CV

 

2020/2021

Archtober/ Schermerhorn Row photo installation/Month of Architecture in New York/NYC/ October 2021
In the Shadow/ Interview/ Issue 14, 1814 Magazine

Selected Book Talk and Media Interviews
2024
Frames Podcast /April 4, 2024
2023
Renee & Chiam Gross Foundation /A Falling Off Place: Barbara Mensch in Conversation with Phillip Lopate and Dan Barry/ November 28, 2023
‌All Of It with Alison Stewart / Photographer Barbara Mensch Compiles Her Archives of A Changing Lower Manhattan / September 11, 2023

2018-2022
CBS Saturday Morning / New York’s Fulton Fish Market Celebrates 200 Year Anniversary/August 20, 2022
B&H Photography Podcast/ Staying Power - History and Photography/January 28, 2021
Rutgers University/134th Annual Bishop Lecture/November 24, 2020
Roebling Museum/ Trenton, NJ/May 11, 2019
South Street Seaport Museum/NYC/April 6, 2019
New York Transit Museum/NYC/ March 5, 2019
International Center of Photography Book Festival/ NYC/December 6, 2019
Skyscraper Museum/NYC/October 29, 2018

Selected Exhibitions
2023
The Nobility of Work / Site-specific permanent installation/ commissioned by Howard Hughes and celebrity chef Jean-Georges /Tin Building /NYC
Lightbox installation of mural sized photographs/ Pier 17/ NYC
This Is New York / Group Exhibition/ Museum of the City of New York / NYC

2021
Archtober/ Installation of photographs for Month of Architecture /South Street Seaport Museum /NYC
Still Photography: The Problematic Model /edited by Lew Thomas and Peter D’Agostino on exhibit/ Printed Matter /NYC

2019-2020
Stuyvesant to Sid Vicious: Collecting New York Stories /Group exhibition/ The Museum of the City of New York/ NYC
Photographs of the New York Waterfront/ Permanent Installation/Pier A, Battery Park/NYC
Treasures from the Collection of the Museum of the City of New York/Museum of the City of New York/NYC
John Roebling Anniversary/Selection of prints /Mulhausen State Archives/Germany

2018-2017
A State of Change - Lower Manhattan/Installation of photographs/The Skyscraper Museum/NYC
The Millennium/Installation of photographs/The Skyscraper Museum/NYC
Waterfront Photographs/Connecticut River Museum/CT

2016 -2015
Archtober/Schermerhorn Row photo installation/Month of Architecture in New York/NYC
After Hurricane Sandy/Installation of photographs from the collection of the Seaport Museum/NYC
Month of Photography: Barbara Mensch and Geoff Winningham/Robert Anderson Gallery/Denver, CO
Stories In A Social Landscape/International Center of Photography/NYC
Catch and Release/Interactive video, photographs and lectures in site specific environments/Curated by Yeju Choi/AIGA/NYC

2014-2012
Coney Island/Wadsworth Atheneum/Hartford, CT
NFS and Tanam Press Exhibition of Publications 1970’s-1980’s/Printed Matter Gallery/NYC
Landmarks of New York/Brooklyn Historical Society/Brooklyn, NY/Parrish Art Museum/South Hampton, NY/Long Island Museum at Stonybrook/NY
Barbara Mensch, New York Photographs/Curated by Bonnie Yochelson with catalogue/Robert Anderson Gallery/NYC

2011-10
Mirrors and Reflections/Curated by Evelyne Daitz (director Witkin Gallery)/Robert Anderson Gallery/NYC
Instant Joy/Exhibition of Polaroid Photographs including William Wegman, Chuck Close, Ellen Carey and others/AM Richards Fine Art/Williamsburg, Brooklyn 

2009
South Street/Solo exhibition/Harbor Works Gallery (Bowdoin College)/Brunswick, ME
Coney Island/AM Richards Fine Art/Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Personal Favorites/Ruth Orkin, Robert Capa, Marc Riboud, Arthur Leipzig, Barbara Mensch and others/Flo Peters Gallery/Hamburg, Germany
Hot Fun In The Summertime/Bonni Benrubi Gallery/NYC
Group Show Gallery Artists/Gallerie Art-Privat/Kassel, Germany
South Street/Solo year long exhibition curated by Tom Mellins/The Museum of The City of New York/South Street Seaport Museum/NYC 

2008-2005
Focus On The Seaport/Solo exhibition & catalogue/New York Center For Architecture/NYC
Portraits of the Men of the Market/Solo exhibition/PhotoGraphic Gallery/NYC
New York Some Kind Of Paradise/Solo exhibition/Bonni Benrubi Gallery/NYC
20/30 Vision: An Anniversary Exhibition/Bonni Benrubi Gallery/NYC
By The Gladness Of The River/Survey of downtown artists curated by Harold Reed/Seaport Museum/NYC

2004
Crime Scene/Stephen Bulger Gallery/Toronto, Canada
57 on 57th/Bonni Benrubi Gallery/NYC
Republican Descent/Solo exhibition/Beacon-Newburgh Photography Gallery/NY
New Wing of Schermerhorn Row/Solo exhibition of large prints depicting the Brooklyn Bridge & East River in conjunction with Beyer Blinder Bell Architects and Bonni Benrubi Gallery/112 Fulton Street/NYC

2003
Here Is New York: A Democracy of Photographs/Worldwide traveling exhibition curated by Charles Traub with catalogue published by Scalo editions/Prince Street Gallery/ NYC
Solo exhibition/Bonni Benrubi Gallery/NYC

2002-2001
Peace Art/Traveling exhibition commissioned by Friends Without Borders/Yokahama City Centre Gallery/Japan
Star Spangled Spirit/Bonni Benrubi Gallery/NYC

1999
The Brooklyn Bridge/Group show including Alfred Eisenstadt, Karl Struss, and Walker Evans curated by Ben Breard/Afterimage Gallery/Dallas, TX
Landmarks Of New York III/Biblioteque Nationale/Paris, France
Photo Art/Book Art Gallery/Solo exhibition/Yale University/New Haven, CT
Visible Traces/Solo exhibition in conjunction with Fotofest/Winter Art Gallery/Houston, TX

1998
Souvenir Souvenir/Solo exhibition funded by a grant from the Kassel Minister of Art and Culture/Kunst Balkon- Dokumenta X Festival/Kassel, Germany
Footpath Mosaics/Solo installation with catalogue/Vogelfrei Art Festival/Darmstadt, Germany

1996-1992
Various group exhibitions at Foster Goldstrom Gallery/NYC
Photographs from the Permanent Collection/With catalogue curated by Manuel Alvarez Bravo/Museum of Contemporary Art/Mexico City, Mexico
Landmarks Of New York/Traveling exhibition edited by Eric Himmel Forbes Gallery/NYC/Grand Central Station/NYC/Uris Gallery at The Metropolitan Museum of Art/NYC
Startling Developments/Solo exhibition of  B&W photographs installed with waxed surfaces/Foster Goldstrom Gallery/NYC Leica Presents Six American Photographers/Photokina/Cologne, Germany 

1985-1983
The Last Waterfront/Solo exhibition curated by Stephen Hyde Miller/ The Museum of The City of New York/NYC
The South Street Survey: Barbara Mensch and Andrew Moore/Curated by Elliot Willensky/The Municipal Art Society/AIA/NYC
 Photography In Diversity/Lowe Gallery, Syracuse University/NY 

1982-1981
New Landscapes/The Friends of Photography/Carmel, CA
Alternative Visions/Curated by Shelley Rice/Santa Fe Gallery of Photography/NM  
Themes In Contemporary Women's Photography/Curated by Shelley Rice/Yale University Art Museum/CT/Rutgers University/NJ/Franklin Furnace/NYC/and other venues.  
Twelve Views Of A Pregnancy/Solo installation of photographs/P.S.1/Long Island City/NY
Surveys in American Technology/Solo exhibition curated by Robert Smith/Los Angeles Institute of Contemporary Art/CA
Location: South Central Avenue Los Angeles/Solo Slide tape presentation organized by Robert Longo and Eric Bogosian/The Kitchen/NYC/The Franklin Furnace/NYC/Wright State University/Dayton, OH/San Francisco Art Institute/CA

Films & Videos

  • 2023 - Tin /a documentary about reconstructing the historic Tin Building / Boardwalk Productions /release date for winter 2023.

