Whitney Museum to Present Ken Ohara's First U.S. Institutional Solo Exhibition in October 2025
The Whitney Museum of American Art presents Ken Ohara: CONTACTS, the artist's first U.S. institutional solo exhibition. The exhibition features twenty-two photographs and four accompanying documents from Ohara's CONTACTS series (1974–76), which opens October 10, 2025 and runs through February 8, 2026. Ohara mailed preloaded cameras to strangers across the United States, who documented their lives before passing the camera along, yielding contact sheets acquired by the Whitney and shown in chronological order from participants in thirty-six states.
The Signal
The exhibition underscores the decentralization of photographic authorship through a collaborative process that captures American life amid 1970s economic and political conditions. It links 1970s analog methods with contemporary image-sharing practices, illuminating themes of human connection and collective experience. Organized by Curatorial Fellow Eli Harrison, the presentation reflects the Whitney's ongoing commitment to acquiring and exhibiting works that expand narratives in American photography.
- Artists: Ken Ohara
- People: Eli Harrison
- Museums: Whitney Museum of American Art
- Locations: New York
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