Michael Bailey-Gates 1993
Lives in Los Angeles, US. Works in Los Angeles, US.
Represented by:
The Ravestijn Gallery
Michael Bailey-Gates (b.1993, USA) uses photography to gracefully dissolve binary perceptions of gender, identity and sexuality. In their intimate, exuberant portraits of themselves and the friends they collaborate with, nothing is fixed; the labels we are conditioned to use ebb into irrelevance and with each photograph expectations are tossed aside. Postures, objects, roles, relations and actions we have been told are exclusive to a few are here playfully reclaimed by anyone. For Bailey-Gates, existence and expression cannot be confined to a handful of definitions.
Whilst Bailey-Gates confronts the conventions that continue to marginalize so many today, they do so without hostility. Instead, Bailey-Gates’ photographs are joyous spaces of affirmation, where those in front of the camera are free to imagine, perform and exist as they wish. It is a seemingly simple underpinning, but for those who have traditionally been chastised for merely being, it is profound.
The photographs that emerge from Bailey-Gates’ belief in the camera as a tool of expression are candidly personal. Affection and familiarity are always present. At the same time, they are not private images. On the contrary, there is a distinct openness to Bailey-Gates’ work, felt most viscerally in the nude bodies that repeatedly appear in their frame. For many, nudity is a vulnerable state, one exposed to judgment from others. Yet for Bailey-Gates and their friends, vulnerability leads to acceptance, and acceptance leads to poise — agency in a world that still scorns what it does not understand. This ease of presence is not only seen through the liberated bodies in his photographs but also in the self-assured gazes that look back at us.
At the heart of Bailey-Gates’ practice is a desire to reflect a world where gender, identity and sexuality are boundless conditions; perpetually in motion and attune to each individual and each moment. Bailey-Gates knows such a world is real, and in looking at their photographs, we are able to catch a glimpse of it.
Michael received his BA in photography from the School of Visual Arts, New York City in 2015. Michael has exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, at the Hoxton Square Gallery in London and at the New York Film Festival among other institutions and galleries. His work was published by several magazines, including The New York Times, British Journal of Photography, The New Yorker, Aperture, the Ravelin Magazine and Interview Magazine.
Whilst Bailey-Gates confronts the conventions that continue to marginalize so many today, they do so without hostility. Instead, Bailey-Gates’ photographs are joyous spaces of affirmation, where those in front of the camera are free to imagine, perform and exist as they wish. It is a seemingly simple underpinning, but for those who have traditionally been chastised for merely being, it is profound.
The photographs that emerge from Bailey-Gates’ belief in the camera as a tool of expression are candidly personal. Affection and familiarity are always present. At the same time, they are not private images. On the contrary, there is a distinct openness to Bailey-Gates’ work, felt most viscerally in the nude bodies that repeatedly appear in their frame. For many, nudity is a vulnerable state, one exposed to judgment from others. Yet for Bailey-Gates and their friends, vulnerability leads to acceptance, and acceptance leads to poise — agency in a world that still scorns what it does not understand. This ease of presence is not only seen through the liberated bodies in his photographs but also in the self-assured gazes that look back at us.
At the heart of Bailey-Gates’ practice is a desire to reflect a world where gender, identity and sexuality are boundless conditions; perpetually in motion and attune to each individual and each moment. Bailey-Gates knows such a world is real, and in looking at their photographs, we are able to catch a glimpse of it.
Michael received his BA in photography from the School of Visual Arts, New York City in 2015. Michael has exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, at the Hoxton Square Gallery in London and at the New York Film Festival among other institutions and galleries. His work was published by several magazines, including The New York Times, British Journal of Photography, The New Yorker, Aperture, the Ravelin Magazine and Interview Magazine.
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THE RAVESTIJN GALLERY
PRESENTS
MICHAEL BAILEY-GATES
The Ravestijn Gallery - Westerdok 824 - 1013 BV - Amsterdam - the Netherlands
Phone +31 20 530 6005 - email [email protected] - www.theravestijngallery.com
Monday to Saturday 12:00-17:00 and by appointment
b.1993 Born in the Rhode Island, USA. Works and lives in New York City.
Education BA Fine Arts in Photography, School of Visual Arts, New York City (SVA), 2011-2015.
Solo Exhibitions / Two-Person Exhibitions
2017
All Fine Figures, Osmos Gallery, New York City (US)
2016
Watermill Benefit Auction, New York City (US)
New Bohemia, Czech Center, New York City (US)
The Newsstand, Museum Of Modern Art, New York City (US)
2015
Objects & Subjects, Photoville, New York City (US)
Auto Body x Bookclub Show, Bellport, New York (US)
The Hole Gallery, YUASA Studios, New York City (US)
Mentor Photography x Charles Atlas, SVA Galleries, New York City (US)
The Ministry of Information Screening, CK2 Gallery, New York City (US)
Feelings Film Festival, New York’s Anthology Film Archives, New York City (US)
2014
Gymnasty, Mike Weiss Gallery, New York City (US)
Dazed Digital 15 Folds Exhibition, Hoxton Square Gallery, London (UK)
New York Photo Awards, New York City (US)
2011 Exposition Photo: “TRANSACTIONS”, Arles (FR)
2010 ESCAPE Exhibition, Kamilou, Bruxelles (BE)
The Viewer Exhibition, Arles (FR)
Group Exhibitions
2016
Spring Break Groupshow, Grouppartner Studio, New York City (US)
Baker’s Dozen, CK2 Gallery, New York City (US)
Selected Awards and Prizes
2015
Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation Award
SVA Alumni Scholarship
2014
New York Photo Awards
Art Fairs
2019
Printed Matter Art Book Fair, Matte 022, LA (US)
PRESENTS
MICHAEL BAILEY-GATES
The Ravestijn Gallery - Westerdok 824 - 1013 BV - Amsterdam - the Netherlands
Phone +31 20 530 6005 - email [email protected] - www.theravestijngallery.com
Monday to Saturday 12:00-17:00 and by appointment
b.1993 Born in the Rhode Island, USA. Works and lives in New York City.
Education BA Fine Arts in Photography, School of Visual Arts, New York City (SVA), 2011-2015.
Solo Exhibitions / Two-Person Exhibitions
2017
All Fine Figures, Osmos Gallery, New York City (US)
2016
Watermill Benefit Auction, New York City (US)
New Bohemia, Czech Center, New York City (US)
The Newsstand, Museum Of Modern Art, New York City (US)
2015
Objects & Subjects, Photoville, New York City (US)
Auto Body x Bookclub Show, Bellport, New York (US)
The Hole Gallery, YUASA Studios, New York City (US)
Mentor Photography x Charles Atlas, SVA Galleries, New York City (US)
The Ministry of Information Screening, CK2 Gallery, New York City (US)
Feelings Film Festival, New York’s Anthology Film Archives, New York City (US)
2014
Gymnasty, Mike Weiss Gallery, New York City (US)
Dazed Digital 15 Folds Exhibition, Hoxton Square Gallery, London (UK)
New York Photo Awards, New York City (US)
2011 Exposition Photo: “TRANSACTIONS”, Arles (FR)
2010 ESCAPE Exhibition, Kamilou, Bruxelles (BE)
The Viewer Exhibition, Arles (FR)
Group Exhibitions
2016
Spring Break Groupshow, Grouppartner Studio, New York City (US)
Baker’s Dozen, CK2 Gallery, New York City (US)
Selected Awards and Prizes
2015
Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation Award
SVA Alumni Scholarship
2014
New York Photo Awards
Art Fairs
2019
Printed Matter Art Book Fair, Matte 022, LA (US)
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