This call towards fellowship and love among all people recalls the language of Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass, which inspired several works included in the exhibition. Using texts from Whitman, particularly the homoerotic sequence of “Calamus” poems, Michals channels Whitman’s vision of a cosmic togetherness, embodied by the image of a young man in nature. Michals also pays homage to another important literary influence and spiritual mentor, the Greek 20th century poet Constantine Cavafy, illustrating shared themes such as longing and the fleeting presence of beauty in works such as Just to Light His Cigarette Was a Pleasure (1978).

Imbued with an inherent nostalgia, these cinematic images of unattainable beauty and physical perfection appear like depictions of dreams or memories. Michals glorifies quotidian, intimate moments of grace and desire––undressing for a bath, lighting a match, swimming in nature–– preserving them and inviting us into these shared dreams.

Duane Michals (b. 1932, McKeesport, PA) is one of the great photographic innovators of the last century, widely known for his work with series, multiple exposures, and text. Continuing to push the boundaries of photography, Michals’s practice also includes film, painting, and sculpture. His work has been exhibited extensively in the United States and abroad. Recent major retrospectives include Storyteller: The Photographs of Duane Michals, The Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, PA (2015); Duane Michals, Fundación Mapfre, Barcelona, Spain (2017); The Illusions of the Photographer: Duane Michals at the Morgan, The Morgan Library and Museum, New York (2019); Duane Michals: The Portraitist, which traveled from 2018-2023; and Duane Michals: The Photographer of the Invisible, Fundación Canal, Madrid, Spain (2025). Over forty monographs of his work have been published, including Storyteller: Duane Michals (2014); Duane Michals: Empty New York (2018); and most recently, Texas (2022). Michals lives and works in New York City.