As part of Memorial del 68, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico presents Invasion 68 Prague, an exhibition of Josef Koudelka‘s remarkable work made during that one historic week in August 1968. In the midst of the turmoil of the Soviet-led invasion, which ended the short-lived political freedom in Czechoslovakia that came to be known as the Prague Spring, Koudelka took to the streets to document this critical moment. His powerful photographs reached Magnum Photos in New York and earned the still-anonymous photographer the Robert Capa Award. This successful exhibition, coproduced by Aperture and Magnum Photos, has traveled to New York and Washington, D.C., before arriving in Mexico. Many of the images featured in large-scale prints and grids have never been seen before; compelling texts by Czech historians complete the exhibition. All images and texts are taken from Koudelka’s stunning Aperture monograph of the same name, which includes 250 photographs chosen by the artist from his archive.

Exhibition on view:
Wednesday, April 1, 2009 –Friday, July 31, 2009

Invasion 68 Prague
Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico,
Centro Cultural Universitario Tlatelolco, Memorial del 68
Ricardo Flores Magon No.1
Col. Nonoalco Tlatelolco
Mexico City, Mexico
(+52) 55 83 09 60

Click here to buy your copy of Josef Koudelka’s monograph Invasion 68: Prague through Aperture.

Just announced! Photo-eye Magazine’s list of Best Photo Books 2008. Congratulations to all who are recognized, most notably Josef Koudelka’s Invasion 68: Prague, which made the Top 12 list.

Publisher of the Aperture Book Program, Lesley A. Martin’s list can be viewed here. Darius Himes, Publisher and Co-founder of Radius Books chose Martin Parr’s eclectic work, Parrworld as one of his favorites of the year. Michelle Dunn Marsh, Senior  Art+Design Editor, Chronicle Books nominated two Aperture titles, Hank Willis Thomas: Pitch Blackness* and Misty Dawn: Portrait of a Muse* by Jock Sturges both are available signed from Aperture. Aperture works recognized by PDN include Paul Fusco: RFK* and Travelers*by Walter Martin and Paloma Muñoz. Also nominated was Jonas Bendiksen’s powerful work documenting urban slum dwellings in The Places We Live*.

Be sure to check out Aperture’s bookstore to purchase these incredible titles. Order your copy of Invasion 68: Prague here today!

*Signed copies available through Aperture.

Don’t miss your chance to see Invasion 68 Prague: Josef Koudelka on view at the Katzen Arts Center, American University Museum through December 28, 2008. This exhibition marks the occasion of the fortieth anniversary of the Soviet-led invasion of Prague and is presented by Aperture and Magnum.

These remarkable works made during that one historic week were smuggled into the United States, and are what earned Koudelka a prestigious Robert Capa Award, which he accepted anonymously.

According to The Washington Post:

“In his Prague pictures, he [Koudelka] mined the visual language of the Renaissance and romanticism to reframe that week-long struggle into a battle worthy of the ages. At the Katzen, several key images stretch five feet high, their scale amplifying their majesty.”

Admired for their almost biblical formal qualities, these emotionally charged black and white photographs showcase an incredibly tumultuous moment in history.

Invasion 68 Prague: Josef Koudelka

Exhibition on View:
Thursday, November 13, 2008 –Sunday, December 28, 2008

American University Museum
Katzen Arts Center
4400 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
(202) 855-1300

FREE

View and buy the Aperture book here for 30% off.

Don’t miss your chance to bid on highly collectible signed books and limited-edition photographs from some of the greatest photographers of our time. Featuring 2 SIGNED first-edition books by Josef Koudelka and a unique collection of Jock Sturges’s mongraphs, these items are only being offered for sale on eBay. Also available are beautiful photogravures from Paul Strand and W. Eugene Smith, two masters of the classic image.

Click here and click on Auction Only to start bidding now.

In addition to the numerous artists who are being honored at the 6th Annual Lucie Awards (see those who have worked with Aperture here), Lucies are also awarded to those in the creative community who are an integral part of crafting an image. Aperture Foundation has been nominated in two categories:

BOOK PUBLISHER OF THE YEAR for
Richard Misrach On the Beach

PHOTOGRAPHY CURATOR/EXHIBITION OF THE YEAR for
Melissa Harris, Invasions 68: Prague, Aperture Gallery, NYC

See all categories and finalists here.

