dearly Loved friends: Photographs by Sheyla Baykal, 1965-1990
Opening event: Thursday April 3, 6-8PM
Dates: April 4 - May 10, 2025
Hours: Wednesday-Saturday, 11AM-5PM and by appointment
636 Broadway, NYC, Room 320
Sheyla Baykal, Angel Jack, 1973, Gelatin silver print, 10 x 8 inches. Copyright Estate of Sheyla Baykal.
Soft Network is honored to present dearly Loved friends: Photographs by Sheyla Baykal, 1965-1990 curated by Marcelo Gabriel Yáñez with Penny Arcade. The exhibition serves as an introduction to the life and photographic practice of Turkish-American artist Sheyla Baykal (1944-1997) and is composed of a mixture of black and white prints, projections of 35mm color slide photography and super 8mm films, and archival material from the artist’s estate. Taking its title from a folder of obituaries for deceased friends that Baykal kept between the 1960s and 1990s, the exhibition emphasizes her community-based approach to portraiture. Recurring subjects include John Eric Broaddus, Jackie Curtis, Candy Darling, Peter Hujar, Agosto Machado, Cookie Mueller, Jack Smith, and Paul Thek. While well-known within her lifetime among a tight-knit coterie of East Village artists, Baykal’s work was rarely printed or shown.
This exhibition, which marks the first six months of the Estate of Sheyla Baykal as Soft Network’s 2025-2027 Archive in Residence, is also Baykal’s first solo exhibition since 1993. A second exhibition will be mounted in April 2026. During the residency, Baykal’s expansive archive is being organized and cataloged for the first time. Digitization, ongoing research, and public programs with artists and scholars familiar with Baykal’s community will ensure that Baykal’s material, and the subjects within, remain accessible for further study.
Archive in Residence 2025-2027
Sheyla Baykal, Angels of Light, Gossamer Wings, 1973. Copyright Estate of Sheyla Baykal.
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LGBTQ+ Artists Archive Project The Keith Haring Foundation Chicago Woodman Foundation The Estate of Ken Kiff Center for Art, Research and Alliances Alison Bradley Projects LLC X Gallery Art Services Ad Reinhardt Foundation Bilge Friedlaender Estate American Photography Archives Group Carolee Schneemann Foundation Chris Burden Estate Corita Art Center CVC Legacy Project David Armstrong Archive David Byrd Estate David Salle Studio Billy Apple Archive Deborah Remington Charitable Trust for the Visual Arts David Hayes Art Foundation Dedalus Foundation Derek Boshier Estate Giorno Poetry Systems Elizabeth Murray Estate Ellis Beauregard Foundation Emily Mason and Alice Trumbull Mason Foundation Estate of Jack Tworkov Hauser & Wirth Institute Institute of American Indian Arts Joan Mitchell Foundation Richard Serra Studio Robert Morris Estate Estate of Janice Biala Sarah Charlesworth Estate Andrews-Humphrey Family Foundation The David Armstrong Archive The Easton Foundation The Modigliani Initiative Toshiko Takaezu Foundation Wolf Kahn Foundation Yoko Ono, Studio One A&L Berg Foundation Albert Kresch Aldo Tambellini Aline Mare Sonya Rapoport Legacy Trust The Estate of Eric Orr Plane Image The Woodman Family Foundation Dresben + Associates Franklin Furnace Archive, Inc. Aspen Institute Artist-Endowed Foundations Initiative Jaime Davidovich Foundation Archives of American Art Noah Purifoy Foundation Robert Therrien Estate The Estate of Ana Mendieta Collection, LLC Leemour Pelli Art Studio and Archive Yayoi Shionoiri Albert Houthuesen Trust Carlos Cruz-Diez Drew McRitchie Estate Ejay Weiss Estate & Herman Rose Estate Estate of Mimi Chen Ting Judy Chicago One Million Years Foundation Sarah Greenberg Morse Art + Estate Advisory Visual AIDS York College CUNY/DASNY Public Art
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News
OFFSCREEN and Cultish are delighted to announce the winner of the first edition of the Cultish x OFFSCREEN Prize: Susan Brockman, presented by Soft Network.
A special mention was awarded to Lita Albuquerque, presented by Galerie La Patinoire Royale Bach.
Cultish is a platform for creative exploration born from a shared passion for the arts and exceptional craftsmanship. With Cultish, Publicis Luxe reaffirms its commitment to culture as a transformative driver for luxury, thus pushing the boundaries of artistic expression for brands
It is in this dynamic that Cultish chose to partner with OFFSCREEN, an event highlighting artists working with still and moving images, who present site-specific installations in dialogue with a unique space.
The partnership between Cultish and OFFSCREEN culminates in the awarding of a prize, recognizing the best artistic proposal exhibited during the 2024 edition. This Cultish x OFFSCREEN Prize is awarded by a panel of international curators invited by OFFSCREEN, joined by curators from Publicis Luxe.
