A reception for “In the Spirit of Empathy: Remembering Larry Fink,” is 4 p.m. - 6 p.m. March 29, Kirby Art Study Center, Williams Center for the Arts, Lafayette College, Easton.

The reception was postponed from Feb. 15 because of a snowstorm.

Lafayette College Photo Adjunct Professor Jamie Stahley-Cabreza, guest curator, juxtaposes Fink’s black-and-white photography with his quotes in the exhibit, such as: “All perception starts at home” and “If you don’t take a chance, you don’t get a chance.”

Fink described himself thusly: “I am a square in the circle of events, a triangle within the rectangle.”

Stahley-Cabreza, who worked with Fink, says, “I often called him a rascal or a handful. But he was a genius photographer. He influenced many. He was a teacher at Bard [College] for over two decades.”

Fink taught at New York University, Yale University School of Art, Parsons School of Design and lectured at Lafayette College.

“He loved photographing people, meeting people, empathizing with them for a few moments. And he also loved his farm where he lived in Martins Creek,” says Stahley-Cabreza.

Fink had his photography studio in a barn on the Lower Mt. Bethel Township, Northampton County, property.

When he wasn’t photographing his rural neighbors, Fink attended parties in New York City, capturing the revelers’ candid moments with his flash and lens. He photographed Oscar parties for Vanity Fair magazine.

Fink’s “Peter Beard and Friends, Montauk, New York, August 1976” (1976; silver gelatin print, 16 in. x in. 20 in.) is one of the urban celebrations where he takes a snapshot of his fellow cameraman on the fly with strategically-placed hand-held lighting.

“This is one of those shots where you can see that flash coming in from one side there and creating that sculptural affect that Larry loved so much,” says Stahley-Cabreza.

The juxtaposition of the urban and rural was featured in “Social Graces: Photographs by Larry Fink,” a 1981 book and an exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art, New York City.

Display cases in the Lafayette exhibit contain photographs, camera lenses, peacock feathers from Fink’s farm and other items.

“Larry Fink: Hands On / A Passionate Life of Looking” spans the years from 1958, when Fink began his career, through 2023, the last year of his life. Published in January 2025, the 424-page book is available for purchase at the reception.

Stahley-Cabreza will present a talk at the reception.

Scheduled to attend the reception is artist Martha Posner, Fink’s widow.

Also expected at the reception are Curator of Photographs at Philadelphia Museum of Art Peter Barberie, book designer Yolanda Cuomo and Lucy Sante, who wrote the forward for the book.

“Larry was able to see it [the book] and approve it before he passed away,” says Stahley-Cabreza.

Fink, born in 1941, died in November 2023.

“In the Spirit of Empathy: Remembering Larry Fink,” through May 23, Lafayette College, Williams Center for the Arts, Kirby Art Study Center, 317 Hamilton St., Easton. Gallery hours: 8 a.m. - 4 p.m. Monday - Friday, Closed weekends, holidays. Information: https://galleries.lafayette.edu

“Gallery View” is a column about artists, exhibitions and galleries. To request coverage, email: Paul Willistein, Focus editor, pwillistein@tnonline.com