By Elin Spring and Suzanne Révy
We roll into April with holy days that celebrate triumph over adversity. The backdrop, as usual, is a world plagued by war, famine and natural disasters. In often vastly different ways, both organized religion and art strive to recognize life’s challenges and offer transformative experiences that help us cope. In this season of rebirth and transcendence, such fine art photography offerings are bountiful in metro Boston and around New England. Here, we highlight the most thought-provoking exhibits and events, listed geographically for your planning convenience. Please feel free to check back with us, as we update regularly throughout the month.
SOWA – Boston’s South End Arts District

From the series Time on Flores by Lee Wormald, courtesy of the artist and Gallery Kayafas, Boston.
Gallery Kayafas – An investigation into the significance of location pairs Lee Wormald’s visually and emotionally textured B&W photographs of remote island life in Time on Flores with Pat Falco’s colorful mixed media take on Boston’s housing crisis in A Graveyard in the Sun. On view through April 29th, 2023, there will be an Opening Reception with the artists on First Friday, April 7th from 5:30 – 8:00pm.
For more information, go to: https://www.gallerykayafas.com/

From the series A Graveyard in the Sun by Pat Falco, courtesy of the artist and Gallery Kayafas, Boston.

“Jackie O” 2020, from the series and book Personal History (Kehrer Verlag, 2023) by Sarah Malakoff, courtesy of the artist and Anderson Yezerski Gallery, Boston.
Anderson Yezerski Gallery – In Personal History, Sarah Malakoff turns a discerning eye on the places that people call home. Her photographs of quirky interiors are a vibrant, engaging scavenger hunt with surprising revelations. This solo show coincides with the publication of Malakoff’s newly published book of the same name which we have recently reviewed. On view through May 6th, 2023, there will be an Opening Reception with the artist on First Friday, April 7th from 5:00 – 8:00pm.
To read our book review, go to: https://www.whatwillyouremember.com/category/book-review/
For information about the exhibit, go to: https://andersonyezerski.com/
BOSTON PROPER

From the series Reading the Room: Reconstructing the Boston Athenaeum by Tira Khan, courtesy of the artist.
Boston Athenaeum – As the 2022 Artist in Residence, photographer Tira Khan solemnized the Library’s historic revitalization and building expansion. In Reading the Room: Reconstructing the Boston Athenaeum, Khan traverses chaotic construction sites and the silent spaces of artwork in storage, examining both personal and institutional memories of this venerable organization. On view through May, 2023.
For more information and/or registration, go to: https://community.bostonathenaeum.org

Gohar Dashti “Untitled #4” 2008, from the series Today’s Life and War, courtesy of the artist and the Robert Klein Gallery, Boston, MA.
Robert Klein Gallery – Today’s Life & War speaks to the legacy of political conflict, movingly conveyed through the irony, poignancy and beauty of imagery by contemporary Iranian photographers Gohar Dashti (above), Shadi Ghadirian, and Tahmineh Monzavi. Comprised of work from a variety of their projects spanning the last two decades, this exhibit will be on view through April 22nd, 2023.
For more information, go to: https://www.robertkleingallery.com/exhibitions/

“Untitled” by Cindy Sherman from the show Cindy Sherman: 1975-1980, courtesy of the Krakow Witkin Gallery, Boston.
Krakow Witkin Gallery – Cindy Sherman’s Untitled Film Stills made in the mid-seventies were a cultural touchstone. Eight prints from work made at the same time are on view in Cindy Sherman: 1975-1980, on view through April 22nd, 2023.
For more information: https://www.krakowwitkingallery.com

From the series Duality of Distance by Stephen Vanasco, courtesy of the artist and Leica Gallery, Boston.
Leica Gallery, Boston – In his solo show Duality of Distance, photographer Stephen Vanasco pairs disparate bodies of work – some shot at great distance and others with a macro lens – to “recognize duality within the work” by sparking dialogs in composition, line, color and feeling that are integral to his way of seeing. On view through May 15th, 2023, there will be a Reception with the artist on Thursday, April 27th.
For information, go to: http://leicagalleryboston.com/portfolio/duality-of-distance/

