A sharply dressed and impossibly cool crowd descended on Chelsea last night for the opening of Ghost Images, Tyler Mitchell’s debut solo exhibition at Gagosian New York. The line to get in snaked down the block, a testament to the anticipation surrounding the celebrated photographer’s latest work—and his first major show since joining the gallery’s roster.
The exhibition explores the signature themes of Mitchell’s oeuvre: identity, obscured subjects, pastoral landscapes, African American portraiture, and the role of dress in historical context. Rooted in his Georgia upbringing and the state’s Black spiritual and cultural legacy, the hauntingly beautiful images—shot along Georgia’s coastline—resist easy interpretation. Some defy traditional formats altogether, printed onto mirrors and fabrics. “It’s a real deep exploration into the history of spirit photography, which was popularized in the 19th century when people thought that photography could capture spirits and ghosts,” Mitchell told Vogue. “It’s just me getting deeper into the weird shit that I’m into, being from Georgia.”
At the opening, the increasingly intertwined worlds of fashion and fine art coalesced into one ultra-stylish scene. Mitchell himself wore a pink Dries Van Noten shirt with Loewe trousers, while guests—many in leather jackets, thick-framed glasses, and even the occasional miniature dog—drifted through the gallery. Among them: Jeremy O. Harris, Emily Bode, Ella Emhoff, Derek Blasberg, Ziwe, and Isolde Brielmaier.
“I hope people walk away from this show feeling like, I didn’t know this was possible. I didn’t know people could look like this. I learned something about the South,” Mitchell reflected.
The fête continued at The Twenty Two, where Café Zaffri—the hotel and members club’s just-opened restaurant—hosted an after-party befitting the moment. Joe Jonas, Rashid Johnson, Cynthia Rowley, Larry Gagosian, and Antwaun Sargent were among those raising a glass to Mitchell, the crowd basking in the restaurant’s romantic interiors: floral wallpaper, hanging artwork, wood paneling, and a decorative glass ceiling. DJ Thank You and Las Flaquitas kept the energy high well into the night.
With Ghost Images, a forthcoming catalogue for the Met’s Superfine: Tailoring Black Style exhibition, and several Vogue covers under his belt, Mitchell’s ascent shows no signs of slowing. As for what’s next? “I can also turn my attention toward filmmaking, which has always been a deep love of mine,” he told Vogue. “That would be a joy. The dream one day would be to make a feature film.”
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