André Kertész Surveillance

André Kertész (1894–1985) is an undisputed master of photography, an icon who created much of the visual vocabulary of the medium that is still in use today. Kertész worked thematically throughout his life, repeatedly approaching the same subjects and ideas and refining and redefining his observations as he matured as an artist. Surveillance represents one such theme and technique that he continually visited. This astonishing body of work—assembled together for the first time—reveals the dichotomy of a man who observes from afar, as an outsider, but at the same time creates deeply intimate images in response to what he witnesses. In playful, beautiful, and sometimes ominous photographs, Kertész displays a carefully calculated distance that evokes a sense of longing to belong, simultaneously acknowledging that it will never be. Whether watching his subjects from near or afar, Kertész remains the quintessential outsider.