Unidentified artist, African American Woman, American, 1860–79. Photograph, tintype. Charles H. Bayley Picture and Painting Fund, courtesy of MFA, Boston.
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston – Three separate photographic offerings currently on view could hardly be more different. In the Herb Ritts Gallery, Painted Tintypes: Photography for the People gathers a captivating and diverse selection of this affordable, personalized and decoratively framed form of American portraiture, drawn from both private and MFA collections. In the Lubin Family Gallery, Sally Mann and Cy Twombly: Remembered Light creates an unusual conversation by bringing together three sculptures by Twombly, ancient sculptures from the MFA collection and thirteen photographs by Sally Mann of her friend and neighbor Twombly’s studio in Lexington, Virginia. In the Frances Vrachos Gallery / Mary Stamas Gallery, Jess Dugan: Coupled features portraits of LGBTQ couples created using a rare and massive Polaroid camera in the years after the 2004 legalization of same-sex marriage in Massachusetts.
For information on Painted Tintypes, go to: https://www.mfa.org/exhibition/painted-tintypes-photography-for-the-people
For information on Sally Mann & Cy Twombly, go to: https://www.mfa.org/gallery/sally-mann-and-cy-twombly-remembered-light
For information on Jess T. Dugan, go to: https://www.mfa.org/exhibition/jess-t-dugan-coupled

Sally Mann, Untitled (Flamingo Profile), from the series Remembered Light, 2012. Gelatin silver print. © Sally Mann. Courtesy the artist and Gagosian.

Jess T. Dugan “Ingrid and Okolo” (detail), 2006-8. Photograph, dye diffusion print (Polaroid). Gift of the artist. ©Jess T. Dugan. Courtesy of MFA, Boston.

“Lima & April” (Running Errands) 2022, Chelsea, Manhattan, NYC from the series Women R Beautiful by Ruben Natal-San Miguel, courtesy of the artist and Griffin Museum.
Griffin Museum at Lafayette City Center – The dazzling immediacy of Ruben Natal-San Miguel’s arresting street portraits is on display in Expanding the Pantheon: Women R Beautiful, on view through May 29th, 2023. There will be a Reception with the artist on Friday May 12th.
For information, go to: https://griffinmuseum.org/show/expanding-the-pantheon-women-r-beautiful/#more-show-text

“Laceleaf, Japanese Maple” 2022, from the exhibit Still Lives: Plants of the Arnold Arboretum Close Up and Far Away, by Vaughn Sills, courtesy of the artist.
Hunnewell Exhibition Space, Arnold Arboretum – The Arnold Arboretum has long been a nourishing repository for native and exotic plants and trees, cherished by the many visitors it welcomes year round. For the past few years, photographer Vaughn Sills has been gifted cuttings from its native and non-native collections. By arranging the flora in studio settings depicting far-off land and seascapes, Sills visually alludes to the emotional displacement and search for belonging experienced by immigrants and refugees. On view through June 25th, 2023.
For directions and hours, go to: https://arboretum.harvard.edu/art_shows/still-lives-plants-of-the-arnold-arboretum-close-up-and-far-away/
CAMBRIDGE

“Wonder” by Janelle Lynch from the series Another Way of Looking at Love, courtesy of the artist, Photographic Resource Center and Flowers Gallery, London.
Photographic Resource Center (PRC) at Lesley University – In a long-awaited return to the VanDernoot Gallery on the Lesley University campus, the PRC is hosting an integrated exhibit and Speaker Series presentation of Janelle Lynch’s acclaimed Another Way of Looking at Love. Her contemplative series combines the stunning sensuality of an 8″x 10″ view camera with Lynch’s inspired vision that our shared “organic and spiritual essence” with the natural world confers an “elemental sameness that unites us and transcends our apparent differences.” The exhibit will be on view from April 4th – June 12th, 2023. Janelle Lynch will give a hybrid presentation at University Hall and on Zoom on Thursday, April 20th from 6:30 – 8:00pm with a reception following the talk that is open to the public.
For information and/or PRC Speaker Series tickets, go to: https://www.prcboston.org/janelle-lynch-another-way-of-looking-at-love/

