MARIE TOMANOVA’S NEW YORK
Creating Our America

Portraying the fresh-faced and subversively-styled youth culture of New York City, Marie Tomanova summons a glowing portrait of the city and its alluring inhabitants. Now on view at C24 Gallery for a moment more, Finding Magic Together pulls notable images from earlier works and the recently released photo book, NEW YORK NEW YORK. Tomanova spoke with PROVOKR on her city perspectives, creative process, and upcoming projects.
SS: What is your favorite aspect of photographing within the city of New York, and what about it is most challenging?
MT: New York City is a special place for me. I love the pulsing energy of constantly changing neighborhoods, streets crowded with people, cars and bikes, and the intense hustle of this place. It reeks with life, creative energy, and passion for dreams. It is a place that allows you to become who you want to be. There is an energy and acceptance in NYC that is dynamic. In a way, it is very warm here — you can find people like yourself and people very different from yourself and you can be together. That’s my favorite part about the city — the people who inhabit and create it.
SS: What photographic advice concerning your work do you wish you could have given to yourself at the beginning of your career?
MT: Believe in yourself because if you do what you love, it will show itself with time. Don’t worry about acceptance from outside. Your own passion and dedication will pave the way. And always take more pictures!
SS: You successfully capture dynamic sexiness and allure across all genders. How do you reach that comfort level with your subject?
MT: I think that the simple answer to this is that I really like people. But to get deeper into it, on some level I identify deeply with everybody with whom I make a picture. The language is important — we make pictures together. For me, the images communicate tenderness, connection, and intimacy rather than sexiness. I have an affinity with each of the people whose portraits I make and I am not always sure why. There is just something there. When I was doing Young American between 2015 and 2019, it felt like I identified with each of those people in the photographs and they stood in some way for who I wanted to be and for what I wanted “America” to look like […] Ryan McGinley in the introduction to [the] book said it far more beautifully than I ever could and so I still find myself quoting him, two years later. He really got the work when he said, “This is a future free of gender binaries and stale old definitions of beauty. In Marie’s world, people can just simply be. I wish all of America’s youth culture looked like Marie’s photos of Downtown — diverse and inclusive.”
SS: What most excites you for the future?
MT: I am working on a few exhibitions for next year in Europe which means that I will get to travel. I love traveling so much and I always feel a huge boost of energy from it. Experiencing new places is one of my vital sources of inspiration even though I usually don’t take any pictures. I just look, observe, and absorb everything. I am also working on my third book, which will be out next year […] I love the challenge of it and its lasting form. It’s such a wonderful medium!
To learn more about C24 Gallery’s exhibition Finding Magic Together, visit here. For more information on the book NEW YORK NEW YORK, visit here.





