April 2018 Best Photo Picks!

Hope springs eternal, particularly at this time of year, as we collectively urge springtime into bloom. There are a number of enticing new photographic treats around the greater Boston region that I’ll highlight below. But don’t forget some of the longer running shows we’ve reviewed in the past few months, such as (un)expected families at the MFA, Boston (through June 17th, 2018 https://whatwillyouremember.com/unexpected-families-at-museum-of-fine-arts-boston/), Nicholas Nixon: Persistence of Vision at the ICA, Boston (ending April 22nd, 2018 https://whatwillyouremember.com/nicholas-nixon-persistence-of-vision-at-institute-of-contemporary-art-boston/) and your last chance to see Georgia O’Keeffe: Art, Image, Style at the Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA (ending April 8th, 2018 https://whatwillyouremember.com/georgia-okeeffe-art-image-style-at-peabody-essex-museum-salem-ma/). If your heart is aching for spring, don’t miss In the Garden group show at Panopticon Gallery in Kenmore Square (through April 30th, 2018 https://whatwillyouremember.com/panopticon-gallery-boston-group-photo-show-in-the-garden-christine-collins-beth-dow-john-grant-brenton-hamilton-cig-harvey-david-graham-white-wendi-schneider-joshua-white/) and Tree Talk group show at the Griffin Museum satellite gallery in Lafayette City Center at Boston’s Downtown Crossing (through June 4th, 2018 http://griffinmuseum.org/show/tree-talk/. Keep the faith, photography is alive and spring will arrive in New England!

“Anonymous girl 1880, 2018” pigment ink print with sewn sequins by Edie Bresler (courtesy of the artist and Gallery Kayafas, Boston).

Trustman Art Gallery at Simmons College (Fenway) – In a solo exhibition that visually weaves together the past, the present and the fantastical in two ongoing series of work, Edie Bresler’s Based on a True Story radiates a sense of joyful connectedness (above and Feature Image), on view through April 19th, 2018. To read my review, go to: https://whatwillyouremember.com/edie-bresler-based-on-a-true-story-at-trustman-art-gallery-simmons-college-boston/  For information, go to:  http://www2.simmons.edu/trustman/

From the series A Golden State by Shawn Bush (courtesy of the artist and Gallery Kayafas, Boston).

Gallery Kayafas (SoWa Arts District) – Expectations are unavoidable, and like a double-edged sword, they instigate both disillusionments and inspiration. This dichotomy is explored in two outwardly different solo exhibitions: Yoav Horesh in Serene Oasis and Shawn Bush in A Golden State cut to the heart of our human desire for a promised land, that elusive location of hopes and dreams. Now on view at Gallery Kayafas in Boston’s SoWa arts district through April 21st, 2018, there will be a First Friday reception with the artists on April 6^th, 2018 from 5:30 – 8:00pm. To read my review, go to: https://whatwillyouremember.com/yoav-horesh-serene-oasis-shawn-bush-a-golden-state-gallery-kayafas-boston/ For information, go to: http://www.gallerykayafas.com/

“Hawaii Room” from the series Personal History by Sarah Malakoff (courtesy of the artist and Howard Yezerski Gallery, Boston).

Howard Yezerski Gallery (SoWa Arts District) – Sarah Malakoff’s solo show Personal History features her richly revealing interiors, on view from April 13th – May 22nd, 2018 with an Opening Reception on Friday, April 13th from 5:00 – 7:00pm.  For information, go to: https://www.howardyezerski.com/

“Untitled photogram, 1981” by Gyorgy Kepes (courtesy of Robert Klein Gallery, Boston).

MIT Museum (Cambridge, MA) – The MIT Museum continues its year-long celebration of the pioneering visionary Gyorgy Kepes with the second in its two-part retrospective, György Kepes Photographs: The MIT Years, 1946-1985 (March 16 – August 2018) concentrating on the body of work he created while working at MIT. My review of Part 1, György Kepes Photographs: From Berlin to Chicago, 1930-1946, puts Kepes’ work into historical context: https://whatwillyouremember.com/gyorgy-kepes-retrospective-photography-shows-at-mit-museum-cambridge-robert-klein-gallery-boston/ For information about both MIT shows, go to: https://mitmuseum.mit.edu/exhibition/kepes

