Best Photo Picks March 2019

By Elin Spring and Suzanne Révy

While winter still blankets New England, photography exhibits and events are blooming throughout the region! Here are our Best Photo Picks for Boston and beyond in the coming month, organized geographically.

SOWA – BOSTON’S SOUTH END GALLERY DISTRICT

“Yellow House, 2016” by Emily Belz (courtesy of the artist and Gallery Kayafas, Boston).

Gallery Kayafas – It’s been a long time since anyone dared to suggest that a “woman’s place is in the home” and yet, overwhelmingly, it remains her province. Photographer Emily Belz (above) explores the comforts, confines and legacy of home in her series Forward From Where We Came, while photographer Kimberly Witham’s series On Beauty uses plants, flowers and dead animals she culls from her surroundings to explore the splendor and fragility of life. On view from March 1st – April 6th, 2019. First Friday receptions with the artists will take place on March 1st, 2019 and April 5th, 2019 from 5:30 – 8:30pm. For more information, go to: http://www.gallerykayafas.com/

BOSTON PROPER

Opening This Month

From the series ZOI by Stella Johnson (courtesy of the artist and Leica Gallery Boston).

Leica Gallery Boston – Known for her vibrant, impassioned documentary photographs, Stella Johnson’s solo exhibition, “ZOI” presents work she created in Crete and Lesvos during the post-recession years of the last decade, coinciding with the publication of her latest book of the same title. On view from March 7th – April 21st, 2019. At the Opening Reception on Thursday, March 7th, 2019,  there will be an Artist Talk with Stella Johnson and writer Marina Hatsopoulos from 6:00 – 7:00pm, followed by a Reception from 7:00 – 9:00pm. Johnson will also be hosting a three day Master Class March 8th – 10th, 2019. For more information and/or to register for the Reception or Master Class, go to: http://leicagalleryboston.com/exhibitions/

“Kefa,Knox, Ohio, 2018” from the series SHE by Rania Matar (courtesy of the artist and Robert Klein Gallery, Boston).

Robert Klein Gallery – Rania Matar has spent her photographic career delving into female states of becoming, comparing the subjective experiences of girls and women in the US and Middle East, even as she highlights their commonalities. In her latest series, “SHE”, Matar presents young women on the brink of adulthood, as they navigate personal aspirations and doubts (above and Feature Image). On view March 16th – April 27th, 2019, there will be an Opening Reception with the artist on Saturday, March 16th, 2019 from 2:00 – 5:00pm. For more information, go to: https://www.robertkleingallery.com/

“The Scorpion, chapter 6, page 3 (lunar landscape), 2014”, Cyanotype, gum bichromate (clay pigment) by Jesseca Ferguson (courtesy of the artist and Panopticon Gallery, Boston).

Panopticon Gallery – “Shades of Blue” group show embraces winter in an all-cyanotype feast for the eyes, featuring the ancient photographic technique rendered in distinctly different ways by contemporary photographers Jesseca Ferguson (above), Andrew Seguin, Stephen Sheffield, Jacek Gonsalves, Christina Z. Anderson, Cynthia MacCollum and Emma Powell.  On view March 5th – April 30th, 2019, there will be a Reception with many of the artists on Thursday, March 21st, 2019 from 6:00 – 8:00pm. For more information, go to: https://www.panopticongallery.com/shades-of-blue

“Oil Drops II, 1956” Gelatin silver print by Peter Keetman, Courtesy of the MFA, Boston (photo by Elin Spring, with apologies).

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston – This has been an exciting season for photography at the MFA, starting with the stellar Ansel Adams in Our Times exhibit (now over), next with the passionate and poetic Graciela Iturbide’s Mexico (on view through May 12th, 2019), and now with the comparatively small but inspirational Postwar Visions: European Photography 1945-60 (on view through June 23rd, 2019), which highlights the exuberant post-war abstract movement that drew inspiration from the legendary Bauhaus school (celebrating its centenary with the Radical Geometries companion exhibit in the adjoining gallery). Another must-see is Made Visible: Contemporary South African Fashion and Identity (on view through May 12th, 2019), a multi-media show celebrating the identities of South Africans historically denied their rights, with photographs by Zanele Muholi (b. 1972), Mary Sibande (b. 1982), and Nomusa Makhubu (b. 1984). To read our review of Graciela Iturbide’s Mexico, go to: https://whatwillyouremember.com/graciela-iturbides-mexico-at-museum-of-fine-arts-boston/

For more information about all of these exhibits, go to: https://www.mfa.org/exhibitions

BEYOND BOSTON

Opening This Month

“Remnant, 2016” from the series Vanishing in Plain Sight by Olivia Parker (courtesy of the artist and Robert Klein Gallery, Boston).

