By Elin Spring & Suzanne Révy
Whatever your politics, we hope you exercised your civic privilege and voted in the primaries or caucuses. The arrival of March brings a raft of exciting photographic exhibits and events, many of which address our political moment and the burning issues of the day. Here are our Best Picks for Boston and beyond, listed geographically for your convenience. Please note that many of these venues have suspended operations due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Please check with each location for up-to-date details.
SOWA – Boston’s Gallery District in the South End
“Cripple Creek, Colorado” by Peter Kayafas, 2011 from “The Way West” courtesy of the artist and Gallery Kayafas.
Gallery Kayafas – The gallery brings together four photographers working in black and white. During this past decade, photographer Peter Kayafas spent four weeks each summer traveling the back roads of the west to photograph people, animals and their relationships to the land in “The Way West.” Peter Chan embraces chance by employing long exposures in public spaces in “You and I;” Logan Nutter photographs moments isolation in bars at nigh in “Late Nights,” and the gallery introduces Michael LaFleur who with “In the Prospect of Peacefield” explores formal gardens with an 8″x10″ view camera. On view through April 11th, 2020. A book launch and signing for “The Way West” by Peter Kayafas along with a First Friday opening reception is planned for March 6th, 2020 from 5:30pm to 8:30pm. A second reception is planned for April 3rd, 2020 from 5:30 to 8:30pm.
For more information go to: http://www.gallerykayafas.com
“Untitled 10” by Fern L. Nesson, courtesy of the artist and Beacon Gallery.
Beacon Gallery- “Perception and Abstraction” featuring photographs by Steve Edson and Fern L. Nesson reveal the fractal and abstract patterns found through careful framing of every day objects or architecture. This two person show is curated by Christine O’Donell and will be on view from March 20th through April 26th, 2020. An opening reception is planned for April 3rd from 6pm to 8:30pm. For more information go to: https://beacongallery.com/exhibition.php?eventId=13724&event=Perception+Abstraction
FORT POINT – Boston’s Artist Enclave
“Citizens of the World 4” by Steven Duede (courtesy of the artist).
FP3 Gallery – Steven Duede: Selected Works features vibrant, large-scale photographs from three distinct projects: Evanescence, Home is where…, and most recently, Citizens of the World (above), in which he gathers collections of flora at various stages of demise into unified, spherical worlds formed by unique, ephemeral individuals. On view through April 10th, 2020.
For more information, go to: https://www.fortpointarts.org/
BOSTON PROPER
From the series “A Welcomed Enigma” by Mary Kocol, courtesy of the artist and Gallery Naga.
Gallery Naga- Mary Kocol’s “A Welcomed Enigma” presents cameraless images of flowers created on the glass of a flatbed scanner. These new “photograms” reveal the translucence and soft forms, hues and textures of delicate leaves, petals and stems of specimens common to local New England Gardens. On view through March 28th, 2020. An opening reception is planned for March 6th, 2020 from 6pm to 8pm.
A floral demonstration featuring Bespoke and Ikebana Designs with Boston based Artistry Floral is planned for Saturday, March 21st at 1pm. For more information and to RSVP, go to: https://www.gallerynaga.com
From the series “The Size of a Grapefruit” by Eva Woolridge, courtesy of the artist and Leica Gallery Boston.
Leica Gallery Boston- The Leica Women Foto Project has given grants to three women as part of an initiative to “educate, encourage and empower photographers to demonstrate the importance and impact of a woman’s point of view. The award serves as a catalyst to reframe how we see, how we think, and how we express our visual narrative.” Photographers Debi Cornwall, Yana Paskova and Eva Woolridge are the inaugural recipients of this grant. The Leica Women Foto Summit initially planned for this weekend in Boston has been postponed, but their exhibition is currently on view through April 26th, 2020. For more information go to: https://leicagalleryboston.com
Elsa Dorfman, Me and My Camera, 1986. Dye diffusion photograph (Polaroid print). Gift of Elsa Dorfman in Honor of Harvey A. Silverglate. © Elsa Dorfman, 2013, all rights reserved (courtesy of MFA, Boston).
MFA, Boston – Elsa Dorfman: Me and My Camera highlights a selection of 20″x 24″ Polaroid self-portraits by the famed Cambridge portrait photographer, as well as a group of smaller B&W images from her landmark 1974 photobook Elsa’s Housebook: A Woman’s Photojournal. This autobiographical chronicle of Dorfman’s ebullient, fascinating life will be on view from February 8th – June 21st, 2020. For more information about the exhibit and associated programming, go to: https://www.mfa.org/exhibition/elsa-dorfman-me-and-my-camera
Untitled, from the “Home” series by Gohar Dashti (Iranian,born in 1980), 2017, photograph, inkjet print © Gohar Dashti, Courtesy, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
Also at MFA, Boston – Reimagining Home: Photographs by Bahman Jalali and Gohar Dashti compares the work of Iranian pioneer Jalali (1944-2010) and his student, contemporary photographer Gohar Dashti, illuminating the ways in which they combine documentary and imaginary elements in their distinctive photography to explore common themes of belonging, displacement, cultural history and memory. On view through July 12th, 2020.
