Greenpoint’s Paloma Coffee & Bakery (772 Manhattan Ave.), a local coffee shop with craft coffee, espresso, and homemade bakery items, is displaying photography from a local artist.
The photography exhibition called Images of North Brooklyn (2010-2023) is the work of Will Star, a North Brooklyn-based photographer who has lived in the neighborhood since 2010. The exhibit started this past Sunday with a grand opening reception, and Star’s work will remain up in the shop for sale until November 1.
The exhibition includes photos of the Greenpoint and Williamsburg neighborhoods that Star has captured over the past 13 years. Star showed one image of a pigeon on Instagram, writing, “This image is in the show along with more I’ve captured over the years I’ve lived around these parts. It’s kind of perfect since Paloma means pigeon (or dove) in Spanish,” referencing the exhibit’s location.
Star told Greenpointers that he was first introduced to Paloma in 2021 when the small chain’s first location opened. “They had the best coffee and pastries in the neighborhood by far, so I became a regular,” said Star.
Star said that he had taken portraits of staff members at Paloma, and when he returned with a few prints to give to the subjects, Paloma’s owner, Reuben Villagomez, asked if he wanted to display and sell photographs at the Greenpoint location.
For the exhibit at Paloma, Star chose a selection of images that he believed “fit well together in the space,” explaining that he enjoys shooting portraits the most, but “didn’t see the average coffee shop patron wanting to hang a picture of a random person they don’t know on their wall,” so he selected scenic images from the area that he thought locals would enjoy having in their homes.
“I don’t consider it a finished, definitive collection, more so a body of work that continues to grow and evolve,” Star mused, adding that he considered doing a strictly Greenpoint-based show, but didn’t feel the need to limit himself.
Star told Greenpointers that he thought Paloma would be a good fit for his photography because he enjoys the shop’s coffee and food so much. He also said the coffee shop is “nice and bright,” and “located near where a lot of photos were taken,” making it a great fit for the exhibit.
All of the images in the exhibit are archival inkjet prints made from film scans or digital files, and a selection of handmade 5×7 matted black and white darkroom prints are available for purchase at Paloma’s register, Star told Greenpointers.