Catherine Opie, whether picturing her friends in the grand manner of Hans Holbein or revealing the poetry of surfers and quarterbacks, LA- based photographer Catherine Opie approaches the iconic in pursuit of equality. Harmony is fraught, a selection of more than sixty never-before-seen photographs, including many from her days as an artist in 1990s queer LA, opens January 11 at Regen Projects in Los Angeles, followed by a solo exhibition at Brazil’s MASP this July.

How do you relate to the phrase, ‘every cloud has a silver lining’?

I’ve spent a lot of time looking at clouds and I’m fairly fascinated by them. I’d say the silver lining aspect is about optimism, in my mind. For me, it’s a visual moment in which the sun outlines a cloud and it bursts with energy through the sky.