By LILY TINOCO | Reporter
Anthony Friedkin’s “The Surfing Essay” will be on display at Gallery 169 through Sunday, June 5, showcasing a collection of photographs—described as a visual diary—that represent his lifelong experience as a surfer and photographer.
“The highly personal images were made over many years, beginning in 1975 and continuing through today,” according to the gallery. “Friedkin explores what happens to the surfer once out of the ocean, and crosses the Pacific Coast Highway. How do surfers party? What are their girlfriends like? He shows the connection between skateboarding and surfing.”
A number of Friedkin’s photographs date back to the 1970s “Dogtown” era in Venice Beach, and feature portraits of famous surfers including Laird Hamilton, Kelly Slater, and Craig Stecyk, “a cultural icon in the world of surfing.” There will also be images of surfboard shapers, women swimming in the ocean, parties in Malibu from the 1970s and “backstage drama” from a 1979 concert at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium.
A never-viewed-before set of colored photographs on seashells will also appear in the exhibition for the first time. The photographs explore individual shells’ “extraordinary shape[s] and hue[s].”
“Anthony Friedkin’s affection for the ocean and its mystical waves started when he was a child. He speaks of waves as ‘liquid sculpture’ and has captured their beauty in his black and white photographic prints, many of which he creates in his own darkroom,” according to a press release.
Friedkin’s work has been recognized internationally and can be found in major museums including the MoMA in New York, the Getty Center in Brentwood and LACMA. He received a National Endowment for the Arts grant in the 1970s, as well as a grant from the City of Santa Monica in 2020.
The gallery hosted an opening reception for Friedkin on Saturday evening, April 30. The exhibition will run through June 5.
Friedkin’s work is on display at gallery169, located at 169 West Channel Road at Canyon Square. For more information, visit gallery169.com.
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