2014. A group of boys climb a tree on the Xingu River by the city of Altamira, Brazil. Today, one third of the city has been permanently flooded by the nearby Belo Monte Dam displacing over 20,000 people while impacting numerous indigenous and riverine communities in the region. Aaron Vincent Elkaim/The Alexia Foundation
Bridge Gallery – Eyes On The World features a selection of documentary photographs from around the globe that have been featured in ZEKE Magazine, presented in conjunction with the Social Documentary Network. On view from April 8th – May 6th, 2023, there will be a free, public Opening Reception on Saturday, April 8th from 5:00 – 9:00pm.
For more information, go to: https://www.bridge.photos/
or https://www.zekemagazine.com/eyes-on-the-world

From the series Distant Early Warning Line by Victoria Crayhon, courtesy of the artist and Gallery 263, Cambridge.
Gallery 263 – Victoria Crayhon’s solo exhibit Distant Early Warning Line investigates the exploitation of ice melt to pursue mining possibilities by foreign interests (including the US and China) amidst Greenland’s astounding natural beauty. LAST CHANCE! On view through April 15th, 2023.
For information, go to: https://www.gallery263.com/exhibitions/distantearlywarningline/?mc_cid=457ebb2260&mc_eid=0610b6982a
THE BURBS

At the Griffin Museum of Photography Ties that Bind: Threaded Narratives with work by Astrid Reischwitz (left) JP Terlizzi (center) and Carolle Bénitah. Installation photograph by Suzanne Révy
Griffin Museum of Photography, Winchester – The Ties that Bind: Threaded Narratives brings together three artists, Carolle Bénitah, Astrid Reischwitz and JP Terlizzi who all employ crafts and embroidery in their photography to explore the myths around family, memory and legacy. The theme of family legacy and identity extends into the museum’s smaller galleries with collage and mixed media work by Marsha Guggenheim in Without a Map, Anne Piessens in Origin Stories and Brianna Dowd in Mother Pearl. All exhibits are on view through April 16th, 2023.
To read our review, go to: https://www.whatwillyouremember.com/astrid-reischwitz-jp-terlizzi-carolle-benitah-anne-piessens-marsha-guggenheim-brianna-dowd-at-griffin-museum-of-photography-winchester-ma/

(Feature Image) “Memory and Thorn” by Sally Bousquet, from the series Here We Are, courtesy of the artist and the Griffin Museum of Photography.

“Artichoke for steaming with aromatics” by Rohina Hoffman, from the series In Gratitude, courtesy of the artist and the Griffin Museum of Photography.

“Ifugao Belle,” photocollage, acrylic, from the series Field Notes by Jason Rebalndo, courtesy of the artist and the Griffin Museum of Photography.
Coming next to the Griffin Museum – The 29th Annual Juried Member’s Show juried by Lisa Volpe, photography curator at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. It features work made during and in the wake of the pandemic in a themed exhibition called Under the Mask. Also opening, Rohina Hoffman’s Embrace and Jason Reblando’s Field Notes in the museum’s smaller galleries. On view from April 21st – May 28th, 2023, there will be a free, public Opening Reception with curator Lisa Volpe and many of the exhibiting artists from all three shows on Friday, April 21st from 6:00 – 8:00pm.
For more information and related programming: https://griffinmuseum.org

“N 40° 00’ 00” W 91° 00’ 00” Clayton, Illinois, 2012″ from The Fortieth Parallel series, Archival Inkjet, 8″ x 30” by Bruce Myren, courtesy of the artist and Gallery Kayafas, Boston.
Munroe Center for the Arts, Lexington – The Fortieth Parallel traces photographer Bruce Myren’s epic journey from coast to coast along the fortieth parallel of latitude along the American map. Sweeping triptychs using an 8″ x 10″ view camera carry both eye and spirit as they move across the United States. On view through April 30th, 2023.
For more information, go to: https://www.munroecenter.org/in-the-gallery.html

Installation view, Our First and Last Love by Lyle Ashton Harris, photograph courtesy of the Rose Art Museum, Waltham.
Rose Art Museum at Brandeis University, Waltham – In his first solo show in New England in more than two decades, Lyle Ashton Harris’ Our First and Last Love presents both celebrated and lesser known bodies of work in photography and installation to critically probe ideas around self-portraiture. Ashton Harris broadly engages in political dialog while reveling in tenderness toward his own communities and personal struggles or sorrows. On view through July 2nd, 2023.
For more information: https://www.brandeis.edu/rose/exhibitions/2023/lyle-ashton-harris.html

