vanity Fair, and The New Yorker. In 2018, he received the National Magazine Award for Feature Photography for his work on the opioid epidemic. His photographs have also been recognized by World Press Photo, Pictures of the Year International, American Photography, and the National Press Photographers Association.

Montgomery’s work has been exhibited at the FOAM in Amsterdam, the International Center of Photography in New York, the Saatchi Gallery in London, the Aperture Gallery in New York, Les Rencontres d’Arles in France, and the Galerie du Jour – Agnès b. in Paris. His photographs are included in the collections of the Sir Elton John and David Furnish Collection and the Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation.

In 2021, his monograph “American Mirror” was published by Aperture. Philip Montgomery lives in New York City.