American Ecstasy

We are pleased to announce a new project space, Storage APT (Art Presentation Template), unveiling on The Bowery on February 14th, 2024.

Storage APT opens with a solo exhibition of Barbara Nitke’s (b. 1950, Virginia) series, American Ecstasy, inaugurating the space on Valentine’s Day. The exhibition reveals the elegant and spiritual connections between porn actors, in color photographs taken between 1982 and 1991.

Barbara Nitke (b. 1950, Virginia) is a photographer whose focus spans from behind-the-scenes of hardcore porn sets to constructed narratives and portraiture. Nitke’s work is found in collections including the Kinsey Institute, IN; The New Hampshire Institute of Art, NH; Finnish Museum of Photography, Helsinki, Finland; Leather Archives and Museum, IN; Leslie-Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art, NY; and the Museum of Sex, NY. Nitke has been shown nationally and internationally. Selections of her work are collected in two monographs, Kiss of Fire: A Romantic View of Sadomasochism (introduction by A. D. Coleman) (2003) and American Ecstasy (introduction by Arthur C. Danto) (2012). Nitke is self taught in photography, having studied literature and philosophy at Baruch College, City University of New York. She has been on the faculty of School of Visual Arts since 1992.