“Petra with Miss Lebanon 1972, Gemmayze, Beirut, Lebanon” by Rania Matar, with wall art by Brady Black, from the series Where Do I Go? courtesy of the artist, Robert Klein Gallery, Boston and the Fitchburg Art Museum.
Fitchburg Art Museum (FAM), Fitchburg – Rania Matar: Oceans at My Door celebrates the museum’s acquisition of Matar’s She portfolio. The exhibit includes new work from her more recent series, Where Do I Go? an investigation of Lebanese women navigating the crossroads of a country in crisis. On view through August 3rd, 2023.
To read our review: https://www.whatwillyouremember.com/rania-matar-oceans-at-my-door-at-fitchburg-art-museum-ma/
For more information: https://fitchburgartmuseum.org/rania-matar-oceans-at-my-door/

Cindy Sherman (US American, b. 1954), Untitled (Cosmo cover girl), 1990, chromogenic print, 17” x 11”. Gift of Judy Goldman, 2021.122
Also at FAM – In the Eye of the Beholder considers the ways in which photographers have used the “gendered gaze” across the early 20th and 21st centuries. The group exhibit highlights the museum’s iconic favorites along with recent acquisitions—including work from Gertrude Kasebier, Cindy Sherman (above), and Yasumasa Morimura. On view through September 10th, 2023.
For more information: https://fitchburgartmuseum.org/moving-objectsstrongemin-the-eye-of-the-beholder-gender-through-the-camera-lens-em-strongmoving-objects/

“View Not From a Window #5” by Chuck Kelton, 2018, courtesy of the artist and Sohn Fine Art, Lenox, MA.
Sohn Fine Art, Lenox – The group show Adore offers a wide variety of photographic methods and prints emphasizing the gallery’s breadth of artistic practices among its artists. Chuck Kelton’s alchemical cameraless compositions resembling seascapes (above) starkly contrast with Fran Foreman’s playful digital collages, Patrick Sansone’s studies of American vernacular scenes or John Clarke’s impressionistic abstractions, to name a few. On view through May 1st, 2023.
For more information: https://www.sohnfineart.com

From the series AI is the camera for what isn’t by John Huet, courtesy of the artist and the Workspace Gallery at Bob Korn Imaging.
Workspace Gallery at Bob Korn Imaging, Eastham – Photographer John Huet presents a series of images made utilizing Artificial Intelligence (AI) in his solo exhibit, Photography is the Camera For What Is, AI is the Camera For What Isn’t, on view through June 7th, 2023. NOTE: there is an online talk tonight at 7pm, link to register is here.
For more information: https://bobkornimaging.com/john-huet-ai-is-the-camera-for-what-isnt/
Rhode Island

“Tricolor” “Newark Library” and “Ladders” By Amy Becker, from the series Dead Ringers, courtesy of the artist and the Rhode Island Center for Photographic Arts.
Rhode Island Center for Photographic Arts (RICPA), Providence – Abandoned presents two very different exhibitions, one color and shot with an iPhone, the other black & white and shot on 120 film, both featuring pictures of outdated pay phones: Amy Becker’s Dead Ringers: Portraits of Abandoned Pay Phones explores the remains and re-purposing of these disappearing relics and Eric Kunsman’s Felicific Calculus: Technology as a Social Marker of Race, Class and Economics began as a documentary series and has expanded into an anthropological project mapping existing pay phones, largely in underserved communities. Both shows are on view through April 14th, 2023.

