Leica Gallery Los Angeles Presents Leica Emerging
A New Generation of Photographers Shaping the Future of the Medium
TEANECK, N.J., May 26, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- In celebration of 50 years of Leica Galleries worldwide, Leica Gallery Los Angeles presents Leica Emerging, a group exhibition bringing together nine photographers under the age of 30 whose work reflects the evolving future of contemporary image-making. Featuring Miles Bitton, Paris Brosnan, Valentin Goppel, Gulliver Oldman, Glen March, Rosie Matheson, Sara Messinger, Adali Schell, and AJ Singh, the exhibition explores how a new generation of artists is redefining photography through documentary, portraiture, fashion, and cinematic storytelling.
Opening as part of Leica Gallery Los Angeles' 2026 exhibition program, Leica Emerging reflects Leica's continued commitment to supporting emerging artists whose work expands the language of photography while remaining rooted in intimacy, instinct, and emotional honesty. The exhibition arrives during Leica's global celebration marking fifty years of Leica Galleries, honoring photography as both cultural record and artistic expression.
Ranging in age from 21 to 27, the artists featured in Leica Emerging represent a generation shaped by digital immediacy, evolving ideas around identity and authorship, and an urge to create images that feel personal, vulnerable, and emotionally direct. Across portraiture, documentary, and observational photography, the exhibition reflects a generation using photography not simply to document the world around them, but to explore intimacy, memory, isolation, youth culture, and human connection.
Among the featured artists is Valentin Goppel, recipient of the Leica Oskar Barnack Newcomer Award in 2022, whose work explores themes of vulnerability, solitude, and contemporary youth culture. Los Angeles-based photographer Adali Schell examines identity and memory through images shaped by his upbringing in Southern California and family roots in rural Ohio. His work has been exhibited internationally and published in The New Yorker, The Guardian, and The New York Times. New York photographer Sara Messinger brings a documentary-driven approach informed by studies in history, memory, and visual culture, with recognition from the Magnum Foundation's Inge Morath Award and the Lucie Foundation.
Miles Bitton, raised in California's San Fernando Valley, began photographing professionally as a teenager after assisting his father, photographer Mathieu Bitton, from the age of twelve. His work has appeared in The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, Vogue Italia, and Forbes, while his broader creative practice spans filmmaking, directing, and music video production.
Los Angeles-based artist Paris Brosnan brings a cinematic sensibility to portraiture and observational photography, shaped by a lifelong connection to film, visual culture, and storytelling.
Rosie Matheson's work revisits themes of masculinity, tenderness, and identity through emotionally charged portraiture created on 35mm film using a Leica M6. Her photographs resist fixed narratives, instead focusing on vulnerability, rebellion, and the emotional complexity beneath contemporary ideas of masculinity.
For photographer Gulliver Oldman, portraiture and behind-the-scenes photography become a form of visual storytelling rooted in collaboration, emotion, and personality. Drawing from years of work across editorial, music, and creative communities, his images reflect an instinctive and cinematic approach to portraiture.
"Photography continues to evolve through younger artists willing to challenge conventions and create new visual languages," said Paris Chong, Gallery Director of Leica Gallery Los Angeles. "This exhibition brings together artists whose work reflects where photography is headed next: personal, emotionally driven, culturally aware, and deeply connected to the world around them."
As Leica celebrates five decades of Leica Galleries around the world, Leica Emerging highlights artists whose perspectives are helping shape the next chapter of contemporary photography.
Exhibition Details
Leica Emerging
Featuring Miles Bitton, Paris Brosnan, Valentin Goppel, Gulliver Oldman, Glen March, Rosie Matheson, Sara Messinger, Adali Schell, and AJ Singh
Opening Reception
Thursday, June 4, 2026
6:00 PM to 8:00 PM
On View
June 4 to August 31, 2026
Leica Gallery Los Angeles
8783 Beverly Blvd.
West Hollywood, CA 90048
About Leica Camera
Leica Camera AG is an international, premium manufacturer of cameras, lenses, and sports optics. As part of its growth strategy, the company has expanded its portfolio to include mobile imaging (smartphones) and the manufacture of high-quality lenses for glasses and watches, and is also represented in the home theater segment with its own projectors.
Leica Camera AG, with its headquarters in Wetzlar, Germany, and a second production site in Vila Nova de Famalicão, Portugal, operates a global network of its own distribution companies with around 120 Leica Stores worldwide.
The Leica brand stands for excellence in quality, German craftsmanship, and industrial design, combined with innovative technologies. An integral aspect of the brand culture is the promotion of the culture of photography, with around 30 Leica Galleries worldwide, the Leica Akademie, and international awards such as the Leica Hall of Fame Award and the Leica Oskar Barnack Award (LOBA).
50 Years of Leica Galleries
For 50 years, Leica Galleries across the globe have existed as more than mere exhibition spaces. They are places for imagination, dialogue, and connection. Since the first Leica Gallery opened in Wetzlar in 1976, a global network of Leica Galleries has grown across continents. These galleries are united by the belief that images have the power to move people and change perspectives. The Leica Galleries celebrate the art of seeing and the power of photography. They have been bringing cultures, generations, and stories together, spanning borders, for half a century, reinforcing the idea that true photography is timeless and that seeing is still a universal language.
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