Lunder Arts Center, Lesley University (Cambridge, MA) –  Olivia Parker’s visually and psychologically resounding series “Vanishing in Plain Sight” ponders the confusing journey her late husband John took as he battled Alzheimer’s Disease. On view in the Roberts Gallery from March 7th – April 3rd, 2019, there will be an Opening Reception with the artist on Thursday, March 7th, 2019 at 6:00pm. Parker first exhibited this “continuing work in progress” in 2017. For our review of her 2017 show, go to: https://whatwillyouremember.com/olivia-parker-vanishing-in-plain-sight-at-robert-klein-gallery-boston/

For hours, directions and more information about the Lunder Arts Center exhibit, go to: https://lesley.edu/events/olivia-parker-vanishing-in-plain-sight

From the “Mother Series” by John Chervinsky Scholarship Recipient Jennifer Georgescu (courtesy of the artist and Griffin Museum of Photography).

Griffin Museum of Photography (Winchester, MA) – Jennifer Georgescu, 2018 John Chervinsky Scholarship Winner, will exhibit her award winning “Mother Series” in the Griffin Gallery from March 7th – April 4th, 2019. There will be a free, public Opening Reception on Sunday, March 10th, 2019 from 4:00 – 6:00pm for her show, for Ralph Mercer’s solo show “Myths” in the Atelier Gallery and for the Griffin’s “Photography Atelier 29” class show in the Main Gallery. For more information, go to: https://griffinmuseum.org/upcoming-exhibitions/

“4th of July, 2015” by Eric Kunsman, First Prize Winner of the 6th International Open Call at RICPA (courtesy of the artist and RICPA, Providence, RI).

Rhode Island Center for Photographic Arts (RICPA, Providence, R.I.) –  There are two great shows at RICPA in March! The 6th International Open Call, juried by Aline Smithson will be on view through March 15th, 2019 (photo by First Prize Winner Eric Kunsman, above). Outspoken:Expanded, the celebration of female voices curated by Marky Kauffmann has expanded to nine women photographers: Nadine Boughton, Blake Fitch, Nancy Grace Horton, Marky Kauffmann, Tira Kahn, Susan Lapides, Sunjoo Lee, Rania Matar (photo below) and Emily Schiffer. The exhibit will be on view during Women’s History Month, from March 21st – April 12th, 2019, with an Opening Reception on Thursday, March 21st, 2019 from 5:00 – 9:00pm. For more information, go to: https://www.riphotocenter.org/outspoken-expanded/

“Iceberg IV” by Ella Hudson in the group exhibit Melt Down at the Center for Maine Contemporary Art in Rockland (courtesy of the artist).

Center for Maine Contemporary Art (CMCA, Rockland, ME) – Melt Down, a group show curated by Bruce Brown, features visually and emotionally stunning responses to climate change by ten remarkable Maine photographers and videographers: John Paul Caponigro, John Eide, Ella Hudson (above), Jonathan Laurence, Justin Levesque, Jim Nickelson, Jan Piribeck, Peter Ralston, Shoshannah White, and Deanna Witman. On view from March 23rd – June 9th, 2019, there will be an Opening Reception with the artists on Saturday, March 23rd, 2019 from 5:00 – 7:00pm. For hours, directions and more information, go to: https://cmcanow.org/event/melt-down/

NOTABLE EVENTS AND CALLS FOR ENTRY – In Chronological Order

Submit your work to The FENCE – The FENCE is a large-scale traveling photography exhibition reaching over 8 million visitors annually through open-air exhibitions in 8 cities across North America: Atlanta, Brooklyn, Boston, Calgary, Denver, Houston, Sarasota and Seattle. Deadline for submissions is Monday, March 11th, 2019. For information and submissions, go to: https://contests.picter.com/the-fence-8/

Ellen Feldman is one of three presenters at Documentary Matters on March 13th, 2019.

Documentary Matters at Digital Silver Imaging (Belmont, MA) – Ellen Feldman, along with Frank Ward and John Sevigny will be presenting at Documentary Matters on March 13th, 2019. Ellen will discuss her recent book project, “We Who March”. For details and free registration, go to: https://www.socialdocumentary.net/cms/doc-matters-3-13-19

Call for Entries to the Annual Juried Members Show at the Griffin Museum of Photography in Winchester, MA.

Call for Entries, 25th Annual Juried Members Exhibition at Griffin Museum (Winchester, MA) – This year’s Juror is Julie Grahame, publisher of aCurator.com and an independent consultant, reviewer, writer and speaker. Deadline for submissions is April 23rd, 2019. For more information, go to: https://griffinmuseum.org/show/25th-annual-juried-members-exhibition/

Ongoing Exhibits of Note – closing dates are highlighted

“Rendering” (1978) by John Reuter, courtesy of the artist and the Griffin Museum of Photography.

