Photographer Adam Golfer visited his worst family fears in this exhibition

Photographer Adam Golfer resembles a combination of director and visual auteur, Wes Anderson, and an eager, smiling “Where’s Waldo?” He’s equally humble, yet bursts with energy when asked about his project, “Kin,” now on display at the 92nd Street Y. “I’m going back to shoot more,” he tells me of this body of work that examines the lives and environments of twenty-something Germans, the third generation descendants of Nazi Germany, just as Golfer himself is a third generation descendant of Holocaust survivors, his grandparents.

Golfer, who often shoots for W and Art + Auction, took on this personal project to bridge the gap between generations after genocide. He explained that these German kids shared a lot of the same interests and outlooks. “They became my friends,” he tells me.

The photos draw you in like a teen dream fantasy-scape, often lush, yet civilized — a welcoming beauty that hides the past. Says Golfer, “Kin is my journey back to a country that scarred my family. I am reaching out to people of my own generation in an attempt to grasp their situation and the manner in which they relate to their past and future. The project is an inquiry into the potential of future generations from opposite sides of a conflict to come together rather than be held apart by the weight of history.”

Amen.

Exhibition on view through March 11th at the 92nd Street Y, 1395 Lexington Ave. Call ahead for viewing hours, 212-415-5597.