Celebrated Fire Island photographer Koitz, the University of Southern California Founders Cultural Award winner for 2015, will display his photos of Fire Island folks, locales, and events at the Verle Annis Gallery, at Harris Hall Courtyard, 823-29 Exposition Boulevard, at USC, from April 24 to 28, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., under the auspices of the USC Office of Residential Education. The opening reception for the exhibit, entitled “Fire Island: Out in the Sun,” takes place on April 24 from 6 to 8 p.m.
Publicity for “Fire Island: Out in the Sun,” which will be curated by USC Assistant Professor of Architecture Victor J. Jones, describes Koitz’s work as “[a] testimony of social life in the community,” and continues, “Koitz’s brazen exploration of color and light captures the exceptional qualities of this austerely beautiful and fragile barrier island, where a theatrical and joyous enclave of late 20th century gay life defines a spiritual homeland … [B]orn in the city of Pamplona-Iruña in the Basque Country [and] currently [living] in New York City, … Koitz is an ardent advocate of Gay Rights, dedicating his life’s work to the documentation and celebration of the LGBT community. Koitz has photographed notable figures such as Liza Minnelli, Alan Cumming, and [performance artist] Marina Abramovic. His work has been exhibited at the Leslie-Lohmann Foundation and the Basque House (Euzko-Extea of New York), in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.”