Spano, Michael. Michael Spano. 15 December - 6 February, 1988.

Laurence Miller Gallery, 1988. Text by Robert M. Simon. Exhibition catalog, illustrated stapled wraps, 16 pages, illustrated with ten plates of Spano’s solarized photographic prints. Includes checklist and biographical information about the artist. Fine.  

Michael Spano (born 1949) is an American photographer, curator, and educator recognized for his innovative, large-format experimental street photography and formal investigation of public urban space. Born in New York, Spano earned a BA from Queens College and an MFA from Yale University, after which he served for nearly two decades as the director and curator of the Midtown Y Photography Gallery in New York City. Employing continuous-exposure cameras, custom wide-angle setups, solarization, photograms, and double exposures, Spano creates dynamic, sequence-driven gelatin silver prints that capture the kinetic energy, architecture, and multifaceted human presence of street life. His work has been widely published in monographs such as Time Frames (2002) and Auto Portraits (2009), exhibited in prominent galleries, and acquired for major permanent public collections, including the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the Brooklyn Museum.

This 16-page softcover publication is an exhibition catalog produced by the Laurence Miller Gallery in New York City to accompany a solo exhibition of works by American contemporary photographer Michael Spano. The exhibition ran from December 15, 1987, through February 6, 1988.

Key details of the publication and exhibition include:

• The Artistic Focus: The exhibition marked a notable era in Spano’s career, showcasing his experimental approach to street portraiture. Spano is highly regarded for utilizing an untraditional, wide-angle 8x20-inch view camera to shoot extreme close-up street portraits, resulting in elongated, stylized, and high-contrast black-and-white images that challenge traditional studio portrait framing.

• Catalog Contents: The slim, stapled-wrapper volume features an introductory essay by Robert M. Simon, which provides critical context on Spano's technique and place within modern street photography.

• Visuals & Documentation: The catalog contains 10 high-quality black-and-white plates representing the exhibited pieces. It also includes Spano's biographical information, education history (such as his MFA from Yale), and a comprehensive list of his prior group and solo exhibitions.