Brian Finke

Untitled (Cheerleading #81)

2002

Photographer Brian Finke's work is a visual culture commentary that focuses on authenticity and the absurdity of everyday life as well as the range of human behavior. A stylized documentarian and trained photojournalist, Finke’s honesty and intimacy in capturing subjects strikes at the core of contemporary life, with a uniquely American point of context and graphic sensibility.

Often by way of boundary-pushing subject matter, Finke challenges viewers to confront what is often right in front of them, with an almost surreal understanding of immediacy, time and place. From street photography to commercial portraiture to fashion editorials, his immersion in culture-at-large creates imagery deeply tied to the political and emotional undertones of the modern world.

A graduate of the School of Visual Arts in New York City, Finke received a BFA in photography. He is the author of several books, and his first monograph, 2-4-6-8: American Cheerleaders and Football Players (Umbrage Editions, 2003), was named one of the best photography books by American Photo magazine.

Earlier in his career, Finke was one of 12 artists nominated for the International Center for Photography’s annual Infinity Award, and he won a prestigious New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship. His work is in nine museum collections in the U.S. and abroad, and he regularly shoots for editorial clients like National Geographic, the New Yorker, and the New York Times as well as commercial clients, including Delta Airlines, Uber Eats and Budweiser.

In addition to photographing his long-term personal projects, Finke is a guest teacher in photography at the International Center for Photography in Manhattan, the New School, Red Hook Labs in Brooklyn and FotoFilmic in Vancouver. A native Texan, he lives in Brooklyn and is passionate about travel, tattoos, barbecue and biking.

Find Brian Finke's color photography, landscape photography and more on 1stDibs.

(Biography provided by Brian Finke Studio)