If today's gorgeous summer light got you thinking about those provocative, highly curated group photography shows that have become synonymous with New York's summer gallery scene, you're in luck. Tomorrow evening, In Our Dreams opens at Sasha Wolf Gallery.

The keynote image -- Garry Winogrand's Peace Demonstration, Central Park, New York, 1970 -- sets the tone for the idea behind this selection of 20 images. In this case, a small black-and-white photograph shows thousands of balloons floating above thousands of protesters in Sheep Meadow.

Left to right: Peace Demonstration, Central Park, New York, 1970 by Garry Winogrand; Night Walk #47 by Henry Wessel; Phillips 66, Sayre, Oklahoma, 1992 by Jeff Brouws. Courtesy Sasha Wolf Gallery.

The peacefulness and optimism the picture conveys is in sharp contrast to events that sparked anti-war demonstrations across the country earlier that year: the bombing of Cambodia and the Kent State massacre in the month of May. Like so much of Winogrand's work from that period, the photograph universalizes the political and social dream held by many Americans in the 1970s, and resonates again today through the presidential campaign.

The show was curated by Sasha Wolf and photographer Peter Kayafas, who culled vintage prints from private collections as well as current work from contemporary photographers. The 20 on view here formulate their definition of a good photograph: one that is like the definition of a good dream in the sense that pieces have been arranged unconsciously and provide enough form and point of reference for the viewer to find meaning, but enough is left undefined to allow for the viewer's own history, ideas and dreams to find a place.

The curators revisited the 20th century's great romantics to find images that met their challenge, starting with Josef Sudek, known as "the poet of Prague." A view through the window of his studio, one from a series he made between 1940 and 1957, is an evocation of mystery and light. Harry Callahan's Eleanor, Aix-en-Provence, 1958 is a dreamlike love letter to his wife.

Henry Wessel's Night Walk #47 evokes the romantic atmosphere of a humid summer night. William Eggleston's close view of a girl supine on the grass, eyes closed, a Brownie box camera in hand, suggests a pre-adolescent dream of something bigger and better than the everyday fare. Among the contemporary photographers represented are surprising images by Jeff Brouws, Katherine Wolkoff, Pablo Lopez, and Brent Anderson, among others.

In Our Dreams opens Thursday, June 26 starting at 6:00 pm and runs through August 9th at Sasha Wolf Gallery.