About Barry Rosenthal
Barry Rosenthal is a fine arts photographer and sculptor based in Brooklyn, New York, who explores consumer culture and reveals the impact we have on the world around us. Rosenthal is a self-proclaimed “urban anthropologist” who arranges found objects from around New York City as if they were 19th-century historical illustrations with a 21st-century twist, showcasing the legacy we’d leave for our future descendants. One of touch, waste, convenience, and instant gratification, Rosenthal’s work asks us to question ourselves and what history we leave behind.
While earning his bachelor’s degree in Sociology at Wilmington College, Rosenthal later found a passion for the fine arts at the Dayton Art Institute in Ohio, beginning his artistic career as a street and commercial photographer. These experiences allowed Rosenthal to take an interest in other parts of the world around him, turning the camera to the unnatural aspects of our environment, such as cups, gloves, or lost toys, and finding life in these inanimate materials. Barry began collecting these materials, arranging them by similarity in usage, shape, or, most notably, color, and photographing them against a dark background to create unity among the pieces. His work Blue Ocean brought his practice to the national stage, as his alluring, environmentally conscious pieces create a self-portrait of the modern consumer. Rosenthal’s work has been featured in many publications such as the New York Times, National Geographic, CBS News, and other media outlets. Some of his photographs are also in the permanent collections of many notable museums, including the Museum of Modern Art, the Springfield Art Museum, and the Black and Gold Museum in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Artist Statement:
“In today’s world, consumer goods are increasing in volume. At the same time their useful lives are shorter and shorter. Consuming without a thought of what is left behind is what we are taught. “Found in Nature” spotlights the remnants of consumer goods in the context of ocean borne pollution. The viewer confronts collections of found objects pulled from the shores of New York Harbor and experiences the way humanity is managing its relationship with nature and the oceans in particular.”
Awards:
2010 Currently Chashama artist resident
1996 Communication Arts Award of Excellence
1996 The Black Book AR100 Award Show
1991 The Polly Bond Award of Excellence
Teaching:
Parsons School of Design “Studio Lighting”, New York, NY. September 1995-May 1996
City Tech(CUNY) Digital Photo 1, Brooklyn, NY. August-December 2017- 2019
Solo Exhibitions:
2022 “Convenience & Conveyance Kingsborough Art Museum Brooklyn NY
2014 “Found in Nature” Lobby installation Brooklyn Army Terminal BAT B, Brooklyn,
New York. September 1, 2014
2013 “Found in Nature” 0.00156 acres April 13 – June 9, 2013.
2009 “Photobotanicus/Found in Nature” White Rice Gallery. Hudson, NY.
2009 “One Night Only” The NYMEX Gallery, New York, New York.
2008 “Found in Nature” Photography by Barry Rosenthal, Music Composed by:
Leo Kraft; Digitally designed by David Tennant; Performed live by Pianist
Laura Leon. Yamaha Piano Salon New York, NY; City College NY
2001 “Retrospective” Wilmington College’s Boyd Art Gallery. Featured Artist.
1999 “Of the homeless…By the homeless.” Exhibition of Black and White
Photographs at the World Financial Center, New York City,
Group Exhibitions (Selected):
2019 Brooklyn Waterfront Artist Coalition Summer Show 07/20/19 – 08/04/19
2019 “What could possibly go wrong”? Walnut Hill Fine Art Hudson NY May 25-July28
2019 “Americana” ASMP NY’s Project Space at AIPAD NY, NY April 4-7
2018 “Art from Trash” BBFL Gallery Brooklyn, NY October 25-30
2018 Immigrant Art Coalition, Museum of Jewish Heritage, New York, NY August 5-8
2018 “THE ASMP NY SHOW” Front Room Gallery New York, NY March 28-April 4
2018 “The Naked House” Lush, New Orleans, La. February 10-13
2017 “The Naked House” Lush, London, UK August 29-September 10
2017 “The Visual Metric” Griffin Museum Boston, Ma. August 4 – January 23
2016 “New Urban Agenda” The United Nations’ Habitat 3 Quito, Ecuador Oct 15-25
2016 “Collecting Anxiety” 123 Bowery New York, NY Sept 23-25
2016 “Earth SOS” Flomenhaft Gallery New York, New York September 15 – October 29
2016 ASMP NY “Photoville” Brooklyn, New York, September 21 – 25
2016 “Up for Debate” Bric House, Brooklyn, NY. February 4 – 28.
2016 “Recuore” Art and Sustainability Museum of Leon, Leon, Spain May 5-June 4
2016 Art Show Bedford, Bedford Hills, NY. January 22 – 30.
2015 “One Night Only” One Bryant Park, New York, NY. October 22
2015 “I of the Camera” Flomenhaft Gallery Chelsea, New York, NY March 5 – April 25
Museum Collections:
Museum Of Modern Art. 11 West 53rd Street New York, New York
D’Amour Museum of Fine Art. 220 State Street Springfield, Massachusetts