By Elin Spring and Suzanne Révy
2021 ushers in a new wave of photography exhibits open for in-person viewing, many by appointment only. Despite the promise of healthier times ahead, Covid-19 is raging anew and will likely get worse through the winter months before we realize brighter days. With the fervent hope that you will be very careful if you choose to venture out into galleries or museums, we bring you our Best Photo Picks for January 2021, listed by region for your convenience. As always, we include a link to each venue and recommend you check before visiting, as hours and policies are in flux. All our best wishes for a safe, healthy and much happier New Year!
SOWA – BOSTON’S SOUTH END ARTS DISTRICT
Fragments of Time features photographs by David DeMelim (left) and Rebecca Skinner (right).
Fountain Street Gallery – Fragments of Time presents two divergent perspectives on the passage of time: David DeMelim’s dynamic, vibrant and often vertiginous collaged panoramas and Rebecca Skinner’s lustrous, skewed viewpoints of abandoned spaces. On view through January 31st, 2021. For information on in-person and virtual events, go to: https://www.fsfaboston.com/fragments-of-time
“Strange Fruit, Untitled #5, June 14, 2020” by Nicole Buchanan, courtesy of the artist and Gallery Kayafas, Boston.
Gallery Kayafas – In Strange Fruit, photographer Nicole Buchanan documents Black Lives Matter protests and, much to her credit, focuses on symbolic human signals rather than lettered signs. By presenting an interconnected continuum of flesh she suggests skin tone is merely a variation on the theme of our collective humanity. On view in the Alcove through January 23rd, 2021. For hours, information and links to an artist interview, go to: https://www.gallerykayafas.com/current
“Light at the End of the Tunnel, D.C., 2012” by Howard Fineman, courtesy of the artist and Beacon Gallery, Boston.
Beacon Gallery – Urban Landscapes features the interrelated work of four artists, including Howard Fineman’s architectural photographs (above) and Michael McLaughlin’s photographic mixed media pieces. On view through February 14th, 2021. For information about events, hours and gallery policies, go to: https://beacongallery.com/event-works.php?eventId=13727&event=Urban+Landscapes
Susan Murie “Aurelia” Cyanotypes on Gampi paper assembled on Japanese metallic paper, courtesy of the artist and Abigail Ogilvy Gallery.
Abigail Ogilvy Gallery – Works on View includes gorgeous large scale, one-of-a- kind Cyanotypes by Susan Murie, who is informed by her work as a gardener in both formal, public spaces and private settings, finding inspiration in the intricacies of backyard flowers and the ideas of home and belonging. On view through February 7th, 2021. For more information: https://www.abigailogilvy.com
Feature Image: “Hydrangea, Carragher’s Pond” by Vaughn Sills, courtesy of the artist and Kingston Gallery, Boston.
Kingston Gallery – Stirring and surreal, Vaughn Sills’ Inside Outside offers the perfect antidote to winter, as she pairs each sensuous floral still-life against the backdrop of a sweeping, moody landscape from her ancestral home of Prince Edward Island. On view from January 20th – February 28th, 2021. For information about in-person and virtual events, hours and gallery policies, go to: http://www.kingstongallery.com/exhibitions/2021/january-vaughn-sills-inside-outside.php
BOSTON PROPER
“Wellfleet Spectral” 2018 by Fran Forman, courtesy of the artist and Pucker Gallery, Boston.
Pucker Gallery – Fran Forman’s alchemy of influences – from the stirring light in Dutch paintings to the spare, reflective moods of Edward Hopper – echo the unsettling effects of Covid-19 with alluring stillness in her solo show Self-Illumination, on view through January 10th, 2021. For information about visiting the gallery and the virtual gatherings and events accompanying the exhibit, go to: https://www.puckergallery.com/
“Yurt Woman, Urumqi, Xinjiang Province, China, May 29, 1985” by Cary Wolinsky, courtesy of the artist and Pucker Gallery, Boston.
At Pucker Gallery from January 16th – February 28th, 2021, More Than Portraits is a dual exhibit of photographs from former National Geographic photographer Cary Wolinsky and mixed media assemblages from designer (and wife) Barbara Emmel Wolinsky. Wolinsky’s photographs elevate the art of portraiture, fueled by travels across the globe during decades of his career. The objects assembled by designer Barbara trace the origins of these travels and share a global sense of immediacy and wonder. For more information about the exhibit and associated programming, go to: https://www.puckergallery.com/
Coco McCabe “Wedding Dress” from the series The Ancestors, courtesy of the artist and Panopticon Gallery, Boston.
Panopticon Gallery – Initially launched as a website, Pandemic Boston: One Moment in Time, Six Photographers, collectively explored the empty streets and social isolation in Boston brought on by pandemic lockdown last spring. The conversation between the six photographers Edward Boches, Lou Jones, Margaret Lampert, Jeff Larason, Coco McCabe (above) and Juan Murray moves offline to a physical venue at the Panopticon Gallery in Kenmore Square through January 25th, 2021. For more information go to https://www.panopticongallery.com
To read our review of this exhibit, go to: https://www.whatwillyouremember.com/pandemic-boston/
CAMBRIDGE
Leaving for a half-day hunting and gathering trip through an area cleared for subsistence agriculture near the remote village of Selva Virgen on the upper Yurúa River, Ucayali Province, Peru. July 20, 2018. Remote indigenous communities like Selva Virgen are the gateways to more strictly protected areas such as the Alto Purús National Park and Murunahua Indigenous Reserve. From the series Last Wildest Place by Jason Houston, courtesy of the artist and Bridge Gallery, Cambridge.
