Photography exhibition “Portraits: Faces and Waves” on display at Annenberg Community Beach House Gallery

September 29, 2026 5:12 PM
by Naomi Okuyama

Stop by the Annenberg Community Beach House for a new exhibition of work by local photographers Sam Comen and Anthony Friedkin. “Portraits: Faces and Waves” is on display at the Annenberg Community Beach House Gallery from Oct. 3, 2026 through March 27, 2027. A free public artists’ reception will be held Saturday, Oct. 3, from 4 to 6 p.m.

Sam Comen and Anthony Friedkin are joined by their deep investment in portraiture as an art form. Both artists are long-time residents of Los Angeles with long time connections to Santa Monica and its environs. This exhibition is an opportunity to view deeply local and unique perspectives on contemporary portraiture.

Sam Comen’s socially engaged photography fosters connection through vivid imagery and engagement with lived experience of local communities, immigrants, workers and social justice advocates. Comen documents the lives of ordinary people, presenting everyday Americans as icons.

“Portraits: Faces and Waves” presents a selection of works produced in July 2026 at the Santa Monica Pier, where Comen conducted brief sittings with 274 Pier visitors. In a simple white popup outdoor studio, Comen photographed each subject in Santa Monica’s renowned summertime light, capturing a cross-section of people drawn to this iconic landmark. As he was photographing, Comen invited his models to share with him what brought them to the Pier that day and how they see America at this moment.

These conversations and resulting portraits offer a glimpse into American life at the nation’s 250th anniversary – represented by the chance meeting of people at the edge of the continent over three summer days in July 2026. Comen collaborated with the Santa Monica Pier Corporation to produce this work, which was supported by a grant from the Art of Recovery program, an initiative of the city of Santa Monica's Recreation and Arts Department.

Anthony Friedkin is a Santa Monica native and current resident. He has been documenting the cultural and social landscape of America with his in-depth photo essays for more than 45 years.

In this exhibition, he explores the creative and challenging possibilities of photographing waves, which he likens to “liquid sculptures moving through space and time.” For Friedkin, each wave, like a face or a fingerprint, is unique. When a wave breaks, it represents a precise moment when the atmosphere, the ocean floor and the sea meet – a true confluence of physical wonder.

Many of the photographs presented in this exhibition were taken near the Annenberg Community Beach House and further north at State Beach. Friedkin has spent decades photographing in this region with his underwater camera and develops the film in his own darkroom.
In 2019 - 2020, Friedkin received an Artists Fellowship Grant from the city of Santa Monica’s Recreation and Arts Department that enabled him to produce the photographs in this exhibition.

The Annenberg Community Beach House Gallery is located at 415 Pacific Coast Highway in Santa Monica. It is free and open to the public every day, excepting special events. Please check the website for hours and updates.

About Sam Comen
Sam Comen’s work has been twice exhibited at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery; is held in the permanent collections of the Library of Congress and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art; has been commissioned by brands and foundations internationally; and has been published by many outlets including Rolling Stone, Esquire, Wired, People and The New York Times.

About Anthony Friedkin
Anthony Friedkin’s work has been recognized internationally. His photographs are in the permanent collections of the J. Paul Getty Museum, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and have been published in Japan, Russia, Europe and many fine art magazines throughout the U.S. He received a National Endowment for the Arts grant in 1977 and was given a special commendation by Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley for his contribution to Fine Art Photography in 1980. He has taught photography at both UCLA and California Institute of the Arts.

Authored By

Naomi Okuyama
Cultural Affairs Supervisor

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