Double Disco à Paris – Oui!

Echoing the exhibition “Disco, I’m coming out” at the Philharmonie de Paris, Polka invites you to rediscover the roaring twenties of this musical genre as committed as it is innovative with the work of New Yorker Meryl Meisler. A chronicler of the disco effervescence at the end of the 1970s, the photographer has delved back into her archives and tells us about the nightlife of Manhattan’s mythical nightclubs, including the famous “Studio 54”.

DISCO, I’m Coming Out
Philharmonie de Paris Musée De La Musique 
On exhibit through August 17, 2025
Curators: Jean-Yves Leloup, commissaire & Marion Challier, commissaire-associée
221 avenue Jean-Jaurès, 75019 Paris, France
For more information contact Hamid Si Amer

Casting aside the clichés, this exhibition does justice to the dazzling power of disco – a genre deeply rooted in the history and culture of black America, descended from soul, gospel and funk.

A collection of audiovisual archives, photographs, instruments, costumes, design objects and works of art underlines the political and festive dimension of this music, which brought different minorities and social classes to the dance floor, all united in the same hedonistic impulse. Artists include: Meryl Meisler, Andy Warhol, Peter Hujar, Faith Ringgold, Tom Bianchi, Michael Abramson, Tina Paul, Pacifico Silano, and Bill Bernstein.

Care / Condition / Control
601 Art Space
On exhibit through April 27, 2025
Curator: A.E. Chapman
88 Eldridge St., NYC, NY
For more information contact Sara Shaoul

Humans are obsessed with hair. And hair is never just hair. Intensely personal, it is quite literally how people frame themselves to signal their desired appearance to others. Individuals use hair as an expressive language to convey both their individuality and collective affiliations, and societies in turn regulate hair as a means to enforce and maintain social control, allegiance, and order. Be it conforming or rebellious, hair reflects and negotiates the social contracts between individuals and gender, racial, subcultural, and religious identities. Artist include: Meryl Meisler, John Coplans, Sara Messinger, Richard Prince, Cindy Sherman, and Melissa Stern.

Recent Press

Meryl Meisler could paraphrase this sentence: “It is to capture joy that I became a photographer.”
LA FIÈVRE DES SAMEDIS SOIR – Portfolio
M Le magazine du Monde, Clément Ghys

“In the vast panorama of American documentary photography, Meryl Meisler ‘s work stands out as a vivid fresco of New York’s urban life in the ’70s and ’80s.”
Le fotografie di New York di Meryl Meisler
FOTOGRAFIA ARTISTICA, Giuseppe Santagata

“Photos by Meryl Meisler, which orchestrate an astonishing dialogue between the euphoria of the clubs and the unsanitary streets of the Bushwick district”
Avec sa nouvelle exposition, la Philharmonie ramène le “Disco” à ses origines politiques
Harper’s BAZAAR FRANCE, Maxime Delcourt

“the photographs of Meryl Meisler bear witness to the poverty and ghettoization of large American cities”
À la Philharmonie de Paris, la facette politique du disco
Beaux Arts, Juliette Collombat

“Meryl Meisler, who captures with humanism and irony the flamboyant New York fauna of the small shady bar to the celebrity of Studio 54″
Le phénomène disco : «Cette musique n’est pas militante, c’est une caisse de résonance»
Madame Figaro, Virginie Huret

Fire Island Ice Palace membership cards are on display, while photographs by Meryl Meisler document the holiday spirit.”
« Disco. I’m coming out » : Boogie Nights
Politis, Pauline Guedj

“the dancers captured by the lenses of Michael Abramson or Meryl Meisler can enter such a state of trance and abandon”
L’éternel retour de la soirée disco
philosophie magazine, Victorine de Oliveira

“Street Walker, the latest monograph by Meryl Meisler, is a stunning exploration of social change, cultural diversity, and creative expression”
Book Excerpt: Meryl Meisler Street Walker
Hot Topic: Street Photography Behind The Lens with Meryl Meisler
Sanctuary, Myrna Beth Haskell

“Her passion for dance and nightlife remains at the heart of her art, reminding us that every moment, every smile, and every burst of laughter has the potential to become a timeless work”
La passion des samedis soir à New York à travers l’objectif de la photographe Meryl Meisler
Taste of USA, Thomas

“Meryl Meisler’s New York is at the same time decadent and intriguing.”
Meryl Meisler e sua Nova York decomposta
CULTPICKS Pitadas De Cultura

“Photography can be a way of life if you want, and Meryl has embraced that way of life with gusto.”
Spotlight: Meryl Meisler – A closer look at the street walking photographer
FLAKPHOTO, Andy Flak

“Meisler’s camera authentically documented this scene, capturing not only the excesses, but also the humanity behind the glitters, dusts, and lights.”
Meryl Meisler retrató los brillos y las sombras de los clubes nocturnos de Nueva York
CULTURA INQUIETA

“[outrageously] brilliant photography – one of New York’s finest visual storytellers, the extraordinary and quirky Meryl Meisler.”
EXPOSED In The Studio Darkroom With Meryl Meisler
The Pictorial List, Karen Ghostlaw Pomarico