Arno Rafael Minkkinen, Self-portrait, Castello Tancredi Gate (Bibbiano, Toscana, Itália – 2000). Courtesy of the artist and deCordova Museum and Sculpture Park, Lincoln, MA.

deCordova Museum and Sculpture Park (Lincoln, MA) – Lived Space group exhibition explores our psychological and physical attachments to the places we build and inhabit. Drawn from deCordova’s permanent collection, the exhibition includes work by Kahn/Selesnick, Sarah Malakoff, Arno Rafael Minkkinen, Abelardo Morell, and Elaine Spatz-Rabinowitz, among others. On view starting April 4th, 2018, for more information, go to: https://decordova.org/art/exhibition/lived-space-humans-and-architecture

© Grace Weston, “After Kertesz.” A contemporary re-imagining of Andre Kertesz’s 1926 photograph “Satiric Dancer” (courtesy of the artist and Griffin Museum of Photography).

Griffin Museum of Photography (Winchester, MA) – In an exciting group show featuring the work of Tami Bahat, Mark Chen & Shiao-Nan Chen, Niki Grangruth & James Kinser, Torrie Groening, Calli P. McCaw, Lori Pond and Grace Weston, Art-tri-bu-tion explores the intriguing and inventive ways in which contemporary photographers incorporate tributes to past artists and periods into their work. On Thursday, April 12th, 2018, there will be an Opening Reception at 7:00pm, preceded by Artist Talks starting at 5:45pm. For more information, go to: http://griffinmuseum.org/show/art%C2%B7tri%C2%B7bu%C2%B7tion/

“Migrant Mother, Nipomo, California, neg. 1936, print 1950” by Dorothea Lange (courtesy of the Addison Gallery of American Art, Andover, MA).

Addison Gallery of American Art (Andover, MA) – Drawn from the museum’s collection, Photographers Among Us​ presents a selection of 20th-century documentary works by icons like Dorothea Lange (above), Lewis Hine and Danny Lyon that act as mirrors of their times and historical agents, produced for newspapers, magazines, photobooks, government-sponsored projects, or the United States Army. On view April 7th – July 31st, 2018. For information, go to: https://addison.andover.edu/Exhibitions/PhotographersAmongUs/Pages/default.aspx#3

From the series Handsome Devil by Johana Ortiz (courtesy of the artist and NESOP).

Garner Center at New England School of Photography (Waltham, MA) – Johana Ortiz’s solo show Handsome Devil is a frank and moving look into the aging process, focusing on the people and places closest to her at the pivotal time when her step-father is diagnosed with a terminal illness, causing roles to reverse and the idea of home to shift.  On view through April 20th, 2018, for information, go to: https://www.nesop.edu/events/the-garner-center/handsome-devil/

“Eve of Transition, Havana, Cuba” by Belinda Soncini (courtesy of the artist).

Project B Gallery (inside The Mill Contemporary Studios, Framingham, MA) – Through Her Lens is a group exhibit featuring the work of three women documentary photographers from different parts of the world, Maite H. Mateo (Spain), Belinda Soncini (Venezuela) and Rebecca Skinner (USA), expressing divergent interpretations of contemporary societies. On view from April 10 through April 30, 2018, there will be a Photographers’ Reception on Saturday, April 28 from 2:00pm to 4:00pm. For additional information please contact Sorin Bica at bicaso@verizon.net or 617-216-9672.

Richard McCabe, Curator of Photography, Ogden Museum, New Orleans.

Call For Entries!

The deadline for submissions to the Griffin Museum of Photography’s 24th Annual Juried Members’ Exhibition is Monday, April 23rd, 2018. This year’s juror is Richard McCabe, Curator of Photography at the Ogden Museum in New Orleans – and I’m certain he must be kinder and gentler than he appears. Don’t miss your chance to exhibit in this prestigious annual show! For information, go to: http://griffinmuseum.org/show/24th-annual-juried-members-exhibition/

Feature Image: Installation view of the series “Helping Hands” in the exhibition Based on a True Story by Edie Bresler, at the Trustman Gallery at Simmons College, Boston (photo courtesy of the artist).

Forest, a mixed media installation by Katherine Gulla, is in the lobby of 210 Broadway in Cambridge, MA. Commissioned through the deCordova Museum’s Corporate Program, the 10 photo-sculptures will be on view through June 2018 (photo courtesy of the artist).