After years spent trying to photographically record the historic residential buildings of the Bronx before they were destroyed by real estate speculators, Recent Developments looks at some of what is replacing them. The installation features two new projects spearheaded by Brad Farwell — Work In Progress and I guess they had a sale on grey paint/Supongo que tenían la pintura gris en oferta.
We are excited to invite you to attend an upcoming photography exhibition opening on Monday, August 17, 2026 from 6-8 p.m. to be held at BXposure, located at the historic Andrew Freedman Home at 1125 Grand Concourse No. 106, Bronx, NY 10452. The event is free and open to the public. You can vosit here to RSVP.
Bronx-based photographer and educator Brad Farwell (b. 1975) works with analog and digital photographic processes to explore ideas of place, history, perception, and memory. Since moving with his wife and daughters to Highbridge in 2013, much of his work has focused on the rapidly shifting architectural landscape of The Bronx. Brad’s photos have been published in The New York Times Magazine, McSweeney’s Quarterly, and his writing in Draw it with your eyes closed: the art of the art assignment. His photographs have been exhibited worldwide, including the The Noorderlicht Photo Festival in the Netherlands, the American Academy in Rome, Rick Wester Fine Art in NYC, and the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown. He currently teaches photography at the Fashion Institute of Technology in Manhattan.
Work In Progress uses a 8×10 film camera to make monumental and slightly optimistic images of new developments at various stages of construction. The detailed black and white darkroom prints record the buildings in potentia, structures not yet in use, still hoping for the realization of an idealized form, an architecture that hasn’t disappointed us yet.
The images (and accompanying book) I guess they had a sale on grey paint/Supongo que tenían la pintura gris en oferta are decidedly less optimistic. As the remaining Victorian houses in Brad’s neighborhood were being torn down, he was struck by how often the new buildings were just big boxes with a coat of grey paint, “often they use a graphic pattern of lines/shapes on that surface to hide their essential blandness, or throw oversized house numbers on the front in an effort to add some whimsy. They almost always run right to the sidewalk, eliminating the social space of the stoop, and extend to the lot lines on both sides, forming an aggressive and unwelcoming wall… I can’t help thinking that the people of The Bronx deserve a more thoughtful, more beautiful, even just more durable future than the one rising up around us.”
We hope you leave the exhibition with a refined view of the subtle ways the landscape of The Bronx is changing before our eyes. The exhibition will be on view for the public until September 18, 2026.
About BXposure
BXposure is The Bronx’s first Black-owned independent film lab and community darkroom, located in the historic Andrew Freedman Home. The space offers film processing, workshops, exhibitions and community programming dedicated to keeping analog photography accessible and thriving in The Bronx. The BXposed Artist series is a monthly rotating exhibition that provides a platform for both emerging and established Bronx based artists to exhibit lens based art in their own borough.
Featured image credit: DepositPhotos.com
