Martine Fougeron: The South Bronx Trades
Curated by Sergio Bessa, Director of Curatorial and Education Programs
April 6-June 26, 2016
20 color photographs

Wall text:
'Martine Fougeron: The South Bronx Trades'

The South Bronx Trades series, initiated in 2011 and still in progress, documents the active industries and manufacturing enterprises of Port Morris and Hunts Point, revealing to the viewer the unseen places and unheralded workers of the South Bronx. In contrast with the grim imagery often associated with the South Bronx, Fougeron’s photographs show us that industry persists and thrives in the borough. This project gains particular relevance as residents of Port Morris feel the pressure of gentrification and rezoning.

Some of the industries photographed by Fougeron are over a century old, while others were created in the 21st century. They range from industrial steel production, scrap metal recycling, auto parts and scaffoldings, to artisanal family trades such as baking, printing, and hand-made bedding. The series also includes recent activities near the Hunts Point Food Market: custom-prepping fish, crafting wooden boats, the waste-management industry, and creating green rooftops. It is a celebration of the artistry and every-day heroics of intrepid people whose work entails craft and bodily labor. It is a revelation of the immense diversity of skills present in the South Bronx.

Born in Paris, Martine Fougeron has lived in New York since 1996. She studied at Wellesley College, l’Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris, and at the International Center of Photography (ICP). She is a regular contributor to The New Yorker and The New York Times, and her work is held in major private and public collections including the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Philadelphia Museum of Art, and The Bronx Museum of the Arts. Teen Tribe, her first monograph focusing on her two adolescent sons is forthcoming by Steidl.  Fougeron lives and works in the South Bronx and is on the faculty of ICP.

PRESS:

• AI-AP's: Profiles: Photographer Profile - Martine Fougeron: "I felt that these were unheralded people" by David Schonauer, Tuesday April 5, 2016

• BLOUIN ART INFO: Behind Closed Doors: Martine Fougeron Documents the Craftsmen of the Bronx by Kat Herriman, April 6, 2016

• CRAVE: Profile: Martine Fougeron: The South Bronx Trades by Miss Rosen, April 7, 2016

• L'Oeil de la Photographie: 'New York : Martine Fougeron, Les métiers dans le sud du Bronx' , 6 avril 2016

• MUSEE Magazine: Martine Fougeron at the Bronx Museum. April 8, 2016

• Photograph Magazine: Bronx Museum of the Arts. Martine Fougeron: The South Bronx Trades, April 2016

• The Photo Review: April-May Newsletter.

VIEW EXHIBITION LINK: The Bronx Museum of the Arts.

#BronxTrades  #SouthBronxTrades