Produced on the occasion of the exhibition Peter Hujar, Eyes Open in the Dark at the Bundeskunsthalle, Bonn, 27 February–23 August 2026.

Peter 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 photography was largely unknown to a broader art world. Hujar’s principal concern was with portraiture, whether photographing his friends and denizens of the downtown scene – whom he encountered on the street, shot in his apartment studio, and sought out at performance venues – or turning his attention to animals, architecture and landscapes.