  • 2016 - 11 Most Endangered Historic Places in the U.S/National Trust For Historic Preservation

  • 2015 - A South Street Story/WFN Canadian cable TV documentary

  • 2013 - If These Knishes Could Talk/Documentary Film starring Penny Marshall, Pete Hamill, Alan Dershowitz, Charles Rangel, Barbara Mensch, and others/Directed by Heather Quinlan/Associate producer, Barbara Mensch,

  • 1999 - Passing Lights/With catalogue/Vogelfrei Art Festival/Darmstadt, Germany

Lectures and Media Events 

2017
Fall Book Talk/Skyscraper Museum/NYC
In The Shadow Of Genius/Presentation of excerpts from forthcoming publication published by Empire State Editions (an imprint of Fordham University Press)/Brooklyn Book Fair/NYC

2016
The New York Accent/Brian Lehrer interview/WNYC/NPR
The New York Accent/Staged interview/Steve Zeitlin, director City Lore

2012
New York Street Stories/Lecture series: Barbara Mensch, Gus Powell, Jules Allen, Harvey Stein, Angel Franco/International Center Of Photography/NYC 

2009- 2007
South Street by Barbara Mensch book signings and lectures/McNally Jackson Books/Soho New York/Midtown Library, 42nd Street/NYC/Bowdoin College/ME and other venues
Photographing the Waterfront Recollections/The Moth Storytelling Performance Hour live radio broadcast 

Selected Print Reviews/Web Reviews
(SEE Press Page for current updates)

  • The Lost and The Saved/Photographs and text by Barbara Mensch/Edited by Alana Newhouse and Matthew Fishbane/Tablet Magazine/November 2016

  • 9 Analog Photography Techniques You Need To Know/Corral, Alexis/Artsy Magazine/July 2016

  • Finding Glamour Not Grit at South Street Seaport/Chaban, Matt/New York Times/January 5, 2016

  • The Collectors Page/Aperture Magazine/Winter Issue, 2014

  • Using Film In a Digital Age/Bartolot, Lana/Wall Street Journal/February 2012

  • Highlights from the Collection of The Museum of the City Of New York/Shutz, Lacy/Huffington Post blog/February, 2012

  • Losing A Precious Sliver of East River Sky/Dunlap, David/New York Times/March 2012

  • New York Photographs by Barbara Mensch/Dykstra, Jean/Photograph Magazine/March 2012

  • Tracing New York’s Mosaics of Accents/Bertolot, Lana/Wall Street Journal/August 2011

  • Emily's Bridge/Yochelson, Bonnie/Review/New York Times/January 4, 2009

  • South Street/Radcliffe, Melissa/Exposure Magazine/Vol 42: Spring, 2009

  • New Gallery's Art Mirrors a Village Come Back to Life/Keyes, Bob/Maine Sunday Telegram/July 5, 2009

  • Barbara Mensch, Coney Island Images/Art Slant/July 2009

  • Focus On Photography/Goselin, Claire/The Times Record (Brunswick, ME)/August 2009

  • Sunday Arts News/Exhibition review/WNET 13-PBS/August 10, 2008

  • Loaders, Lumpers and The Smell of Fish/Chan, Sewell/The New York Times/April 28, 2008

  • The Reading Room/Review of publication South Street/Roberts, Sam/The New York Times/May 27, 2007

  • Spotlight/O'Sullivan, Shawn/B&W Magazine/Issue #55, Winter 2007

  • South Street/New York Book of the Month/Miller, Michael/Time Out New York/April 2007

  • On the Waterfront, Fish Guts, Feds and The Mafia/AG Magazine of British Photography/Spring Issue #47, 2007

  • Tip Sheet On Current Reading/Begley, Adam/The New York Observer, May 14, 2007

  • The Printed Page/O'Sullivan, Shawn/B &W Magazine /Issue #5, Summer 2007

  • Photographing The Fish Market of the Early 80's/Gothamist/August 26, 2007

  • South Street/Book review/Potter, Jessica/TakeGreatPictures.com/August 28, 2007

  • The Market Told Its Own Story/The Chronicle Review/August 10, 2007

  • Artnet News/January 17, 2006

  • The Men and the Market/Special pull out section photos and text by Barbara Mensch/Tribeca Tribune/February 2006

  • The City/Cover photograph/Shots Magazine/Volume 90-Winter Issue/2005

  • About New York/Barry, Dan/The New York Times/Saturday April 3, 2004

  • The Hidden Bridge/Photographs and text/Metropolis Magazine/Spring 2000

  • What's Holding Up the Bridge?/Photographs by Barbara Mensch/Fodor, Joe/Brooklyn Bridge Magazine/March 1999

