New York’s Jack Shainman Gallery has unveiled a new exhibition of never-before-seen photographs by the late American painter Barkley L. Hendricks. The exhibition, entitled “Myself When I Am Real,” showcases 60 images, combining vintage prints from the archive, as well as newly discovered works, offering an intriguing glimpse into Hendricks’ artistic obsessions and preoccupations. While Hendricks is best known for his portraiture work, the photographs showcase his talents as a photographer, capturing street scenes, mirror self-portraits, and tongue-in-cheek figurative studies.
The images reveal Hendricks’ perspective as roving, keen, and unapologetic, offering a blueprint for his paintings’ formal and conceptual interests. Through his mirror portraits, the exhibition also highlights Hendricks’ fascination with the public versus the private self, and his most experimental works featured himself as the model. Although Hendricks was an accomplished painter, his photographs showcase his more relaxed approach to the medium, displaying his world, sense of humour, and thoughts behind the work.
Find images from Myself When I Am Real below.
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