Surveillance: Exhibition Invitation

Exhibition invitation for Lewis Stein: Surveillance at Mariposa Gallery, New York (September 8 - October 17, 2026).

The exhibition centers on Stein's 1984-85 photographic series documenting surveillance cameras throughout New York City. Stein captured these mechanical devices with a balance of criticality and humor. The deliberately grainy, large-scale photographs render the cameras almost quirky rather than menacing. By enlarging and blurring surveillance equipment, Stein's work confronts systems that quietly condition daily life.

Lewis Stein (1945-2022) was a New York-based photographer and conceptual artist. The Surveillance series was originally shown at Postmasters Gallery in 1985. The work remains prescient regarding pervasive surveillance culture. The exhibition also includes a 1968 readymade sculpture (a billy club suspended from a nail) exploring Stein's investigations of control systems.