Griffin Museum of Photography (Winchester, MA) –  John Reuter’s inventive mixed media imagery using Polaroid technologies conjures surrealist scenes that magnify the mythical aspects of photography. Shadows and Traces: The Photography of John Reuter, curated by Barbara Hitchcock (former Cultural Affairs Director at Polaroid Corporation), will be on view in the Main Gallery through March 3rd, 2019. The Griffin is hosting a Gallery Tour with John Reuter on closing day, Sunday, March 3rd, 2019 from 3:00 – 4:00pm.  For information about the event, go to: https://griffinmuseum.org/event/gallery-walk-john-reuter/

For our review of the Reuter exhibit, go to: https://whatwillyouremember.com/shadows-and-traces-the-photography-of-john-reuter-at-the-griffin-museum-of-photgoraphy-ma/

“Beloved” from the series What I Know So Far by Jackie Heitchue (courtesy of the artist and Griffin Museum of Photography).

Griffin Museum at the Greater Boston Stage Company (Stoneham, MA) – In Jackie Heitchue’s solo exhibit, “What I Know So Far” her serene, elegant portraits are laced with dramatic undercurrents. On view through April 2nd, 2019. To read our review, go to: https://whatwillyouremember.com/jackie-heitchue-what-i-know-so-far-at-griffin-museum-satellite-in-stoneham-ma/

For hours, directions and more information, go to: https://griffinmuseum.org/show/what-i-know-so-far-2/

“NYC English Speaking Union. 1975” by Larry Fink, courtesy of the artist and the Decordova Museum and Sculpture Park.

deCordova Sculpture Park & Museum (Lincoln, MA) – Drawn from deCordova’s permanent collection, Larry Fink: Primal Empathy, focuses on the central role of empathy in Fink’s work. Whether photographing members of elite society or rural farmers, empathy fuels his curiosity about our shared humanity and shapes his decisions for lighting, framing, and positioning his subjects. On view through March 10th, 2019. To read our review of the exhibit, go to: https://whatwillyouremember.com/larry-fink-primal-empathy-decordova-museum-and-sculpture-park/  For hours, directions and information, go to: https://decordova.org/art/exhibition/larry-fink-primal-empathy

“Woman with Scarf at Inspiration Point, Yosemite National Park” 1980 by Roger Minick, vintage dye coupler print, courtesy of the Addison Gallery of American Art.

Addison Gallery of American Art (Andover, MA) –If you love photography, don’t miss the two shows featuring a fabulous selection of images, from historic to contemporary, and landscapes to portraiture! To read our review of Contemplating the View: American Landscape Photographs, on view through March 3rd, 2019, go to:  https://whatwillyouremember.com/contemplating-the-view-at-the-addison-gallery-of-american-art/

To read our review of The Body: Concealing and Revealing, on view through March 31st, 2019, go to:  https://whatwillyouremember.com/the-body-concealing-and-revealing-at-addison-gallery-of-american-art-andover-ma/

For hours, directions and more information about Addison Gallery exhibits, go to: https://addison.andover.edu/Exhibitions/Pages/exhibitions.aspx?type=current

Work by Edie Bresler (left) and Caleb Cole (right) in Lost & Found (courtesy of the artists and Gallery Kayafas, Boston).

The Garner Center at NESOP (Waltham, MA) – In Lost & Found, Boston-based artists Edie Bresler and Caleb Cole select works from recent projects focusing on found and appropriated images which are transformed through intervention and imagination into narratives on love, loss and longing. Alternative processes and mixed-media applications transport the viewer into imagined realities, both fantastical and true. On view through March 15th, 2019. To read our review, go to: https://whatwillyouremember.com/lost-and-found-photographs-by-edie-bresler-and-caleb-cole-in-garner-center-gallery-nesop/ For more information, go to:  https://www.nesop.edu/events/the-garner-center/edie-bresler-caleb-cole/

“Emailed JPG Kiss Goodnight, 2014” from the series Surface Tension by Tabitha Soren (courtesy of the artist and Davis Museum, Wellesley, MA).

Davis Museum at Wellesley College (Wellesley, MA) –  By highlighting the smudges and finger swipes dancing across the surfaces of cell phones, while allowing the underlying image to bleed through, Tabitha Soren sets the premise of her solo show, Surface Tension. In oversized prints of pictures born in tiny phones, image and artifact interact to create layers of visual and visceral messages. Also on view through June 9th, 2019, Bread and Roses: The Social Documentary of Milton & Anne Rogovin, a small exhibit of B&W photographs championing human justice issues in the Cold War era. For information about these exhibits, go to: https://www.wellesley.edu/davismuseum/whats-on/upcoming/node/161576   

Danny Lyon solo retrospective in Bell Gallery at Brown University in Providence, R.I.

Bell Gallery at Brown University (Providence, RI) – Drawn primarily from the gallery’s collection, Danny Lyon: The Only Thing I Saw Worth Leaving presents photographs from four of Lyon’s most significant series, all shot in the 1960’s, that share his abiding themes of empathy, freedom, history, destruction and narrative, on view through March 17th, 2019.  A smaller exhibit, Recent Acquisitions:Photography and Abstraction includes works by Berenice Abbot, Edward Burtynsky, Bill Jacobson, Aaron Siskind, and Hiroshi Sugimoto, to name a few, and will be on view through May 26th, 2019.  For more information, go to: https://www.brown.edu/campus-life/arts/bell-gallery/exhibitions/current