A Conversation with Photographer Jesse Frohman

Some photographers capture moments. Jesse Frohman captures energy. Raw, electric, and unforgettable. From his early days working under the legendary Irving Penn to becoming one of the most sought-after photographers in fashion and music, Frohman has built a career on finding strength and vitality in everything he frames, whether it's a rock star mid-performance or a still life arrangement for Chanel.

His portfolio reads like a who's who of cultural icons: James Brown, Daniel Day-Lewis, Marc Jacobs, The Strokes, Winona Ryder, and countless others have stepped in front of his lens. His work has graced the pages of Vanity Fair, Interview, Rolling Stone, Vogue, and Harper's Bazaar, while his commercial clients include Calvin Klein, Clinique, and Chanel. But perhaps his most haunting and celebrated work is his final portrait session with Kurt Cobain, just months before the musician's death. Images that have been exhibited at Morrison Hotel Gallery in New York and have become iconic documents of rock history.

Frohman's photographs are part of the permanent collection at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, a testament to his artistic impact. Now, he's exploring new territory with "NIGHT," an exhibition of landscapes shot on the east end of Long Island, where artificial light transforms familiar scenes into something mysterious and otherworldly. The quiet that night brings and the different perspective it offers have drawn him into this new body of work, which made its debut at MSK Eastside Gallery in Moscow.

I had the opportunity to speak with Frohman about his influences, his most memorable shoots, and what draws him to photograph in the darkness.

Your work spans fashion, portraiture, and now landscape photography. What are your greatest inspirations or influences?

My inspirations come from all different sources—from newspaper clippings of sports pictures to paintings to police photographs of murder victims. And rarely is a picture of mine a duplicate of the picture that inspired it. It might just be the light that I liked of a raw flash of a murder victim that I duplicated in a fashion accessories story. I've always loved the portraits by Avedon and Penn but have been equally influenced by the likes of William Eggleston—the best color photographer I've ever seen—and Gary Winogrand for his wonderful energy he created within the frame.

You've photographed some of the most iconic figures in music and culture. What has been your most memorable shoot so far?

That's a tough one. I would have to say James Brown. He had a personality that is larger than his reputation, and the one shoot turned into 2 shoots which turned into a hilarious experience. Just with him getting out of his car on a blistering hot summer day in the middle of nowhere in the deep south with perfectly coiffed hair that looks as if it would break if touched from so much hairspray that he used on it and wearing a polyester bolero suit with 4-inch heels was worth everything.

What's the most interesting response you've received to your work?

A woman wanted to date me because she liked a rock n roll photograph I took of Kurt Cobain. She had never even met me—just wrote a letter. It was a bit bizarre, and the closest I will probably ever come to feeling like a rock star myself.

Your new exhibition "NIGHT" marks a departure into landscape photography. What drew you to this subject matter, particularly photographing at night?

I was attracted to the quiet the night brings and the different perspective of landscapes photographed in the dark, lit up by artificial lighting. There's something about how artificial light transforms the familiar—it reveals things you don't see during the day and creates an atmosphere that feels both intimate and slightly unsettling.

You're exhibiting at MSK Eastside Gallery in Moscow for the first time. How do you see this exhibition and your first visit to Moscow?

I'm of course very excited to visit Moscow for the first time. And I am honored to have a show at MSK and to check out the Moscow art scene.

Interview by Leila Antakly

Jesse Frohman's ability to find beauty and energy in unexpected places, whether it's the raw flash of crime scene photography influencing a fashion spread, or the artificial glow transforming Long Island's nighttime landscapes, sets him apart as a photographer who refuses to be confined by genre or convention. His lens doesn't just document; it transforms, revealing the electricity beneath the surface of every subject he captures. From James Brown's larger-than-life presence to the quiet mysteriousness of darkness, Frohman continues to push boundaries and explore new visual territories, proving that great photography is as much about perspective as it is about subject matter.

And with curators like ZAK and Ja'bagh Kaghado championing his lesser-known work while nurturing emerging talent, this Moscow exhibition represents more than just another gallery show, it's a meeting of artistic visions across continents, a celebration of the unconventional, and proof that the best art happens when risk-takers recognize each other.

About the Curators: ZAK and Ja'bagh Kaghado

To understand the significance of Frohman's Moscow debut, I spoke with the gallery's founders, ZAK and Ja'bagh Kaghado, about their vision for MSK Eastside Gallery and what drew them to the "NIGHT" series.

What does it mean for you to be curating and hosting this photographer at MSK?

It's always a great pleasure to work with different artists who have different experiences, styles, approach and charisma. We wanted to focus on works that have never been seen before. Jesse is not the conventional landscape or nature photographer. Jesse's NIGHT series have a twisted take on landscapes at night lit specifically and shot in a stylish, maybe even fashionable way. We have known each other since '99 and we are well aware of his work, and as much as his portraiture photography is great, we wanted to stay away from those celebrity images that other galleries focus on. So we got the best of both worlds, a great photographer with a twisted take on Nature.

What is the vision of MSK?

The vision is going back to the original thought of what a gallery/artist should be—artist development and exposure. So our main focus is to find and discover new Russian and North Caucasian artists where we invest our time and money to give them the breakthrough in the art world. It's a platform to launch and promote unknown artists. So at the end of the day it is a lot of risk. We also balance the above idea with such artists as Jesse who are already well known and exposed.

Can we know who else you plan to invite?

We will keep you posted Leila but we have a list from hell...

Anything else you'd like to share?

As artists ourselves, it has been a great experience to curate other artists' work and to assist, help and promote local talents that have not been given the opportunity. MSK Eastside Gallery is a new generation of gallery.