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PACE/MACGILL LARRY FINK

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NEW YORK CITY — Pace/ MacGill Gallery presents “Larry Fink: The Democrats,” on view through August 15. This exhibition marks Fink’s first show at the gallery and is comprised of more than 20 photographs that follow Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton on the campaign trail for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination.

Spanning a period of two and a half months, the series is a continuation of Fink’s assignment for Vanity Fair, where he is a contributing photographer. Fink’s photographs capture political history in the making and offer a candid look into this monumental race as it unfolded.

Best known for his documentary photography and photojournalist aesthetic, Fink (b 1941) explores both the obvious and subtle dramas embedded in day-to-day life. Whether depicting black-tie events in Manhattan, birthday parties in blue-collar Pennsylvania, boxing ring brutality or fashions runway glamour, Fink’s photographs are social snapshots.

Seen in contrast to the staged, polished and public relations savvy images frequently circulated by the media, Fink’s portraits of Clinton and Obama are refreshingly candid: he draws attention to Clinton’s first steps off an airplane and the casual placement of Obama’s hand on the back an airline seat. Fink catches both presidential hopefuls off guard and reveals the subtle gestures and casual glances that, when cumulatively viewed, become symbolic of victory, defeat or personal reflection.

Fink’s work has regularly appeared in a variety of publications, including GQ, Rolling Stone, The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine and Vanity Fair. He is the recipient of two Guggenheim Fellowships and two National Endowment for the Arts grants, and his photographs have been exhibited internationally at venues such as the Museum of Modern Art, New York, the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

Monographs of his works include “Social Graces,” 1984, “Boxing,” 1997, and “Runway,” 2000. A professor of photography at Bard College since 1988, Fink has also taught at Yale University, Cooper Union and Parsons School of Design.

Pace/MacGill Gallery is at 32 East 57 Street. For information, www.pacemacgill.com or 212-759-7999.