NEW YORK, NY.- Steven Kasher Gallery will launch a new series of exhibitions on the occasion of publications of books by their artists. These special exhibitions will feature original artwork curated from the images in the monographs.

On October 29th, they will present two exhibitions portraying the city of Paris and one of its great innovators: Roxanne Lowit, Yves Saint Laurent (Thames & Hudson; November 1, 2014), texts by Pierre Bergé, Betty Catroux, Pat Cleveland, Lucie De La Falaise, Catherine Deneuve, Jerry Hall, Grace Jones, Paloma Picasso and Valerie Steele; and Christopher Thomas, Paris City of Light (Prestel; October 20, 2014), texts by Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, Ira Stehmann and Christopher Thomas. The shows will open with booksignings by both artists on Wednesday, October 29th from 6:00 – 8:00 PM and will be on view through Tuesday, November 4th.

On November 6th, they will open two new exhibitions based on American culture and the diversity of its populations from the 1960s through 2000 – Stephen Shames, Bronx Boys (University of Texas Press; October 15, 2014), texts by Martin Dones and José “Poncho” Muñoz; and Art Kane, edited by Jonathan Kane and Holly Anderson (Reel Art Press; December 2014). The shows will open Thursday, November 6th from 6:00 – 8:00 PM. There will be a booksigning by Stephen Shames and Jonathan Kane and Holly Anderson will be present. The exhibitions will be on view through Saturday, November 15th.

Yves Saint Laurent by Roxanne Lowit presents a personal photographic history of Yves Saint Laurent, from 1978, the year Roxanne Lowit first met him, to the last show he gave in 2002. It represents Lowit’s backstage experience at Saint Laurent’s shows: whether surrounded by beautiful models or peeking out at the catwalk from the wings, every moment was a magnificent photo opportunity. Legendary pioneer of behind-the-scenes fashion photography Roxanne Lowit shares the magical moments of Yves Saint Laurent with the world and creates a unique portrait of this towering fashion figure. Saint Laurent is a name synonymous with style, elegance, and high fashion. When he came on the scene at Dior and then started his own line, he quickly changed the way people regarded haute couture and the world of fashion itself. He revolutionized women’s eveningwear when he introduced le smoking, a women’s tuxedo, and made couture accessible to a younger generation.

Paris City of Light by Christopher Thomas captures the streets and sights of Paris devoid of people in the photographer’s signature, hauntingly beautiful style. Imagine an entirely empty Louvre or the Eiffel Tower minus the lines of tourists waiting to ascend. In the late night and early morning hours of a notoriously busy city, Thomas shows us Paris as an explorer might experience a forgotten city. The result is a sequence of dream-like images made using a large-format camera, long exposures, and the last of Thomas’s remaining Polaroid film. Without the human element, the buildings, streets, landmarks and gardens take on an architectural significance that is at once majestic and intimate. Fans of Thomas’s earlier books on New York and Venice, and anyone who loves Paris, will treasure this exquisite tribute to one of the world’s most beautiful cities. Thomas writes: “I would apply a sort of X-ray vision, to see past the constant throbbing of life and shine a light not only on the skeletal frame, but also on the heart and soul of Paris. I hope that the essence of the city, which is pushed so far into the background in the millions of snapshots taken every day, becomes visible and tangible in this book.”

Bronx Boys by Stephen Shames presents a collection of 123 powerful duotone photographs made from 1977 – 2000, chronicling the lives of a group of boys coming of age in what was at the time one of the toughest and poorest neighborhoods in the United States. On assignment for Look magazine, award-winning photographer Stephen Shames went to the Bronx where he began photographing the Bronx boys living on streets ravaged by poverty, drugs, violence and gangs. They bonded together and raised themselves in “crews,” adolescent families they created for protection and companionship. Shames’s empathy for the boys earned their trust and respect, and over the next two decades, as the crack cocaine epidemic devastated the neighborhood, they allowed him extraordinary access into their lives on the street and in their homes. Shames captures the brutality of the times—the fights, shootings, arrests and drug deals—that eventually left many of the young men dead or in jail. But he also records the joy and humanity of the Bronx boys, as they mature, fall in love and have children of their own. Challenging our perceptions of a neighborhood that at the time these photographs were made was too easily dismissed by some as irredeemable,Bronx Boys shows us that hope and redemption are possible everywhere.

Art Kane, edited by Jonathan Kane and Holly Anderson, presents one of the most influential photographers of the twentieth century. A bold visionary, Art Kane’s work encompassed fashion, editorial, celebrity portraiture, travel and nudes with a restless and innovative eye. Like his contemporaries, Guy Bourdin and Helmut Newton, Kane gravitated toward strong color, eroticism and surreal humor. In 1958, Kane assembled the greatest legends in jazz and shot what became his most famous image, Harlem 1958. In the 1960s and 1970s, he photographed, among others, the Rolling Stones, the Who, Janis Joplin, The Doors and Bob Dylan. Kane went on to contribute to the leading fashion magazines of his era, including Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar. His images of women perhaps leave Kane’s greatest mark on photography. This is the first time Kane’s work has been collected into one comprehensive volume. Beautifully curated, it is a fitting tribute to one of photography’s most original and creative voices.