Danny Lyon
Danny Lyon is one of the most important American photographers of the last half century to renew the documentary tradition's concern with social justice. He was shaped by his experience covering the unrest of the 1960s as staff photographer for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. This led to his first publication, The Movement (1964), and since then he has produced numerous books, including Conversations with the Dead (1971), the first book on America's prison system by a photojournalist. He has also had a significant career as a filmmaker, his work including Little Boy (1977), Los Niños Abandonados (1975), and Social Sciences 127 (1969).
Self-taught, and driven by his twin passions for social change and the medium of photography, the power of Lyon's work has often derived from his willingness of immerse himself entirely in the cultures and communities he documents. This was evident early on in his series Bikeriders (1968; reissued in 2003 by Chronicle Books), which evolved from four years spent as a member of the Chicago Outlaw Motorcycle Club. And Conversations with the Dead derived from his close study of the Texas prison system; it also revealed Lyon's novel and distinctive approach to the photobook, which often sees him splicing images with texts drawn from various sources, including interviews, letters, and even fiction.
In the late 1960s Lyon turned his camera on the redevelopment of Lower Manhattan, where the construction of the World Trade Center, among other projects, cleared away much of the area's nineteenth century building stock (The Destruction of Lower Manhattan, 1969; reissued by powerHouse, 2005). The 1970s saw him return to documenting communities, in Texas and in New York, but in the 1980s he shifted gear, turning his lens on his family. In 1999 he once again spliced images and text to produce a memoir, Knave of Hearts (Twin Palms).
Danny Lyon lives in New Mexico and Maine. His most recent book is Memories of Myself (Phaidon, 2009), which collects his photo-essays from over four decades. He has been the subject of several major exhibitions at galleries including the Museum of Modern Art; Whitney Museum of American Art; and the Art Institute of Chicago. A major travelling retrospective was organised in 1990 by the Folkwang Museum in Essen, Germany, and the Center for Creative Photography in Tucson, Arizona. In December 2023, the film "The Bikeriders" (20th Century Studios, directed by Jeff Nichols and starring Austin Butler, Jodie Comer, and Tom Hardy), inspired by Lyons' work, will be released to theaters.
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Danny LyonThe arrest of Taylor Washington, Lebs Restaurant, Atlanta, 1963
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Danny LyonRoute 12, Wisconsin, 1963
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Danny LyonBob Dylan behind the SNCC office, Greenwood, Mississippi, 1963
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Danny LyonRacer, Schererville, Indiana, 1965
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Danny LyonBenny, Grand and Division, Chicago, 1965
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Danny LyonMemorial Day Run, Milwaukee, 1966
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Danny LyonCal, Elkhorn, Wisconsin, 1966
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Danny LyonCrossing the Ohio, Louisville, 1966
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Danny LyonCotton pickers, Ferguson, 1968
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Danny Lyon: This Is My Life I'm Talking About
Memoir published by Damiani 1 February 2024This Is My Life I'm Talking About by Danny Lyon is a picaresque memoir written from inside the heart of the revolutionary twentieth century by...Read more -
"The Bikeriders" Trailer
Jeff Nichols film inspired by Danny Lyon's photographs 1 September 2023Watch the trailer for The Bikeriders, inspired by Danny Lyon's photographs from the 1960s and starring Austin Butler, Jodie Comer, and Tom Hardy, in cinemas Dec 1.Read more
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EXPO Chicago 2024
Navy Pier, Booth 201 11 - 14 April 2024Edwynn Houk Gallery is pleased to return to EXPO Chicago from April 11- 14, 2024, presenting a selection of 20th-century and contemporary artworks.Read more -
Paris Photo 2023
Grand Palais Ephémère, Booth C15 9 - 12 November 2023Edwynn Houk Gallery is pleased to return to Paris Photo 2023, exhibiting artworks by Eugène Atget, Erwin Blumenfeld, Imogen Cunningham, Man Ray, Herb Ritts, Valérie Belin, Sebastiaan Bremer, Christopher Bucklow, Sally Mann, Abelardo Morell, Erwin Olaf, Matthew Pillsbury, and Jessica Wynne.Read more -
The Armory Show 2023
Javits Center | Booth 118 8 - 10 September 2023Edwynn Houk Gallery is delighted to return to the Armory Show in 2023 at the Javits Center, Booth 118.Read more -
Art Basel 2023
Hall 2.0, Booth E5 15 - 18 June 2023