Summer at the Griffin

What Makes It Great? / Featured / July 23, 2025

By Suzanne Révy

Wow!! Ann Jastrab, Executive Director of the Center for Photographic Art in Carmel, California assembled a fantastic show for the 31st Annual Members’ Juried Exhibition now at the Griffin Museum of Photography. It is a poignant, creative and cohesive exhibition. The museum also presents two solo shows: Alina Saranti’s Far From; and André Ramos-Woodard’s BLACK SNAFU. And there is even more photo goodness: two photography book collections, and two outdoor exhibitions including Vision(ary), the annual installation of vinyl cubes on the grounds around the museum, and Jill Enfield’s cabin constructed of glass photographs. The juried show and “Far From” are on view through August 17th while all others are on view through September 28th, 2025 at the Griffin Museum of Photography in Winchester, MA.

“Kendra near Mount Modnadnock, NH” by Donna Gordon, 2023, courtesy of the artist and the Griffin Museum of Photography.

“The 7th Year #5” By Susan Isaacson, 2023, courtesy of the artist and the Griffin Museum of Photography.

“Boy with Lyre” By Allison Plass, 2022, courtesy of the artist and the Griffin Museum of Photography.

This year’s Juried Exhibition is filled with images that affirm our humanity. In an era in which whole classes of people are being demeaned and dehumanized, it feels like an act of resistance to engage with art that embraces the flaws and triumphs of our existence. The show reveres the elasticity of the medium with examples in the form of collage, alternative processes, sculptural objects and documentary prints. Juror Ann Jastrab’s overarching sensibility allows for emotional connections across discrete works, creating a palpable impression of harmony.

“Take them to the River” by Stephanie Slate, 2024, courtesy of the artist and the Griffin Museum of Photography.

“Threshold” by Anne Walker, 2024, courtesy of the artist and the Griffin Museum of Photography.

For example, Donna Gordon’s ethereal black and white study of a model or Susan Isaacson’s colorful image of a figure hidden behind an apple tree suggests that we can seek and find both wisdom and the ineffable quality of being part of nature. Allison Plass added a musical note in her sensitive portrait of a young man encircled in lush foliage holding a lyre, while Stephanie Slate implies a kinship with the natural world through a delicate double exposure and Ann Walker’s vine laden wall around an arm in a window is simply magical. Jastrab’s adept attention to a variety of processes and how they convey meaning, creates a cohesive sequence for the installation.

“Self Love Club, Venus at her Mirror” by Mari Saxon, courtesy of the artist and the Griffin Museum of Photography.

“Artemis” by Sandi Daniel, 2023, courtesy of the artist and the Griffin Museum of Photography.

“In the Fog” by Donna Cooper, courtesy of the artist and the Griffin Museum of Photography.

“Hilloulah to the West and to the East” by Fruma Markowitz, 2022, courtesy of the artist and the Griffin Museum of Photography.

Several works imply myth: Mari Saxon’s zaftig figure reclining outdoors is draped in a translucent material on a silky blue fabric holding a mirror recalls the ancient myth of Aphrodite while the shadows of leaves on her shoulders recall the gestures of Renaissance cherubs; Sandi Daniel’s cyanotype “Artemis” reminds me of the classical nude figures in both ancient Greek art and post-impressionist works such as those by Degas; and Donna Cooper’s haunting “In the Fog” suggests the harnessing and mingling of fire, water and humanity; Fruma Markowitz looks east and west in a layered collage of found images that show the distinct role of women in our spiritual lives.

“Heart(h)” by Adrienne DeFendi, 2023-25, courtesy of the artist and the Griffin Museum of Photography.

“Curiosity Cabinet” by Jackie Heitchue, 2024, courtesy of the artist and the Griffin Museum of Photography.

“Seedling” by Sally Chapman, 2022, courtesy of the artist and the Griffin Museum of Photography.

