Daniel Arnold has earned a reputation as a tireless chronicler of New York’s seemingly infinite stories, capturing events like the Met Ball, Pride, and the Women’s March for Vogue with a singular intimacy that makes you feel as though you’re one of many among the throng.
Now, the 39-year-old Brooklyn-based street photographer—who also shoots for the New York Times and was the subject of a 2017 documentary—has branched out with his first solo exhibition, 1:21, at Larrie on the Lower East Side, which opened to the public on Sunday, October 13 and will be open through November 24.
When asked how it felt to see his first solo exhibition go up, Arnold was characteristically humble: “It didn’t feel too dramatic as an accomplishment. Pretty ordinary. But it was satisfying to have such a tangible measure of the productivity of my summer, and nice to have an excuse to be in the same room with all my people.” He did admit to being moved, though, when comedian James Corden came out of the exhibition “with tears in his eyes,” and says he’s currently enjoying shooting in Murray Hill.
Curated by former Vogue.com Visual Director Emily Rosser, the show features a collection of previously unseen photos and videos that, in typical Arnold style, celebrate the everyday. “Creating a show was totally new and unknown territory for both of us,” said Rosser, adding, “We didn’t know what to expect and used our intuition as we worked through it all. I think this process resulted in a very truthful and earnest body of work we’ve presented to the world.”
Arnold rose to prominence on Instagram, and that on-the-fly sensibility still appears to influence his work, resulting in images that feel polished, yet somehow totally spontaneous.
See a selection of Arnold’s arresting shots below:
