Gail LeBoff “Glacier Girls”
RALPH PUCCI (new york)
November 2025
RALPH PUCCI (new york) presents “Glacier Girls” by Gail LeBoff, a photography series
a decade in the making. The series features simple compositions of singular figure
skaters layered within stark, natural environments that belie the extraordinary conditions
LeBoff encounters in pursuit of her images.
Skuggamynd Girl
LeBoff’s early experiences as an aspiring competitive figure skater, along with a hearing
loss from birth, inform the quiet sense of isolation that runs through her work. She
describes “Glacier Girls” as deeply personal, shaped by her memories of childhood and
the lost dream of becoming a figure skater.
The idea for “Glacier Girls” evolved intuitively, by happenstance, when she saw a young
skater, at Rockefeller Skating Rink, fall and try to regain her balance. “I was captivated
by her struggle and the casting shadow of her body on the ice,” LeBoff explains. She
went on to shoot skaters anonymously while simultaneously photographing in the
extreme weather of the Icelandic terrain. “My work is not that dissimilar to the nature
photographer waiting for the animal for days, it takes a lot of patience. There are a lot of
people I see skating who aren’t right, and then I see a person whose movement or
hands are just right and it’s the same thing with the weather. I can’t force it, I can only
force myself to be there.”
LeBoff first traveled to Iceland in 2011 in search of landscapes to pair with the existing
images of New York figure skaters. With the help of local guides, she discovered glacier
lakes and ice sheets that were often accessible only by plane or long drives from
Reykjavík. She relied on webcams to monitor weather conditions and returned to the
same sites repeatedly, photographing them in changing light and atmosphere. Locals
became familiar with her persistence, as she often worked in extreme weather which
closed roads and required her to anchor her equipment against the wind.
Laki Lava Girl
Laki Lava Girl
For Laki Lava Girl, the figure skater was photographed in New York six years before
LeBoff’s visit to the Laki lava fields, considered one of the largest eruption sites in
history. When she reached the site, LeBoff waited six days for snowfall to transform the
volcanic terrain into the composition she envisioned.
Nordic Pink
Nordic Pink
To create Nordic Pink, LeBoff and her beau Einar drove to Skógafoss to photograph
the frozen waterfall, only to find the base and surrounding area flooded after heavy rain
and snow. An ice sheet had formed across the river, solid but inaccessible. The next
day, equipped with waders and ice cleats, they returned and crossed through the frigid
water. Once on the ice sheet, Einar helped lift her up to begin shooting. As snow began
to fall, she worked quickly to capture the scene while Einar photographed her in action.
LeBoff often works in rapidly changing conditions, drawn to the unpredictability and
drama of Iceland’s weather. She describes this tension as central to her practice: the
mood and mystery of the landscape compel her to work despite the challenges and
risks involved.
Gail LeBoff says, “I bring all of my history to my work, it’s a part of me. And I was
drawn to Iceland, suggested by artist friends who knew I was looking for more moody
environments, because it reminded me of my childhood, staring out of the windows
daydreaming as the weather changed. That’s really the theme of my work, the lost
dream of being a figure skater and how that loss has haunted me.”
Ralph Pucci says, “We’re honored to showcase Gail’s “Glacier Girls” at RALPH PUCCI.
Her work captures not only the majesty of nature but the emotional endurance behind
creation. There is a quiet power and grace in every image.”
RALPH PUCCI International
RALPH PUCCI (new york)
44 W. 18th St. New York, NY 10011
212-633-0452
Press Information:
For further press information, image, product or interview requests please contact:
Amy Dollamore, The Design Collective:
amy@thedesigncollective.co.uk;
+ 44 (0) 7855 527 217
Susanna Joicey-Cecil, The Design Collective:
susanna@thedesigncollective.co.uk;
+ 44 (0) 7919221124
Zoe Settle Schriebl, RALPH PUCCI International:
zoe@ralphpucci.com
ABOUT RALPH PUCCI
RALPH PUCCI International is known for its luxury furniture and lighting. Established as
a family business by Nick and Lee Pucci in 1954, the company began as a mannequin
repairs business, before Nick and Lee’s son Ralph encouraged his parents to begin
fabricating unique mannequins in collaboration with artists, which went on to achieve
great acclaim. The furniture chapter began in 1989 when French interior designer
Andrée Putman created a mannequin and then urged Pucci to represent her furniture in
the US. Today, RALPH PUCCI International is one of the most exciting galleries of the
world, exhibiting the work of boundary-pushing artists and designers and expanding
across America with galleries in New York, Los Angeles, a new Miami location which
opened in 2023, and London pop-up from September 2022-November 2023.
ABOUT Gail LeBoff
Gail LeBoff was born in Brooklyn, NY. She began her studies at The School of Visual
Arts and went on to receive her B.A. and M.A. in Photography from New York
University. She is the recipient of the prestigious Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation
Biennial Award. Her work has been exhibited extensively and is in many collections
such as the Harvard Museum, the Brooklyn Museum, New York Public Library, Coca
Cola Collection and the Museum of Fine Arts in Los Angeles.