  • Unter dem Kirschbaum flustern die Engel/Review of Mensch images at Vogelfrei Art Festival/Darmstadter Echo/17 July, 1997

  • Abheben mit Klonen und Querulanten/Review of Mensch images at Vogelfrei Art Festival/Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung/6 July, 1997

  • Startling Developments/Review of exhibition/Kinney, Kay/Cover Magazine/February 1993

  • Startling Developments/Current Picks centerfold/Village Voice/December, 1992

  • The South Street Story/Bernard, April/Manhattan Inc. Magazine/March, 1985

  • Waterside/Interview with Ms. Mensch/Trebay, Guy/Photographs by Sylvia Plachy/Village Voice April 1985

  • Fish Market Shrugs off Assertion of Mob Links/Ehrlanger, Steven/New York Times/October 1987

Selected Early Reviews and interviews

  • Nightline/Interview with Ted Koppel about The Last Waterfront/ABC News/1985

  • The Last Waterfront Review/American Library Association (Booklist)/1986

  • Everything Else/Interview about The Last Waterfront/Pat Collins/WNYC TV/January 1986

  • Fotog Hauls In Fish Market Macho/Talmer, Jerry/The New York Post/March 29, 1986

  • Book review/Malcolm Forbes/Forbes Magazine/September 1985

  • Editors Pick/Review of The Last Waterfront Exhibition at Museum Of The City Of New York/Journal Of The Print World/Spring Edition/May 1985

  • Editors Pick/Photographs from exhibition at The Municipal Art Society/New York Times/October 24, 1983

  • Voice Choices/Trebay, Guy/The Village Voice/1982

  • Downtown Artists/Cover Article/Silverman, Jill/Downtown- a publication of the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council/Vol. 5 #9/1982

  • Voice Choices/Trebay, Guy/The Village Voice/January, 1981

  • Alternative Visions/Rice, Shelley/Afterimage Magazine/1981

  • Barbara Mensch at P.S.1/First photography exhibition/Rice, Shelley/The Soho News/1981

Bibliography

  • Treasures from the Collection of the Museum of the City of New York/ Abbeville Press/ 2020

  • Brooklyn Photographs Now/Marla Hamburg Kennedy/Rizzoli/ September 2018

  • Guide To Lower Manhattan/A new information source about historic Lower Manhattan and the artists who lived and worked there (1950’s to present) published by Macklowe.

  • In the Shadow of Genius/Barbara Mensch/Edited by Bonnie Yochelson, forward by Fernanda Perrone/Empire State Editions (an imprint of Fordham University Press)/Fall 2018

  • A View From The Bridge/Brochure and advertising cover image/Arthur Miller production/Gates Theatre/Dublin, Ireland/September 2016

  • Preserving South Street Seaport/James M. Lindgren/New York University Press/2014

  • Everybody Knows Elizabeth Murray/B&W photographs by Barbara Mensch for documentary film/Director, Kristen Zea/2014

  • Artists For Artists: Fifty Years Of The Foundation For Contemporary Arts/Photographs throughout publication/2013

  • The Norton Mix: American History/Selected photographs/W.W.Norton/Dunn-Haley/Spring 2013

  • Barbara Mensch: New York Photographs/Catalogue in conjunction with the Robert Anderson Gallery/Introduction by Bonnie Yochelson/2012

  • Punching Out-One Year In A Closing Auto Plant/Commentary on South Street/Paul Clemens/Random House/2012

  • Barbary Shore by Norman Mailer/Cover photo/Baldini Castoldi Dalai Editore/Milano, Italy/2010

  • South Street/Barbara Mensch/Paperback edition/Columbia University Press/December 2009

  • The Art of the Brooklyn Bridge/Richard Haw/Routledge/2008

  • South Street/Barbara Mensch/Hardcover edition/Introduction by Phillip Lopate/Columbia University Press/May 2007

  • Cityscapes: A History of New York In Images/Edited by Debra Dash Moore/Columbia University Press/2002

  • Brooklyn Bridge #1/A View From The Bridge by Arthur Miller/Playbill cover image/starring Christopher Maloney/Gates Theatre/ Dublin, Ireland

