Exhibition: July 28-August 6th, Sean Kelly Gallery, 528 West 29th Street, New York City

In an effort to advance the careers of emerging photographers, noted artists Adam Fuss, Jack Pierson and Cindy Sherman have come together to organize Unframed First Look Photo, an opportunity for the New York City art world to get to know undiscovered talent. Leveraging their substantial connections and those of the AIDS Community Research Initiative of America (ACRIA), the artists will gather noted New York gallery owners, collectors and critics to have a "first look" at the artists whose work will be galvanizing the art world in the months and years to come. The competition this year builds on the success of last year’s inaugural show of painters juried by Ross Bleckner, Peter Halley and Sue Williams, which generated over 300 submissions. This year Fuss, Pierson and Sherman assembled a group of 49 artists from 500 entries that will receive a group show at the prestigious Sean Kelly Gallery beginning on Wednesday, July 28th. The top overall artist selected to receive the W Hotels Prize of $5,000 is Thelma Garcia, a Mexican native currently based in New York. In addition to Garcia, the work of seven other artists so impressed to jurors that W Hotels will showcase them in a national exhibition this fall.

All works included in the exhibition will be sold for $200 to benefit ACRIA, a prominent AIDS research and treatment education center. For more than a decade, ACRIA has been contributing to the FDA approval of new AIDS therapies and providing people living with AIDS with vital treatment information. More than 100 top contemporary artists (John Baldessari, Eric Fischl, Nan Goldin, Sally Mann, Kiki Smith and others) have supported ACRIA’s efforts over the years by contributing to the agency’s annual art sales.