“Solar Flares” by Diana Cheren-Nygren, 2023, courtesy of the artist and the Griffin Museum of Photography.

Several sculptural pieces add depth to the show including Adrienne Defendi’s “Heart(h)” made up of seven blocks with wooded forest images; Jackie Heithue’s reliquary that holds a picture of an exquisite mushroom; Sally Chapman’s folded cyanotypes that impose an order to the skeletal branches and pine needles in her photograms; and Diana Cheren Nygren’s layered composition of nature and civilization.

“Three Crosses” by Brian Kosoff, 2005, courtesy of the artist and the Griffin Museum of Photography.

“Engulfed Lamp, Montreal, Canada” by Alison Lake, 2018, courtesy of the artist and the Griffin Museum of Photography.

“Abandoned Playhouse in the Woods” by Michael Young, 2022, courtesy of the artist and the Griffin Museum of Photography.

“Encroaching” by Steve Goldband & Ellen Konar, 2022, courtesy of the artists and the Griffin Museum of Photography.

Landscapes of note are Brian Kossoff’s trinity of telephone poles and Alison Lake’s “Engulfed Lamp” which are both breathtaking, and raise the question: can we live in balance with nature? An answer might be found in the small and large stresses on the environment found in both Michael Young’s abandoned plastic play house in a wooded area and Ellen Konar and Steve Goldband’s aerial study of industrial salt mining in the Bay area. Despite the disturbing undercurrent, the images are visually striking, even as they transmit tensions between beauty and destruction.

“Joe & Susie” by Terri Unger, 2012, courtesy of the artist and the Griffin Museum of Photography.

(FEATURE IMAGE) “Classic Cuts Barbershop” by David Oxton, 2025 courtesy of the artist and the Griffin Museum of Photography.

“EJ Seeping” by Preston Gannaway, 2015, from the series Remember Me, courtesy of the artist and the Griffin Museum of Photography.

“From Lahore to Lake Superior” by Lali Khalid, courtesy of the artist and the Griffin Museum of Photography.

“South Station Preacher” by Jeff Larason, 2024, courtesy of the artist and the Griffin Museum of Photography.

Perhaps most affecting are the pictures that engage with the quotidian. Terri Unger’s “Joe and Susie” of a silhouetted elderly man with a bird on his shoulder is sublimely tender. David Oxton’s boy in a barber chair is both mysterious and matter of fact. The vulnerability of teen boys in Preston Gannaway’s “EJ Sleeping” and the exasperation in the thrown up arms in Lali Khalid’s “From Lahore to Lake Superior” build tension between the comfort of childhood and the inevitable challenges of budding adulthood. After all, adulthood can be consume us, as Jeff Larason discloses with a figure wearing a hat who looks to be a meal for his own shadow.

“Far From #7” by Alina Saranti, courtesy of the artist and the Griffin Museum of Photography.

“authenticity (2CHAINZ)” by Andre Ramos-Woodard, 2022, courtesy of the artist and the Griffin Museum of Photography.

Alina Saranti’s Far From features classic black and white western landscapes overlayed with embroidery that resemble maps of rivers or perhaps our veins and capillaries; a metaphor for the water and blood that pulses through human and natural life. Andre Ramos-Woodard’s BLACK SNAFU is a powerful installation that takes aim at the cartoonish depictions of Black people in the past and current popular press and juxtaposes them with photographs that reflect a more nuanced and authentic experience. And do not miss Ramos-Woodard’s striking mural inspired by Michelangelo’s The Creation of Man the side of the museum.

“Creation” by André Ramos-Woodard (Installation photograph by Suzanne Révy)

While you are there, be sure to check out two engrossing photography book shows, Vision(ary) a series of photographic cubes installed on the grounds around the museum featuring several photographic story tellers and Jill Enfield’s extraordinary cabin of glass photographs that celebrate American immigrant experience.

For more information: https://griffinmuseum.org/