This April, galleries from around the world come together as part of The Photography Show, taking place at the Park Avenue Armory in the heart of New York. Now in its 45th edition, the Fair features 80 galleries, alongside a further 20 photobook exhibitors. The much-anticipated event, hosted by AIPAD, represents a longstanding commitment to deepening the collective understanding of photography’s history, whilst spotlighting some of the most dynamic examples of contemporary experimentation.
Visitors will encounter some of the most dynamic artists working today. Oscura Gallery presents the work of Rania Matar, a Lebanese artist whose portraits of Middle Eastern women explore issues of personal and collective identity. Her subjects play a central role in the creation process, selecting the locations and deciding whether to climb trees or rocks, enter abandoned buildings or step into water. Matar does not frame her sitters as symbols of fragility or oppression, as she claims is often the case in Lebanon, but as individuals claiming space. Elsewhere, Astrid Verhoef, represented by Echo Fine Art, also reimagines traditional shots of women in the landscape. The Amsterdam-based artist stages scenes that verge on the surreal, playing individuals and items where they don’t seem to belong. These juxtapositions between human and object allow Verhoef to examine how modern society interacts with natural spaces.
The Focal Point sector is a new addition for 2026. The presentation will “highlight galleries and artists focused on lens-based photography and is designed to showcase how artists have historically expanded our collective understanding of what photography is and how contemporary artists continue to show us what it can become.” One key name is Chrissy Lush, presented by LAS Contemporary, whose staged works centre on moments when “composure begins to give way.” Often set within domestic and suburban environments, Lush’s figures appear to respond to external pressures that remain hidden from the audience. The artist explains: “these are moments of slippage, when a controlled exterior falters and something unguarded briefly surfaces.” Also on display from C+C Gallery is Dean West, whose shots are informed by the tableau photography of Stan Douglas and Jeff Wall, as well as the paintings of David Hockney and Edward Hopper. Meanwhile, Hsu-Pin Lee at Be Fine Art Gallery challenges traditional landscape photography, matching classical forms with today’s photographic climate.
The event has a packed programme outside of its traditional displays, with four days of AIPAD talks, hosted by leaders in the arts and culture space. These are accompanied by insightful walkthroughs and educational events. There’s also the prestigious AIPAD Award, presented annually to a pioneer in the community, recognising them for changing the ways we perceive photography. The AIPAD Lifetime Achievement Award honours legacies of icons in the field, with the winner announced during the Opening Night Party. The inclusion of photobooks is particularly exciting. This year, Alta presents Free Air and Beyond, a celebration of the enduring collaboration between the world-renowned publisher Steidl and artist Robert Frank. The show reveals his more intimate, personal and lesser-known works, revealing a new side to an artist widely celebrated for his enduring genius by art lovers around the world.
The Photography Show remains an integral part of the cultural calendar. This year’s edition showcases the innovative and established in equal measure, highlighting the rich tradition of lens-based art and spotlighting artists that are reinterpreting it for a new era. Visitors are guaranteed and rich experience, one which reminds them why lens-based medium continues to be one of our most enduring artforms.
The Photography Show is at Park Avenue Armory, New York from 22 – 26 April: aipad.com
Words: Emma Jacob
Image Credits:
1. Rianna (With Mirror), Amshit, Lebanon, 2024, 19.2 x 24”, archival pigment ink print, edition of 8.
2. Osceola Refetoff, Eleven Seventy-Eight (Blood Orange,Blue) – Multispectral Exposure – Palm Springs, CA, 2023.
3. Chrissy Lush, The Gift. Archival pigment print Chrissy Lush, courtesy of LAS Contemporary.
4. Chrissy Lush, Arrival. Archival pigment print Chrissy Lush, courtesy of LAS Contemporary.
5. Patty Carroll, Hell’s Kitchen, 2025.
