About the Exhibition
On the Flip Side highlights six visionary photographers—Kennedi Carter, Lougè Delcy, Camila Falquez, Ruby Okoro, Dana Scruggs, and Juan Veloz—who each move fluidly between commercial and fine art photography practices. Best known for their striking images in magazines and on billboards, the artists harness the power of virality to shape how we see contemporary culture. Their personal practices offer tender and nuanced reflections on identity, place, and our collective future. This exhibition “flips” their two practices, bringing their fine art to a commercial platform, transforming JCDecaux bus shelters into sites of intimacy and reflection.
On the Flip Side is curated by Public Art Fund Assistant Curator Jenée-Daria Strand.
About the Artists
Kennedi Carter’s work highlights the aesthetics and sociopolitical aspects of Black life as well as the overlooked beauties of the Black experience: skin, texture, peace, love and community. Her work aims to reinvent notions of creativity and confidence in the realm of Blackness. Carter has worked with leading publications and global brands, including British Vogue, GQ, Vanity Fair, The New Yorker, Essence, Google, and Apple. In 2020, Carter was tapped by British Vogue Editor-in-Chief Edward Enninful to photograph Beyoncé for the magazine’s cover; she became the youngest cover photographer in the publication’s history. Her fine art has been acquired by the Rhode Island School of Design; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; and Wilson Centre for Photography, London, among others.
Lougè Delcy is a well-traveled artist who experiences life through a creative lens, documenting Africa and its diaspora in the most beautiful light. His work is a celebration of culture, resilience, and global connection. His imagery is instantly recognizable for its rich color, saturated tones, and sense of movement, shaped by his Haitian heritage and his upbringing in Brooklyn. Delcy has worked with National Geographic, Christian Louboutin, Bermuda, New Balance, and Ebony, among others. His fine art has been exhibited at the Anacostia Community Museum, Washington, D.C. and the International African American Museum, Charleston, South Carolina, among others.
Camila Falquez is a Colombian artist who was born in Mexico City and grew up in Spain. Her photographs harness the traditions of fashion and portrait photography and honor the contemporary spectrum of social and gender diversity. Channeling the conventions of Surrealism with a strong color palette, Falquez elevates and empowers her subjects. Falquez’s photographs are in the permanent collections of The Museum of Modern Art, New York; The Dean Collection; The Montclair Art Museum, New Jersey; and the Perez Art Museum in Miami, Florida.
Ruby Okoro is a self-taught Nigerian artist who expresses his thoughts and subconscious through conceptual and vibrant photographic images. Exploring themes of self-expression, identity, the human journey, and personal relationships, he views photography as a tool for storytelling. Okoro has captured images of the biggest music celebrities from the African continent, who are now known worldwide, including Asake, Ayra Starr, Wizkid, Adekunle Gold, and many others. Okoro’s work has been exhibited at Fotografiska Shanghai; PhotoVogue Festival; and Galerie Gomis, Paris, France among others. His work is featured in the 2022 publication In the Black Fantastic by Ekow Eshun.
Dana Scruggs’ work focuses on movement, abstraction and evoking emotion from the bodily form. Her unique vision has been utilized by many brands and publications globally, including Rolling Stone, TIME, The New York Times, and Vanity Fair. Her fine art prints have been acquired by The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston and The National Museum of African American History and Culture at The Smithsonian. Her work has toured globally with the exhibition The New Black Vanguard: Photography between Art and Fashion and Fotografiska.
Juan Veloz taught himself photography, first capturing his neighborhood and emerging models. His work, deeply rooted in his Latino heritage, blends honesty and cultural identity, earning him collaborations with Vogue, Dior, Netflix, and Nike. Veloz’s ability to capture people authentically reverberates through his images, having captured celebrities such as Sza, Usher, and Gabrielle Union, among many others.
Bloomberg Philanthropies is the presenting sponsor of On the Flip Side.
Champion support for On the Flip Side is provided by the Jacques and Natasha Gelman Foundation.
Special thanks to JCDecaux.
Public Art Fund is supported by the generosity of individuals, corporations, and private foundations including major support from the Abrams Foundation, the Charina Endowment Fund, The Cowles Charitable Trust, the Joseph and Joan Cullman Foundation for the Arts, The Fuhrman Family Foundation, Agnes Gund, The Marc Haas Foundation, Hartfield Foundation, KHR McNeely Family Foundation | Kevin, Rosemary, and Hannah Rose McNeely, the Donald A. Pels Charitable Trust, Red Crane Foundation, the Meyer and Deanne Sharlin Foundation, and The Silverweed Foundation.
Public Art Fund exhibitions and programs are also supported in part with public funds from government agencies, including the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, and by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.
