Trevor Paglen's Two Decades of Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Photography on Display at Pace Gallery

New York, NY – Artist Trevor Paglen's new exhibition, "Cardinals," opened on June 26, 2025, at Pace Gallery in New York, showcasing two decades of his photographic documentation of unexplained aerial phenomena. The exhibition, running until August 15, delves into the increasingly blurred lines between reality and manipulation, a central theme in Paglen's extensive body of work.

The collection features a series of photographs and Polaroids capturing Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs) against the expansive landscapes of the American West. These entirely unaltered images, some taken near U.S. military testing grounds in California and Utah, invite viewers to question the nature of perception and truth in a world rife with disinformation. As noted by art enthusiast Aleksandra Art on social media, the exhibition explores "how we can no longer tell reality from manipulation."

Paglen, known for bridging investigative journalism with fine art, uses the UFO as a potent metaphor. He explains, "UFOs live in the latent space between the material, the sensible, and the perceptual. They inhabit the crossroads of fear, desire, logic, and hope." His photographic process, which began in 2002, employs a range of analog and digital cameras, including large-format film, reinforcing the tactile and historical quality of the images.

The exhibition aligns with Paglen's broader artistic practice, which consistently probes invisible forces like surveillance, militarism, and the impact of artificial intelligence. His previous work has included documenting "unids," or unidentified objects in Earth's orbit, tracked by the U.S. military. Concurrently, Paglen's work is also featured in the group exhibition "The World Through AI" at the Jeu de Paume in Paris, further highlighting his ongoing engagement with technology's influence on visual culture. "Cardinals" challenges its audience to confront the architectures of belief that shape both our skyward gaze and our collective imagination.