Biography:
Born in Brooklyn in 1946, Bruce studied sociology, but his interest in photography grew when he saw Michelangelo Antonioni's film Blow-Up, after which he began taking night classes in photography at the New York School of Visual Arts.
Gilden's first major projects focused on Coney Island, and on New Orleans during its famous Mardi Gras festival. In 1984, he began to work in Haiti, following his fascination with voodoo places, rites and beliefs there; his book Haiti was published in 1996.
In 1998 Gilden joined Magnum. He returned to his roots and tackled a new approach to urban spaces, specifically the streets of New York City, where he had been working since 1981. His work culminated in the publication of Facing New York (1992), and later A Beautiful Catastrophe (2005); getting ever closer to his subject, he established an expressive and theatrical style that presented the world as a vast comedy of manners.
His project on sporting events in rural Ireland, After the Off, was commissioned by the Gallery of Photography. It was premiered here in 2000 and was also published in book form, with text by Dermot Healy.
Gilden, who has travelled and exhibited widely around the world, has received numerous awards, including the European Award for Photography, three National Endowment for the Arts fellowships, and a Japan Foundation fellowship. He lives in New York City.
The piece in the current exhibition is from his project on Ireland, After The Off.