Bridge Gallery – For the second year, the gallery is presenting the Social Documentary Network’s Annual ZEKE Award Winners. In 2020, they were Jason Houston (above) and Kristen Joy Emack (below). Jason Houston’s Last Wildest Place documents the remote upper Amazon in Southeastern Peru, its indigenous peoples and the impact of environmental degradation on their cultures and homeland. Kristen Joy Emack’s Cousins explores the rarely seen or appreciated affirming and enduring relationships between young girls of color as they negotiate growing up. On view through January 23rd, 2021. For information on Bridge Gallery’s inventive exhibition format and schedule, go to: https://www.bridge.photos/shows
From the series Cousins by Kristen Joy Emack, courtesy of the artist and Bridge Gallery, Cambridge.
BEYOND THE HUB
Book cover of “A Long the Riverrun” by John Brook (Scrimshaw Press, 1970) courtesy of the Griffin Museum of Photography, Winchester, MA.
Griffin Museum of Photography, Winchester, MA – Return to Riverrun celebrates the 50th anniversary of “A Long the Riverrun” book publication with a retrospective of work by the late Boston commercial and fine art photographer, John Brook (1924-2016). A host of local photography collectors, educators, and curators have been working to reintroduce the world to this once prominent photographer (http://www.johnbrookarchive.com/index.html). In a 1973 interview, Brook characterized his blend of modern and Pictorialist styles: “The real function of these pictures is to provide an example for other people to improve the quality of their fantasies and thereby improve the quality of their reality.” The exhibit will be on view by appointment from January 9th – February 14th, 2021, with a virtual Opening Reception on January 14th, 2021. For reservations, registrations, information about the exhibit and its associated programming, go to: https://griffinmuseum.org/show/return-to-riverrun/
A complete, original version of Robert Frank’s “The Americans” is on view at the Addison Gallery of American Art.
Addison Gallery of American Art, Andover, MA – The Addison is one of only four museums in the world to own a complete set of the images from Robert Frank’s book, The Americans (published 1958 in Europe, 1959 in the US), on view through April 11th, 2021. An Incomplete History of Photography: 1860’s to 1960’s is on view through February 21st, 2021, as well as photographs in conversation with works from the gallery’s archives in the multi-media exhibit Currents/Crosscurrents: American Art 1850-1950, on view through March 7th, 2021. For information about these exhibits, the Museum’s restricted public hours and their pandemic rules and precautions, go to: https://addison.andover.edu/Exhibitions/Pages/exhibitions.aspx
From the series and book Women in Pants by Catherine Smith, courtesy of the artist.
Danforth Art, Framingham State University – To honor the one-hundredth anniversary of the passage of the 19th amendment giving (white) women the right to vote, the Danforth presents Catherine Smith: A Cabinet of Curiosities, which includes her collection of nineteenth century photographs that were the basis of her book Women in Pants. The photographs will be presented in conversation with works from the museum’s permanent collection. The exhibition will be on view through February 28th, 2021. For information about the exhibit, go to: https://danforth.framingham.edu/see-art/
From Above and On the Ground by Neal Rantoul, courtesy of the artist and Martha’s Vineyard Museum, Tisbury, MA.
Martha’s Vineyard Museum, Tisbury, MA – In his solo show Above and On the Ground, Neal Rantoul’s large format B&W landscape photographs from the 1980’s and ’90’s trace the island’s rapid development while his recent sweeping and immersive aerial color photographs capture the essence of its natural splendor with graphic beauty. On view from January 22nd – April 25th, 2021. For information, go to: https://mvmuseum.org/exhibitions/upcoming/
“Untitled (Roy)” 2020, by Kevin Bennett Moore, courtesy of the artist and Gallery Kayafas, Boston.
Brookline Arts Center, Brookline, MA – Three Strong Visual Voices, curated by gallerist Arlette Kayafas, features photographs by Caleb Cole, Kevin Bennett Moore (above) and Tara Sellios. Caleb Cole’s series Traces, “explores what it means to be seen, to be vulnerable, and speaks to access and interest in queer and trans bodies, gendered notions of desire, and the elements of ourselves that we hide from view.” Kevin Bennett Moore’s images are “inspired by films of the 1950s and ‘60s and societal constructs of gender. The work is an exploration on the formation of character, narrative, and identity.” Tara Sellios’ series Infernalis “elegantly articulates the totality of existence, focusing heavily life’s underlying instinctive, carnal nature in the face of fragility and impermanence.” The exhibit will be on view in the Center’s Beacon Street Gallery through April 2nd, 2021. For more information, go to: https://brooklineartscenter.com/2021-exhibition-calendar/three-strong-visual-voices/
Rhode Island Center for Photographic Arts (RICPA), Providence R.I. – In Crossing Cultures: Family, Memory and Displacement, currently on view through January 15th, 2021, Claudia Ruiz Gustafson brings together her work alongside three other artists, Astrid Reischwitz, Vivian Poey and Nilou Moochhala, who relate stories of family, home and immigration through photography, collage, video, and installation.
To read our review of this exhibit from its installation at the Cambridge Art Association, go to: https://www.whatwillyouremember.com/crossing-cultures-claudia-ruiz-gustafson-astrid-reischwitz-vivian-poet-nilou-moochhala-at-cambridge-art-association/
For information about this exhibit, including viewing hours and appointments, go to: https://www.riphotocenter.org/crossing-cultures-family-memory-and-displacement/
Share On Facebook
Tweet It
