Tony Gleaton, Tres Hermanas (Three Sisters) from the series Tengo Casi 500 Anos: Africa’s Legacy in Central America, 1986, Silver gelatin print.
TONY GLEATON: AFRICA'S LEGACY IN LATIN AMERICA
CURATED BY ROBERT OSBOURNE and KENNETH MONTAGUE
May 6-21, 2001
Featured in CONTACT 2001 Toronto’s annual Photography festival
“In an unusual photographic series focusing on the African diaspora in Latin America, Tony Gleaton pays homage to a rich culture that is all but invisible. These superb images of people of African descent living in Latin America are filled with a quiet beauty and eloquence. A roving photographer of hidden cultures, Tony Gleaton has worked continuously on his photographs of these present day descendants of the Spanish slave trade as well as on a vibrant series exploring the myth of the American Cowboy.
In 1981 Gleaton left his job as a fashion photographer in New York City to begin his photographic sojourn. He hitchhiked through the Southwest doing odd jobs and photographing cowboys. In 1986, he began photographing people of African descent in Mexico, Central and South America. Living a free, rough and tumble existence in small Latin American villages, the artist’s proximity and inherent sensitivity to the culture allowed him to capture the essence of his subjects.”
– By Kathy Zimmerer