Peter Hujar at Raven Row

Peter Hujar

January 30 - April 6, 2025

Eyes Open in the Dark

Raven Row

London

This is the first exhibition to take on the full breadth of Peter Hujar’s later photography. Hujar was a central figure in the downtown scene of 1970s and early 80s New York, but at his death in 1987 from AIDS-related pneumonia his work was largely unknown to a broader art world. Now it is widely admired for its austere elegance and emotional charge.

Hujar’s principal concern was with forms of portraiture – of his friends and denizens of the downtown scene, whom he encountered on the street, shot in his apartment studio or sought out backstage. He also turned his attention to animals, whom he photographed with particular empathy, as well as to architectural, landscape and street photography. Eyes Open in the Darkconcentrates on his later work, when his emergence from a debilitating depression in 1976 brought about a new expansiveness. The exhibition also reveals the darkening tone of his photography in the early 1980s, as the AIDS crisis devastated his community, and his work entered into dialogue with the younger artist David Wojnarowicz.

Peter Hujar – Eyes Open in the Dark is curated by Hujar’s biographer John Douglas Millar, and Hujar’s close friend, the artist and master printer Gary Schneider, with Raven Row’s director Alex Sainsbury. As well as lifetime prints it will include prints of little-known works specially prepared by Gary Schneider, working closely with the artist’s Estate.

The exhibition is free to attend and open Wednesday to Sunday, 11am to 6pm, no booking required.

Contact sheets 18 April, Easter Sunday, 1976 Installation view, Peter Hujar – Eyes Open in the Dark, Raven Row, 2025 Photograph by Marcus J Leith
Contact sheets 18 April, Easter Sunday, 1976 Installation view, Peter Hujar – Eyes Open in the Dark, Raven Row, 2025 Photograph by Marcus J Leith
Paul Thek, Florida, 1957 Installation view, Peter Hujar – Eyes Open in the Dark, Raven Row, 2025 Photograph by Marcus J Leith
Paul Thek, Florida, 1957 Installation view, Peter Hujar – Eyes Open in the Dark, Raven Row, 2025 Photograph by Marcus J Leith
From left to right: Paul Hudson, 1979 Butch and Buster, Hyrkin Farm, Westtown, New York, 1978 Collection of Gary Schneider and John Erdman Boy Crying, 1979 Ethyl Eichelberger (II), 1981 Collection of Gary Schneider and John Erdman Sarah Jenkins, NY (II), 1984 Paul Thek (II), 1975 Installation view, Peter Hujar – Eyes Open in the Dark, Raven Row, 2025 Photograph by Marcus J Leith
From left to right: Paul Hudson, 1979 Butch and Buster, Hyrkin Farm, Westtown, New York, 1978 Collection of Gary Schneider and John Erdman Boy Crying, 1979 Ethyl Eichelberger (II), 1981 Collection of Gary Schneider and John Erdman Sarah Jenkins, NY (II), 1984 Paul Thek (II), 1975 Installation view, Peter Hujar – Eyes Open in the Dark, Raven Row, 2025 Photograph by Marcus J Leith
From left to right: Bruce de Sainte Croix, 1976 Bruce de Sainte Croix, 1976 Bruce de Sainte Croix, 1976 Installation view, Peter Hujar – Eyes Open in the Dark, Raven Row, 2025 Photograph by Marcus J Leith
From left to right: Bruce de Sainte Croix, 1976 Bruce de Sainte Croix, 1976 Bruce de Sainte Croix, 1976 Installation view, Peter Hujar – Eyes Open in the Dark, Raven Row, 2025 Photograph by Marcus J Leith
Installation view, Peter Hujar – Eyes Open in the Dark, Raven Row, 2025 Photograph by Marcus J Leith
Installation view, Peter Hujar – Eyes Open in the Dark, Raven Row, 2025 Photograph by Marcus J Leith
David Wojnarowicz Untitled, from ‘Sex Series’, 1989 Courtesy of The Estate of David Wojnarowicz and PPOW, New York Installation view, Peter Hujar – Eyes Open in the Dark, Raven Row, 2025 Photograph by Marcus J Leith
David Wojnarowicz Untitled, from ‘Sex Series’, 1989 Courtesy of The Estate of David Wojnarowicz and PPOW, New York Installation view, Peter Hujar – Eyes Open in the Dark, Raven Row, 2025 Photograph by Marcus J Leith
From left to right: Penny, 1981 T.C., 1975 Collection of Gary Schneider and John Erdman David Wojnarowicz, 1981 Cookie Mueller, 1981 Larry Ree (I), 1975 Collection of Gary Schneider and John Erdman Georg Osterman (Backstage, Eunuchs of the Forbidden City, Ridiculous Theatrical Company), Westbeth, New York, 1973 Installation view, Peter Hujar – Eyes Open in the Dark, Raven Row, 2025 Photograph by Marcus J Leith
From left to right: Penny, 1981 T.C., 1975 Collection of Gary Schneider and John Erdman David Wojnarowicz, 1981 Cookie Mueller, 1981 Larry Ree (I), 1975 Collection of Gary Schneider and John Erdman Georg Osterman (Backstage, Eunuchs of the Forbidden City, Ridiculous Theatrical Company), Westbeth, New York, 1973 Installation view, Peter Hujar – Eyes Open in the Dark, Raven Row, 2025 Photograph by Marcus J Leith
Installation view, Peter Hujar – Eyes Open in the Dark, Raven Row, 2025 Photograph by Marcus J Leith
Installation view, Peter Hujar – Eyes Open in the Dark, Raven Row, 2025 Photograph by Marcus J Leith