Josh Aronson: Florida Boys

“What Aronson delivers is a poetic and romantic vision of an America that could be.”

– Global Visuals Director of Vogue Europe, Jamie Spence

Baker—Hall is delighted to present Florida Boys, Josh Aronson’s second exhibition with the gallery. On view from October 18 through November 22, 2025, the exhibition debuts new photographs from the artist’s ongoing exploration of contemporary boyhood, masculinity, and the Southern landscape. Known for his atmospheric, colorful imagery, Aronson stages and photographs scenes that reference and respond to the ideals of American coming-of-age through a distinctly personal lens.

For the past five years, Aronson has embarked on road trips across rural Florida with groups of young men, using photography as a vehicle for world-building. His intimate images draw from the visual language of classic coming-of-age narratives, reframing them to include perspectives on masculinity and the immigrant experience that shaped his own life. Rather than seeking to reimagine Americana boyhood, Aronson creates a parallel version rooted in camaraderie, vulnerability, and connection to the land that offers space for new ideas to emerge.

The images in Florida Boys depict moments both tender and strange: bodies suspended in water, showdowns in swamps, and vast, sunlit horizons. These images are imbued with a sense of longing for brotherhood, for home, and for the myths and freedoms promised by the open road. As a first-generation American, Aronson approaches the landscape not as a given but as an inherited terrain to be revered, listened to, and feared.

In addition, Aronson will present an installation that will extend the world of his photographs into the space surrounding the gallery. This immersive element will invite viewers into a shared act of looking and imagining. The installation will echo the artist’s interest in creating spaces of gathering, both within his images and beyond them, such as in his recent public program Photo Book Speed Date at Pérez Art Museum Miami.

About Aronson’s photographs, Global Visuals Director of Vogue Europe Jamie Spence writes: “In an age that is constantly questioning what it is to be a man and the place of masculinity in society, Aronson has cleverly challenged the spaces and ideals of the traditional American Male coming-of-age story by photographing subjects who themselves feel othered by societal ideals. What Aronson delivers is a poetic and romantic vision of an America that could be.”

Director of Australia’s world-leading photography festival, Head On Photo, Moshe Rosenzveig writes: “By reimagining rural Southern spaces through the perspectives of young men who have been historically excluded, the work opens a vital dialogue about identity, belonging, and the power of visual storytelling to reshape cultural myths.” 

“There’s something nostalgic about Josh Aronson’s series, an air of eternal youth,” writes Maysa Moroni, Photo Editor of Internazionale, the Italian magazine. “The imagery evokes coming-of-age stories, but it’s the subtle twist in the narrative that captivates me: these groups of young men, beautifully photographed against the landscapes of Florida like tableaux vivants, don’t feel like the usual gangs of young males. Instead, in the way they interact—in the detail of a hug—there’s a tenderness and a sense of a different masculinity unfolding, one that I believe we all need.”