Meryl Meisler, with camera in hand, documented the process of her coming out and exploring LGBTQ NY communities during the 1970s. She’ll be sharing her images and stories of Disco, nightlife, Fire Island, and self portraits from her book Purgatory & Paradise SASSY ‘70s Suburbia & The City.
Copies of Purgatory & Paradise SASSY ‘70s Suburbia & The City will be available for purchase at the event. To reserve a copy please write to us at contact@bgsqd.com.
Meryl Meisler was born in the South Bronx and raised in North Massapequa, Long Island in New York. Inspired by Diane Arbus and Jacques Henri Lartigue, Meryl began photographing herself, family, and friends while enrolled in a photography class at The University of Wisconsin, Madison. In 1975, Meryl returned to New York City and studied with Lisette Model, continuing to photograph her hometown and the city around her She frequented and photographed the infamous New York discos.After a 31-year career as a NYC public school art teacher, she began revealing large bodies of unseen work. Her monographs, “A Tale of Two Cities Disco Era Bushwick” and “Purgatory & Paradise SASSY ‘70s Suburbia & The City,” (Bizarre Publishing) are internationally acclaimed. Meryl lives and works in New York City, continuing the photographic memoir she began in 1973 – a uniquely American story, sweet and sassy with a pinch of mystery. She is represented by Steven Kasher Gallery.
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