Cuba
July 7 – 30, 2005
Focusing on streetscape and street life in Havana, Cienguegos, Santiago, and Trinidad, these photographs provide a rare glimpse into a place that has remained inaccessible to many in the United States.
Wandering alone through the streets with a hand held camera and an open mind; I found beauty and order in the energy of the street. I met many warm and generous people who allowed me to photograph them and invited me into their homes and places of work. Trained as an architect – symmetry, line, color, and detail – are significant elements in my work. In Cuba, I was taken with the richness and beauty of the faded architecture that was once so grand and opulent. The decay and sculptural forms within speak to layers of history, and the inevitably of change. No matter how hard we try, everything, even our own bodies, slowly decay, and yet can be very beautiful. This work reflects on change, while celebrating passionate ideals and the energy and light of a country in perpetual transition.
Monacelli press called this work “a unique portrait of Cuba that delves into the soul of that country”.
Jeffrey Milstein is a photographer, architect, and pilot. His photographs have been exhibited and collected throughout the United States and Europe, and have been featured in publications including The New York Times, Time, Esquire, Fortune, Harpers, Vanity Fair, The Atlantic, GEO, GQ, Paris Match, Liberation, Graphis, and Die Zeit. He has won numerous awards, including Graphis Gold Awards, and has been featured on CNN and the CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley. His work is in the collections of museums including The Scottish National Galleries, LACMA, George Eastman House, Musée de l’Elysée, Portland Art Museum, Akron Art Museum, and the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, where he had a year long solo show, and nine of his photographs are on permanent display. His books include Paris From the Air, Rizzoli, London From the Air, Rizzoli, LA NY, Thames and Hudson, Aircraft the Jet as Art, Abrams, Cuba, Monacelli, and Small Dreams, Schiffer. He is represented by Kopeikin Gallery in Los Angeles, Benrubi Gallery in New York, Robert Klein Gallery in Boston, Bau-Xi Gallery in Canada, Messums Gallery in London, and ARTITLEDcontemporary in The Netherlands. His studio is in Kingston, New York, and He lives in Woodstock, New York.