By Elin Spring and Suzanne Révy
It’s like déja vu all over again. As we ring in 2022, circumstances seem tragically reminiscent of the year that just ended. And the one before that. Entering the third calendar year of a devastating worldwide pandemic, it feels more essential than ever to seek glimmers of hope and solace in our creative community and their inspiring artistic expressions. January is always a daunting month in New England. Although there aren’t a slew of new exhibits to lure us out – and an unfortunate number of reasons to stay in – here is our selection of the most compelling photography shows in and around Boston, listed geographically for your planning convenience. We wish each of you a safe, healthy and stimulating New Year!
BOSTON PROPER
“Sons of Cush” 2016, by Deana Lawson, pigment print. Courtesy the artist; Sikkema Jenkins & Co., New York; and David Kordansky, Los Angeles. © Deana Lawson
Institute of Contemporary Art – The first museum survey dedicated to the work of Deana Lawson comes to the ICA. Known for portraits featuring both family and strangers, Lawson employs a variety of photographic languages including the family album, studio portraits, constructed pictures and appropriated imagery to challenge conventions regarding representation of Black life. Her aim is to impart a sense of beauty, power and intelligence to the everyday experiences of Black Americans. On view through February 27th, 2022.
For more information: https://www.icaboston.org/exhibitions/deana-lawson
“Smoky Giraffe, Giraffa camelopardalis angolensis” (detail) Henry Horenstein, from the series Animalia, courtesy of the artist and Gallery Naga, Boston, MA.
Gallery Naga– Henry Horenstein’s richly textured black and white studies of animals from his series Animalia will be on view from January 7th through February 5th 2022. A reception is planned for January 7th and a walk-through with the artist is scheduled for January 22nd at 2pm.
For more information: https://www.gallerynaga.com
“The House that Grandma Built” by Cheryl Clegg, courtesy of the artist.
The Griffin Museum at Lafayette City Center – Once Upon a Time combines an enchanting exhibit with an invitation to viewers to write a story inspired by one of the dozens of photographs selected by curator Paula Tognarelli for their narrative possibilities. The Museum will later host an event for writers to read their stories as the photographs are projected. Jurors for the writing, Cassandra Goldwater and Jill Frances Johnson, will award cash prizes. On view through February 19th 2022, with a reception planned for Sunday, January 9th, 2022 at 4:00 pm at Lafayette City Center.
To read our review, go to: https://www.whatwillyouremember.com/once-upon-a-time-group-exhibit-at-griffin-museum-lafayette-gallery-in-boston/
For information about planned events, go to: https://griffinmuseum.org/show/once-upon-a-time-photographs-that-inspire-tall-tales/
“Alae, Beirut, Lebanon, 2020” from SHE by Rania Matar, courtesy of the artist and Robert Klein Gallery, Boston.
Robert Klein Gallery – In her solo exhibit and new book SHE (Radius, 2021), Rania Matar’s sensitive and lyrical individual portraits of young women from the U.S. and Middle East embrace the fragility and hope that attends coming of age in today’s geopolitical climate. LAST CHANCE! On view through January 8th, 2022 by appointment.
To read our review, go to: https://www.whatwillyouremember.com/rania-matar-she-at-robert-klein-gallery-boston-and-radius-books/
For more information and reservations, go to: https://www.robertkleingallery.com/rania-matar-she
Later in the month at Robert Klein Gallery, A Beautiful Day by Arne Svenson. In this work, the artist restricts his picture making to two windows, one facing north and the other west. This intentional restriction allows Svenson to focus on the details, movement and gesture in the actions of those seen through these two windows. On view from January 15th through February 26th, 2022 by appointment.
“A Beautiful Day, number 39, 2020” by Arne Svenson from the series A Beautiful Day, courtesy of the artist and the Robert Klein Gallery, Boston, MA.
Man Ray, Untitled Rayograph (Gun with Alphabet Stencils), 1924, courtesy of Robert Klein Gallery, Boston.
Also at Robert Klein Gallery – In an age where most of the images we see are composed of tiny pixels, The Fine Print presents a curated selection of seventeen vintage photographs by renowned master printers, including Man Ray (above), Ilse Bing, Paul Caponigro, George Tice, Edward Weston and Jerry Uelsmann. This collection celebrates a venerated tradition, offering viewers an intimate engagement with the rare beauty of exquisite darkroom prints. On view through February 15th, 2022 by appointment.
