For almost ten years, Brooklyn-based artist Guarionex Rodriguez, Jr's has been photographing strangers on the dancefloor. He describes these moments, captured on his digicam, as intergalactic synergy. “It’s a perfect alignment of the time of year, the feelings people are having in the moment, and when the stars align,” he says. For his latest exhibition, made during his artist-in-residence at Ace Brooklyn, Planets in Transit, he blew up one of his crowd photos into a big, luminous cube. “I want to make the dancefloor feel like it’s glowing,” he says. And, even without the cube, his pictures do just that – in Rodriguez’s eyes, the dancefloor is a celestial, spiritual and transformative refuge. 

Before speaking to Rodriguez, Jr about his latest works, funnily enough, we had bumped into each other on the dancefloor a couple of times. Usually, you’ll find him people watching, and there’s almost nothing that will deter him from getting outside and interacting with strangers. In fact, some of the photos from his latest exhibition were taken during outdoor festivals in Brooklyn on a rainy day. “Regardless of the rain, people still needed that dancefloor, so they went and danced,” he says. “Everything was wet, but no one left.” 

With all the recent discourse on the dancefloor being dead, we spoke to Rodriguez, Jr about capturing a new era of New York nightlife and the people and communities who are keeping it alive.

How did your career start as an artist?

Guarionex Rodriguez Jr: I accepted my artistry, maybe in the last five years, after tapping into DJing, writing, and presenting more sculptural works. Before that, I was like: ‘There’s no way I’m an artist, I’m a photographer’. I’ve been photographing since I was a teenager. I was always documenting. I did study photography as an art form in my undergrad, but, even though I considered my photos as art, I always thought that I would be more of a commercial photographer than an artist. Now it’s switched around.

Where did the idea for this series come from? 

Guarionex Rodriguez Jr: Just photographing the dancefloor. I collaborated with Mohamed Suliman on a nightlife zine called Between, which helped me document more of what’s going on in nightlife in general. We ended it after the pandemic, and I started to think deeply about nightlife. I feel like this happened to a lot of people who were previously heavily participating in nightlife. I started to really hone in on the images to make them more purposeful and created this body of work. 

How integral is nightlife to what you do and your process?

Guarionex Rodriguez Jr: It’s interesting because I participate on the dance floor and the energy that I put myself into that really pushes what I think about life and creativity in general. Then the actual work itself helps me to reflect back on the connections I’ve made, whether it’s with other people, the venue, the locations or the people who host the parties. Those aspects of the dancefloor are always on the top of my mind – if I’m not lost in the music. 

Tell me about the crowds of people in these photos. 

Guarionex Rodriguez Jr: The photos I picked out for this residency are from two different parties, Soul Summit and Papi Juice. To me, they represent the perfect calculation to make a dance floor feel safe and embody an unheightened energy. Papi Juice celebrated their 10 year anniversary a couple of years ago. No matter where they are, people just flock to their parties and let loose. 

Are they people you know? Or do you prefer photographing strangers

Guarionex Rodriguez Jr: There’s maybe one or two people I know in the corner, but they’re all strangers otherwise. Photographing strangers makes me feel like I get to connect with new people, and I love connecting with people. That’s why I do photography.

Tell me about the colours and layers. How do you get it to look like everyone’s still moving?

Guarionex Rodriguez Jr: I photographed most of these images with my small digital camera. I just take general wide-shot photos and then pull them onto my laptop screen to zoom into moments. I use extra lighting on the screen, or add a gel or plastic over the camera, and then shoot them on film. It creates another layer. Also, I use mirrors in some of them, so there are weird reflections that add more to the chaos. 

What’s your take on the discourse circulating in recent years about the dance floor being dead, or young people not going out anymore?

Guarionex Rodriguez Jr: I think a lot of the discourse is just existing online. The reality is that the dance floor is full, and people are dancing more. In New York right now – and a lot of these photos were taken when the nightlife landscape was very minimal – nightlife is exploding into so many new venues. Every time I go to a new place, there are so many people. I also think people are getting more excited about the curated energy. That’s why Soul Summit and Papi Juice are so important to me. Last year, when I went to Soul Summit, it was more packed than I’ve ever seen it. 

When compiling these photos during your residency at Ace Brooklyn, what did it make you think about?

Guarionex Rodriguez Jr: Besides, looking at the photos and reliving the moment when I photographed it, I see people just really tapping into themselves. I always see an intimate moment – people dancing in different directions, listening to the same track and getting excited for the same beat but just existing in their own world. 

Is that what makes the dancefloor so compelling for you to capture?

Guarionex Rodriguez Jr: Yeah, I’m a big people watcher. If I’m not stuck in my own world with the music, I’m just watching everyone else vibe out. I’m not even always documenting them; I’m just enjoying the scene. I want to make a book that highlights this era of New York. There are so many eras of New York nightlife, but we’re living in a moment that is very special. The golden eras were golden for a reason, but this era is so much more about the yearning of people wanting to be connected and together. Despite being so connected and together through the internet, there are way more people who want to just link up in person. And I think the dance floor is the space to do that.

Planets in Transit is on view at Ace Brooklyn until July 31, 2026