  • Waterfront: A Journey Around Manhattan/Phillip Lopate/Hardcover and paperback editions/Chapter 19 devoted to Mensch photographs/Crown Publishing/2004

  • September 11th Archive at ICP/ Survey of selected artists living in New York's Soho district/Richard Kostelanetz/Scalo editions/Soho Routledge Press /2002

  • Here Is New York:A Democracy of Photographs/Scalo Editions/2002

  • Landmarks of New York/First published by Abrams/1987/Sixth printing/edited by Barbara Lee Diamondstein/Monacelli Press/2008

  • Little Devils/Edited by Marla Hamburg Kennedy/Picture This Publications, distributed by DAP/1997

  • Luiz y Tempo/Volume 2/Publication of the Museum of Art Contemporareo/Mexico City/1995

  • The Last Waterfront:The People of South Street/Barbara Mensch/Scribners-Freundlich/1985

  • Photography: The Problematic Model/Edited by Lew Thomas and Peter D'Agostino/NFS press/1982

  • Special Projects P.S.1/Archive of exhibitions from 1976 to Present at MoMA P.S.1

  • The Shadow of The Wind/Carlos Ruiz Zafron/Cover photo in hardcover, paperback and audio CD "Klebber's Murder" by Barbara Mensch/Penguin Press/First published in 2005

    Selected Public Collections

  • The International Center of Photography

  • Cassilhaus Photography Collection/ North Carolina

  • The Roebling Family Archives/Rutgers University Special Collections

  • Tablet Magazine

  • Doyle Collection Dublin/Ireland

  • The Agnes Gund Collection

  • Museum of Modern Art

  • Sir Elton John Collection

  • Museum of Fine Arts/Houston

  • Museum of the City of New York

  • The Brooklyn Museum

  • The New York Historical Society

  • The Biblioteque Nationale

  • Collecion Fotografica de Fundacion Televisia/Mexico City/Purchase by Manuel Alvarez Bravo

  • The Bawag Foundation/Vienna, Austria

  • Stephan Braunfels Munich/Berlin Architekten

  • Davis Wright Tremaine LLP/NYC

  • Pfizer

  • Holland & Knight LLP/NYC

  • Goldman Sachs

  • New Amsterdam Market/NYC

  • The Gotham Center/Purchase by Suzanne Wasserman

  • Seaport Museum/NYC

  • Skyscraper Museum/NYC

  • Mühlhausen State Archives/Germany

  • Private collections

Photographic Fairs and Benefit Auctions

  • AIPAD NY/1997, 2001 - 2011, 2019

  • Friends Of The Highline Benefit Auctions/2008 - 2009

  • Paris Photo/2003-2009

  • AAF (Affordable Art Fair) NYC/1994 -1997

  • Frankfurt Art Fair/1993 -1996

  • Friends Without A Border/Annual contributor to photo auction

  • Josephine Herrick Project/Annual contributor to photo auction

Recent Grants/Awards

  • South Street/The Book Binders Guild Merit Award For Best Photo Book Design/2007

  • Hardcover Trade (New York Book Fair)

  • South Street/Best photography book about people/Lucie-IPA Photography Awards

  • Lower Manhattan Cultural Council MCAF grant/2007

  • South Street/Furthermore Foundation grant for publication/2007

Early Awards 

  • Children of U Street, Washington D.C/Kodachrome portrait selections/Leica Camera/Solms, Germany/1993

  • JM Kaplan Foundation/1985

  • The Charina Foundation/1985

  • New York State Council on the Arts/1985

  • Drawing Scholarship/Academia di Belle Arte/Florence, Italy/1978 - 1979

Representation
Afterimage Gallery/Dallas, TX
William Morris Agency / Los Angeles, CA/ representing “In The Shadow of Genius”
Bonni Benrubi Gallery/2000 - 2012

On Consignment

  • Robert Anderson Gallery/Denver, CO

  • Sag Harbor Picture Gallery/Sag Harbor, NY

  • Flo Peters Gallery/Hamburg, Germany

  • Galerie 5.6/Munich, Germany

Contributing photographer (selected publications) 

  • Natural History Magazine

  • Edible Magazine

  • New York Times

  • New York Magazine

  • Tablet Magazine

  • Downtown Post

  • Woman's Day

  • Ms. Magazine