From the series Felicific Calculus: Technology as a Social Marker of Race, Class, & Economics in Rochester, NY by Eric T. Kunsman, courtesy of the artist and the Rhode Island Center for Photographic Arts.
For more information: https://www.riphotocenter.org/amy-becker-dead-ringers/ or https://www.riphotocenter.org/eric-kunsman-felicific-calculus-technology-as-a-social-marker-of-race-class-economics/
Coming next to RICPA – The Ninth International Juried Exhibition features 71 photographs culled from over 1000 entries by independent curator Paula Tognarelli, former Executive Director of the Griffin Museum of Photography. In other words, a stellar collection. On view from April 20th – May 12th, 2023, there will be a free, public Opening Reception on Thursday, April 20th from 5:00 – 8:00pm.
For information, go to: https://www.riphotocenter.org/9th-international-juried-exhibition/
New Hampshire

“North Africa, Bizerte, Loading LST’s for Italy” by Margaret Bourke White, from the portfolio World War II, Army Service Forces, no, 7, 1944, gelatin silver print, Gift of Jane and Raphael Bernstein; 2020.46.1.7. © Getty Images, courtesy of the Hood Museum.
Hood Museum, Dartmouth College, Hanover – Known for making the photograph that graced the first cover of Life Magazine, Margaret Bourke White spent her career covering industry, poverty and wars of the 20th century. Margaret Bourke White: World War II and Life Magazine features a selection of prints from a portfolio made near the end of the war. On view through September 30th, 2023.
For more information: https://hoodmuseum.dartmouth.edu/explore/exhibitions/margaret-bourke-white-world-war-ii-and-life-magazine
Maine

“Untitled (Two women walking on the beach with a dog, Somalia)” by Todd Webb. (American, 1905-2000), 1958. Archival pigment print. 20×20 inches (image). 22×22 inches (sheet). © Todd Webb Archive. L2020.85.81. from the exhibit Outside the Frame: Todd Webb in Africa, courtesy of the Portland Museum of Art, Portland, ME.
Portland Museum of Art, Portland – Commissioned by the United Nations Office of Information to document emerging industries, technology and life in nine African countries, photographer Todd Webb spent five months there in 1958 amassing nearly two-thousand negatives. It was a critical moment when independence and colonialism were intertwined, but the pictures were for the most part, never seen. Outside the Frame: Todd Webb in Africa considers the use of the colonial camera, agency, and the racial and economic privileges of the western world, then and now. What can we learn from the uncomfortable uses of photographic imaging in understanding history? On view through June 18th, 2023.
For information, go to: https://www.portlandmuseum.org/toddwebb

“Portrait of Lotte Lenya, 1930” by Lotte Jacobi, from The Steve and Judy Halpert Collection, courtesy of the Maine Museum of Photographic Arts, Portland, ME.
Maine Museum of Photographic Arts (MMPA), Portland – An assortment of stunning images from The Steve & Judy Halpert Collection has been curated by Jan Pieter vonVoorst vanBeest to reflect its focus on the human condition and also on Maine, home to the collectors. On view from April 21st – June 10th, 2023, there will be an Opening Reception on Friday April 21st from 5:00 – 7:00pm. A conversation between collector Steve Halpert and curator Jan Pieter vonVoorst vanBeest is scheduled for Frida, May 12th, 2023.
For more information on the exhibit and associated programming, go to: https://www.mainemuseumofphotographicarts.org/halpertcollection
Vermont

“Mollie Hughes” by April M. Frazier, courtesy of the artist and the Vermont Center for Photography, Brattleboro, VT.
Vermont Center for Photography (VCP), Brattleboro, VT – In Frame of Reference, Texas-based artist April M. Frazier weaves collages of family history and imagery that highlight the achievements, celebrations and enduring love of an African American family living and working in Texas since the late 19th century. In conjunction with Frazier’s exhibit, portraits from The Missing Chapter: Black Chronicles (loaned from Autograph ABP, London) emphasizes similarities across the African diaspora. On view through April 30th, 2023
For more information, go to: https://vcphoto.org/april-frazier-frame-of-reference/

From the series Milking Butterflies, courtesy of the artist and the Brattleboro Museum & Art Center, Brattleboro, VT.
Brattleboro Museum & Art Center, Brattleboro – The artist Cathy Cone modifies collected and found 19th century tintypes with gouache, watercolor, stamping, drawing or collage to create visual connections to the faces of the past. Cathy Cone: Portraits and Portals will be on view through June 11th, 2023.
For more information: https://www.brattleboromuseum.org/2022/12/15/cathy-cone-uncommon-denominator/