Philip Montgomery: American Cycles
The Mexican-American photographer Philip Montgomery is known for his documentary practice exploring contemporary American society—its tensions, contradictions, and forms of collective belonging—through powerful black-and-white imagery. Working in contexts marked by crisis and transformation, Montgomery photographs moments in which history is unfolding in real time. From Minneapolis in the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder to Miami during Hurricane Irma, his images are defined by a charged dialogue between the dramatic timelessness of his visual language and the immediacy of the events he documents.
With American Cycles, PHOXXI – the Temporary House of Photography at the Deichtorhallen Hamburg – presents Montgomery’s first major institutional solo exhibition. Featuring more than 100 photographs produced between 2014 and the present, the exhibition maps a decade of profound political, social, and environmental upheaval in the United States. The works span the rise of populist rhetoric during Donald Trump’s first presidential campaign, the emergence of the Black Lives Matter movement, climate-related natural disasters, and recurring economic crises that have reshaped communities across the country.
The exhibition also includes portraits of political and cultural figures, alongside Montgomery’s investigations into power structures, political networks, and newly forming social movements. Together, these bodies of work offer a layered and complex portrait of a nation in constant motion, caught in recurring cycles of conflict, resistance, and solidarity.
Curated by Nadine Isabelle Henrich, Curator of the House of Photography.
About the Author
Philip Montgomery (b.1988) is a Mexican-American photographer based in New York City. He is a regular contributor to The New York Times Magazine, Vanity Fair, and The New Yorker. In 2018, he received the National Magazine Award for Feature Photography for his work on the opioid epidemic. His photographs have also been recognized by World Press Photo, Pictures of the Year International, American Photography, and the National Press Photographers Association.
Montgomery’s work has been exhibited internationally, including at FOAM in Amsterdam, the International Center of Photography in New York, the Saatchi Gallery in London, the Aperture Gallery in New York, Les Rencontres d’Arles in France, and Galerie du Jour – Agnès b. in Paris. His photographs are held in major public and private collections, including the Sir Elton John and David Furnish Collection and the Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation.
In 2021, his monograph American Mirror was published by Aperture. For Montgomery, documentary photography is never synonymous with neutrality or emotional distance. His work confronts reality directly, transforming unposed moments through a distinctive aesthetic marked by the use of flash, dynamic composition, and a heightened sense of psychological tension. His images reveal fragile, unsettling, and often surreal connections at the heart of American life.
Philip Montgomery: American Cycles
through 10 May 2026
PHOXXI – Deichtorhallen Hamburg – Germany
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