For more information and reservations, go to: https://www.robertkleingallery.com/the-fine-print
CAMBRIDGE
Sim Chi Yin, Singaporean (b. Singapore 1978), Mountain range surrounding the Nevada Test Site, November 2017. From the series Most People Were Silent. Archival pigment print. Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Richard and Ronay Menschel Fund for the Acquisition of Photographs, 2020.181. © Sim Chi Yin; image courtesy of the artist.
Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge – “Devour the Land: War and American Landscape Photography since 1970” considers how contemporary photographers have responded to the US military’s impact on the domestic environment. Assembled by Makeda Best, Harvard Art Museums Richard L. Menschel Curator of Photography, the expansive exhibit features over 160 photographs by 60 artists across six thematic groupings, presenting a wide range of views, such as that of Shun Chi Yin (above), which addresses the tensions between beauty of the vast western landscape and its use as a nuclear testing ground. Creatively conceived and presented,“Devour the Land” raises awareness of the ways violence and warfare surround us, in a selection of images from artists including Robert Adams, Terry Evans, Lucas Foglia, LaToya Ruby Frazier, Susan Meiselas, Richard Misrach, Steven Tourlentes, Alex Webb and Will Wilson, to name a few. CLOSING SOON! On view by advance reservation through January 16th, 2022.
To read our review, go to: https://www.whatwillyouremember.com/devour-the-land-at-the-harvard-art-museums-cambridge-ma/
For more information or reservations for the exhibit, go to: https://harvardartmuseums.org/exhibitions/5877/devour-the-land-war-and-american-landscape-photography-since-1970
From the series In Gratitude by Rohina Hoffman, courtesy of the artist.
Bridge Gallery – In partnership with the Social Documentary Network, the gallery presents Highlights from the 2021 ZEKE Awards. Gallery Director Greig Cranna has curated a selection of 19 submissions from all 100+ entries to the 2021 ZEKE Award to represent photographers from all parts of the world. On view from January 8th – February 5th, 2022.
Due to the rise of Covid cases, the gallery will forego a conventional opening reception and instead extend the hours for opening day, Saturday, June 8th, from noon – 6:00 pm. Hours for the duration of the show will also be expanded. Masks are required and air purifiers will be in use.
For hours and more information, go to: https://www.bridge.photos/shows
From The Harlem Gospel Choir series by Bill Chapman, courtesy of the artist and Gallery Kayafas, Boston.
Multicultural Arts Center – In 2014, Cambridge-based photographer Bill Chapman went from diehard fan to official photographer for the Harlem Gospel Choir, channeling their power vocals, glorious sound, and infectious energy in his uplifting imagery. In his solo exhibit Gospel In Motion, Chapman presents twenty-five enthralling portraits of the choir in performance. On view through February 4th, 2022.
For more information, go to: https://www.multiculturalartscenter.org/gallery/
THE BURBS
“Reflection” by Susan Irene Correia, courtesy of the artist and Griffin Museum of Photography.
Griffin Museum of Photography, Winchester – Galloping through most of the museum’s galleries, discover a diversity of expressions regarding E. callabus: The Domesticated Horse in seven solo shows featuring work by Mary Aiu, Chris Aluka Berry, Anne M. Connor, Susan Irene Correia (above), Landry Major, Ivan McClellan and Keron Psillas Oliveira. On view from January 6th – February 27th, 2022, there will be a free, public Reception on Thursday, January 13th, 2022 at 7:00 pm.
While at the Griffin, don’t miss Silke Hase’s solo show Garden Whimsy, featuring her delicate and wondrous Ziatypes, on view in the Griffin Gallery. The always interesting 12th Annual Self-Published Photobook Show is on view in the Griffin Atelier Gallery.
For more information, go to: https://griffinmuseum.org/show/e-caballus-the-domesticated-horse/
“Karen” from the series and book Major Arcana by Frances Denny, courtesy of the artist and ClampArt, NYC.
Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA– As a descendent of both the accusers and those accused of witchcraft in the Salem Witch Trials of 1692, photographer Frances Denny explores the face of modern American witchcraft in Major Arcana, her series of portraits including healers, artists and tarot readers across a spectrum of identities and spiritual practices. Thirteen of Denny’s portraits are featured in an expansive show at PEM, “The Salem Witch Trials: Reckoning and Reclaiming” on view through March 20th, 2022.
