PDNB GALLERY

 Al Satterwhite
A Retrospective

August 24 – November 9, 2024

For the first exhibition of the fall art gallery season, PDNB Gallery presents a solo show of photographs by Al Satterwhite (b. 1944, Biloxi, Mississippi), who has worked professionally in photography since he was a high school intern taking photographs for the St. Petersburg Times. The passion of capturing the decisive moment has never left him.

His talent for photography led him to the job of personal photographer for the then Governor of Florida, Claude Kirk. He later worked as a freelance photographer, doing magazine work for major publications including Life, Newsweek, Sports Illustrated, Fortune, and Car & Driver.

Satterwhite then started a production company in New York in 1980 where he became widely known in the advertising world working with corporations including American Express, Coca Cola, Eastman Kodak, Oldsmobile, and Sony.

In 1992 he moved west to Los Angeles to work in filmmaking as a Director of Photography.

Many books were published on Satterwhite’s photography, and he lectured often at universities and workshops around the country. His photographs are in major museum collections including the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, and the Santa Barbara Museum of Art.

Satterwhite met many fascinating people while working on assignments. One meeting with Hunter S. Thompson resulted in some of his most popular photographs when he traveled to Cozumel, Mexico to meet the infamous Gonzo journalist . He photographed Muhammad Ali while training in a gym in Miami Beach, Florida. Some of these images are iconic of Ali, showing him young, powerful, and full-of-life.

Satterwhite had a great opportunity to photograph Paul Newman as an authentic race car driver at the important Sebring 12-Hour race in Florida. In 1978 Satterwhite photographed him in his racing gear, revealing the iconic ‘Paul Newman’ Rolex Daytona watch that his wife, Joanne Woodward, gave him with an inscription on the back, “Drive Very Slowly, Joanne.” This watch later sold in 2017 for a record $17,752,500!

PDNB Gallery will show a suite of photographs from Satterwhite’s early, personal work taken in Florida. His vintage images of young surfers in the 1960’s have become very nostalgic because they represent a more innocent culture reminiscent of the beach party teen films like Beach Blanket Bingo and How to Stuff a Wild Bikini.

This is Satterwhite’s first solo exhibition at PDNB Gallery. It will be a great kick-off for the exciting 2024 fall season. Al Satterwhite will be present at the opening of the show on Saturday, August 24, 2024, from 5 – 8 pm.

The exhibition, Portraits of Frida, will run concurrently through November 9, 2024.

Portraits of Frida
by Lucienne Bloch and Nickolas Muray

June 22 – November 09, 2024

Portraits of Frida will include extraordinary photographs of the celebrated painter, Frida Kahlo, by two artists, Lucienne Bloch and Nickolas Muray.

Lucienne Bloch (1909 – 1999, b. Geneva, Switzerland) met the married artist couple, Frida and Diego in 1932 when hired to work with the very notable painter, Diego Rivera, in Detroit. This project at the Detroit Institute of Art became the most important Diego Rivera mural in the United States. Lucienne, Diego and Frida became fast friends. Some of Lucienne’s portraits of Frida in Detroit will be included in this exhibition.

Nickolas Muray (1892 – 1965, b. Szeged, Hungary) was a successful commercial photographer and two-time Olympic fencer based in New York. He was known for his portraits of actors, playwrights, ballet dancers and other notable figures in the arts. Muray was a pioneer in color photography advertising. Ladies Home Journal produced the first natural color advertising photograph in 1931, Muray’s grand Miami image of a swimming pool with 17 models in swimwear. He was a master printer, using the three-color carbon printing process, revealing deeply saturated color, which became a signature of his photographs.

Muray met Frida in Mexico through their mutual friend, the artist, Miguel Covarrubias. Nick and Frida became lovers for the next ten years, resulting in some of the most important photographic portraits of Frida ever taken. Some of these iconic images will be featured in this exhibition.

On Saturday, July 6th, PDNB Gallery will celebrate Frida Kahlo’s birthday at the gallery. More information will be released soon.