Lesley A. Martin

Latest Stories

2022 Aperture Portfolio Prize Runner-Up: Margo Ovcharenko

Ovcharenko’s depiction of powerful women feels rooted in the radical visual language of early Soviet photography—as does her use of sport as a metaphor for community.
Sohrab Hura, Untitled, 2015

What Is the Future of Photography at MoMA?

Clément Chéroux, the museum’s new chief curator of photography, speaks about the role of institutions at a time of profound change—in the art world and beyond.

How Yurie Nagashima’s Self-Portraits Interrogate the Male Gaze

In her latest photobook, the Japanese photographer discusses self-portraiture as a radical feminist gesture.
Dannielle Bowman, Vision (Bump'N'Curl), 2019

2020 Portfolio Prize Winner: Dannielle Bowman

Dannielle Bowman hijacks the traditional language of black-and-white photography to inject new meaning into the search for home.

For Paul Mpagi Sepuya, Books Are a Way to Think About Time

The LA-based artist speaks about the process of editing—and the role that bookmaking has played in the evolution of his work.

What is a Feminist Photobook?

Carmen Winant on feminism, photobooks, and the radical gestures of world-building.

Remembering Xavier Barral (1955–2019)

Aperture remembers the life of an influential figure in photobook publishing.

How to Make Books that Sing Like Sinatra

Keith Smith on the elaborate art of sequencing pictures.

2018 Portfolio Prize Runner Up: Eduardo Rivera

Read a statement by Lesly A. Martin, Creative Director of Aperture

The Offset Artist

From Dayanita Singh, a portable museum in book form.

2017 Portfolio Prize Winner: Natalie Krick

Read a statement by Lesley A. Martin, Creative Director of Aperture

2016 Portfolio Prize Runner Up: Sean Thomas Foulkes

Read a Statement by Lesley A. Martin Creative Director of Aperture.

2015 Portfolio Prize Runner Up: Heikki Kaski

Read a statement by Lesley A. Martin, Creative Director of Aperture

2014 Portfolio Prize Winner: Amy Elkins

Read a statement by Lesley A. Martin, Creative Director of Aperture

2013 Portfolio Prize Winner: Bryan Schutmaat

Read a statement by Lesley A. Martin, creative director of Aperture.

2011 Portfolio Prize Winner: Sarah Palmer

Read a statement by Lesley A. Martin, creative director of Aperture.

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Aperture 250

Spring 2023, “We Make Pictures in Order to Live” “We Make Pictures in Order to Live” explores the relationship between photography and storytelling across generations and geographies. Featuring visual stories that illuminate daily life, this issue evokes the late, celebrated writer Joan Didion, who declared, “We tell ourselves stories in order to live.”