Winners will be announced on October 20, 2008.

Aperture’s Executive Director Juan Garcia de Oteyza and Josef Koudelka

All images © Elliot Black

The fall art season kicked off with a resounding bang last night. Crowds poured into Chelsea, the heart of New York’s art district, and the excitement of multiple exhibitions opening all at once electrified the neighborhood. Almost 1,300 people came to see Invasion 68 Prague, featuring the work of legendary photographer Josef Koudelka. This pivotal group of images is presented on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the Soviet-led invasion of Prague and runs through October 30.

Read the review by Bill Meyers in the New York Sun here.

Posters of Josef Koudelka’s photos from 1968 appeared on West 27th Street last night, announcing the opening of two exhibitions titled Invasion 68 Prague. The opening receptions for both exhibitions are free and open to the public.

Aperture Gallery
Co-produced with Magnum Photos
Opening Reception: September 4, 6:00–8:00 p.m.
Exhibition on View: September 5–October 30
547 West 27th Street, 4th Floor

Pace/MacGill Gallery
Opening Reception: September 4, 4:00–6:00 p.m.
Exhibition on View: September 4–October 11
32 East 57th Street, 9th Floor

View the related book here.

New Aperture magazine with Josef Koudelka, Duane Michals, Joel Sternfeld, and more!

On sale at newsstands now or click here to subscribe.

The fall issue of Aperture (issue 192) features:

Claudia Angelmaier: Reproduction Art
A reflection on the age of mechanical reproduction in the work of art by Brian Dillon.

Invasion 68: Prague by Josef Koudelka
An in-depth interview with Koudelka about his documentation of the Soviet-led invasion of Prague.

Walead Beshty: Piece By Piece
Jan Tumlir examines Beshty’s protean engagement with photography.

Leaving Kansas: A Look At Second Life
Fred Ritchin gives a tour of the Internet’s alternative to reality, Second Life, through the photographs of Michael Schmelling.

Framing the Presidency: The Evolution of the Campaign Image
Robert Hariman discusses how candidates have been depicted photographically over the past century.

Re-Viewing Rear Window
David Campany considers the role of photography in Hitchcock’s classic film.

Duane Michals: Chromophilia
Robert Kushner comments on a portfolio of Michals’s most recent work in color.

Hanatsubaki: Perfection is Lifeless
The long life of an adventurous Japanese magazine, by Jason Evans.

Joel Sternfeld: Oxbow Archive
Gretel Ehrlich looks at Sternfeld’s latest project in a meditation on seasonality in the age of climate change.

And be sure to catch the Invasion 68 Prague exhibition, photographs by Josef Koudelka, at Aperture Gallery in New York City September 4 – October 30, 2008.

Today marks the fortieth anniversary that the Soviet Union and its Warsaw Pact allies invaded Czechoslovakia, writer Kate Taylor reports in Everything Unbelievable Was Possible in The New York Sun on the forthcoming exhibition of photographs made by Josef Koudelka during this one historic week titled, Invasion 68 Prague.

In 1968, Koudelka was a young photographer chronicling the theater, and the lives of gypsies, but he had never photographed a news event. That all changed on the night of August 21, when Warsaw Pact tanks invaded the city of Prague, ending the short-lived political freedom in Czechoslovakia that came to be known as the Prague Spring. In the midst of the turmoil of the Soviet-led invasion, Koudelka took to the streets to document this critical moment. These powerful photographs anonymously reached Magnum Photos in New York and earned the Robert Capa award.

Don’t miss the opening reception on Thursday, September 4th, 6:00-8:00 p.m. with the artist!

You can already feel Autumn on the way in New York and Aperture’s Fall season of books is in full swing. Now available for sale are the titles listed here, Erwin Olaf, Paul Fusco: RFK, The Places We Live, photographs by Jonas Bendiksen, Parrworld: Objects and Postcards, by Martin Parr, and Invasion 68: Prague, photographs by Josef Koudelka coinciding with the exhbiition soon to be on view at Aperture Gallery and Pace MacGill Gallery. To see upcoming titles view our Fall Preview.