We recently visited the Museum of Modern Art secretly hoping to find Tilda Swinton sleeping in her glass case — unfortunately we were most unsuccessful. Instead, we decided to check out Bill Brandt: Shadow & Light that opened last month. Regarded by many to be one of the most significant British photographers of the 20th century, Brandt was born in Germany in 1904. After a brief stint in Vienna, he spent five years in Paris, from 1929 to 1934, before moving to London permanently. During his time in Paris he briefly assisted in Man Ray’s studio which proved to have a lasting influence on his work, most obvious in his nudes from the 1950s and his photographs of eyes from the 1960s. We found the nudes among the most compelling in this exhibition, quite abstract and some even quite surrealist. His series of eyes of notable artists including Alberto Giacometti and Louise Nevelson, photographed extremely close up, are also among the most powerful in this really great show. Bill Brandt: Shadow & Light is on view until August 12.

http://www.moma.org/visit/calendar/exhibitions/1343