For more information about the exhibit, go to: https://www.pem.org/exhibitions/the-salem-witch-trials-reckoning-and-reclaiming
“Blue Handkerchief, Red Handkerchief” 1977 by Hal Fischer, from the series Gay Semiotics, courtesy of the artist, Project Native Informant, London, and the Addison Gallery of American Art, Andover, MA.
Addison Gallery of American Art, Andover, MA – Language, Sequence, Structure: Photographic Works by Lew Thomas, Donna-Lee Phillips, and Hal Fischer presents a trio of Bay area photographers who sought to infuse conceptualism into photography in an attempt to disrupt the emotional tenor prevalent in the west coast aesthetic of the late 70’s. All the prints in this show were recently acquired by the Addison and they expand on an exhibit last year at SFMoMA called Thought Pieces which brought the trio’s work together for the first time in thirty years. On view through January 23rd, 2022.
For more information: https://addison.andover.edu/Exhibitions/LSSPhoto/Pages/default.aspx?in=On+View+Now
“Camera Obscura: View of Villa Entrance in Blue Gallery, Villa la Pietra” by Abelardo Morell (American b. Cuba, 2948) from the exhibition Projecting Italy, courtesy of the artist and the Fitchburg Art Museum.
Fitchburg Art Museum, Fitchburg, MA – The master of the camera obscura, Abelardo Morell comes to the Fitchburg Art Museum with Projecting Italy. Morell’s use of this ancient technique brings Italian vistas into sumptuous rooms to honor the twentieth anniversary of the Center for Italian Culture at Fitchburg State University. If you go, be sure to check out Joyride: Cars in American Art from the Terry and Eva Herndon Collection, on view through January 9th, 2022; Projecting Italy will be on view through February 6th, 2022.
To read our review of Projecting Italy, go to: https://www.whatwillyouremember.com/projecting-italy-by-abelardo-morell-at-fitchburg-art-museum/
For more information, go to: https://fitchburgartmuseum.org/projecting-italy/
“Oak Street” 2017 by Justin Kimball from the series Elegy, courtesy of the artist and the Mead Art Museum, Amherst College.
Mead Art Museum, Amherst College, Amherst, MA – Amherst College student photographer Jonathan Mark Jackson and his mentor, photography professor Justin Kimball create a visual and historical conversation in their exhibit, A Room That Grew. Jackson’s ancestor, Robert Roberts, was the first African-American to publish a commercial book, The House Servants Directory. Inspired by this primer for domestic workers, Jackson’s photographs interact with Kimball’s images from his series and book, Elegy, looking at the economic impacts of the 2008 market crash on small towns in the northeast. On view through January 22nd, 2022.
For more information: https://www.amherst.edu/museums/mead/exhibitions/2021/a-room-that-grew
ROAD TRIP!
Rhode Island
“Cauvery River” 1999, silver gelatin print from the series Memories of India by Annu Palakunnathu Matthew, courtesy of the artist and sepiaEYE, NYC.
Newport Art Museum, Newport, RI – ReVision, an expansive and mind-expanding mid-career retrospective of photography-based works by artist Annu Palakunnathu Matthews features six projects across three galleries, ranging from her dreamy Holga series Memories of India (begun in 1996), to her humorous and biting diptych series An Indian from India (2001-2008), to her affecting current work in The UnRemembered, featuring installations of video and stunning projections in crystal that will take your breath away. LAST CHANCE! On view through January 9th, 2022.
To read our review, go to: https://www.whatwillyouremember.com/annu-palakunnathu-matthew-solo-show-re-vision-at-newport-art-museum-in-rhode-island/
For more information, go to: https://newportartmuseum.org/exhibitions/revision/
New Hampshire
A trio of portraits by Henry Horenstein, courtesy of the artist and 3SArtSpace, Portsmouth, NH.
3S Artspace, Portsmouth, NH – A second offering of the versatile Henry Horenstein in the region, this time, portraiture in Where Everybody Is Somebody. A reception with the artist is planned for January 8th from 5 to 8pm, and the exhibition will be on view through March 20th, 2022.
For more information: https://www.3sarts.org/performances/where-everybody-is-somebody-opening-reception
(Feature Image) “Early winter at Hartwell Pond” by Suzanne Révy, courtesy of the artist, and wishing all our readers a Happy New Year! ~Elin and Suzanne
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