Mary Ellen Mark

Explorations of social belonging, otherness, and different life trajectories comprise the broad and inclusive spectrum of Mary Ellen Mark’s photography – from portraiture to reportage, from the US to Mexico to India. Compelled by the every day lives of people on the edge of society – the “unfamous” as she called them, as well as more notable personalities, societal challenges and moments of hope, Mark’s (1940–2015) work is as insightful as it is revealing. High and low, directness and masquerade, vibrant life and death are fundamental elements in the oeuvre of the American photographer who delved deeply into timely and timeless subjects through assignments and personal projects. Her approach was definitively humanistic, intimate, and thematic. Starting in fall 2023 C/O Berlin will show the first ever major retrospective of Mary Ellen Mark‘s work.