To read our review, go to: https://www.whatwillyouremember.com/reimagining-home-photographs-by-bahman-malala-and-gohar-dashti-at-the-museum-of-fine-arts-boston/
For more information, go to: https://www.mfa.org/exhibition/reimagining-home
CAMBRIDGE AND JAMAICA PLAIN
(Featured Image) “View of President’s Chair Back” © Pete Souza (courtesy of the artist and Bridge Gallery).
The Bridge Gallery- An intimate portrait of the Obama White House, photographs by the former official Presidential photographer Pete Souza opening on March 14th, 2020. For more information, go to: https://www.bridge.photos
“Ntozakhe II, Parktown, Johannesburg, 2016” © Zanele Muholi. Courtesy of Stevenson, Cape Town/Johannesburg and Yancey Richardson, New York.
Cooper Gallery at Harvard University, Cambridge – In Somnyama Ngonyama: Hail the Dark Lionness, South African activist photographer Zanele Muholi explores race, representation and identity politics in over 80 self-portraits laced with urgency, solemnity and sometimes biting sarcasm.
To read our review, go to: https://www.whatwillyouremember.com/zanele-muholi-somnyama-ngonyama-hail-the-dark-lioness-at-cooper-gallery-cambridge-ma/
On view through June 1st, 2020, for information, go to: https://coopergallery.fas.harvard.edu/somnyama-ngonyama
Polaroid cameras from 1948- 1957 (courtesy MIT Museum). Installation photo by Elin Spring
The MIT Museum, Cambridge – After traveling around the world, the critically acclaimed exhibit The Polaroid Project: At the Intersection of Art and Technology opened at the MIT Museum last fall, approximately a block from where instant film was first invented. Exploring the art-technology relationship through the exhibition of both art and artifacts, the show includes work by a veritable hit parade of Polaroid photographers, from André Kertész to Andy Warhol. Part II of this exhibition will be on view from March 9th, through June 21st, 2020.
To read our review, go to: https://whatwillyouremember.com/the-polaroid-project-at-the-intersection-of-art-and-technology-mit-museum-cambridge-ma/
For more information about the exhibit and its terrific associated programming, go to: https://mitmuseum.mit.edu/thepolaroidproject
From the PRC exhibit, Present Histories Redefined, Left to right, details of self portraits by Joanna Tam, Feda Eid, and Jonathan Mark Jackson
(courtesy of the artists).
Photographic Resource Center (PRC), VanDernoot Gallery at Lesley University, Cambridge – Hong Kong-born Joanna Tam, Lebanese-American Feda Eid, and African-American Jonathan Mark Jackson explore personal and societal identities of those marginalized by racial and cultural tensions in Present Histories Redefined, curated by Jessica Burko, PRC Program Manager. On view through March 27th, 2020.
The PRC will host a panel discussion with the artists, moderated by Christine Mok, Assistant Professor of English, University of Rhode Island on Sunday, March 22nd, 2020 from 3:00 – 5:00pm.
For directions, hours and information about the exhibit and associated programming, go to: https://prcboston.org/present-histories-redefined/
“Milk” © Lindley Warren Mickunas (courtesy of the artist and Aviary Gallery).
Aviary Gallery, Jamaica Plain – Curated by Dylan Hausthor, Knotweed group exhibition features photographs that “blend truth and lies, fictions and experience” by 14 area artists. On view during February and March, 2020. For more information, go to: http://www.aviarygallery.com/
THE BURBS
From the series “Not Waving But Dreaming” by Michelle Rogers-Pritzl, courtesy of the artist and the Griffin Museum of Photography.
Griffin Museum – Winner of the John Chervinski scholarship, Michelle Rogers-Pritzl presents “Not Waving but Drowning” in the Griffin Gallery. It is the story of an Evangelical marriage bound by rigid gender roles and oppressive isolation which she left in 2014. Crafted in wet-plate collodion, Pritzl describes the work as her protest against being silenced by her faith and family. On view through March 27th, 2020, a reception is planned for Sunday, March 15th from 4 to 6pm. For more information go to https://griffinmuseum.org/show/not-waving-drowning/
Liz Albert “Day’s End” from “Family Fictions” courtesy of the artist and the Danforth.
Danforth Art Museum at Framingham State University – Liz Albert’s vernacular photo pairings subvert other people’s snapshots into mysterious, fun and sometimes nefarious narratives in her solo show Family Fictions, on view through April 5th, 2020. Family Circle is a multi-media exhibit featuring work by seven artists including photographers Claudia Ruiz-Gustafson, Lee Kilpatrick and Kristen Joy Emack, on view through May 10th, 2020.
To read our review, go to: https://www.whatwillyouremember.com/family-fictions-family-circle-at-the-danforth/
For more information, go to: https://danforth.framingham.edu/see-art/
Gordon Parks, Washington, D.C. Government charwoman, July 1942. Gelatin silver print mounted to board, 11 7/16 x 9 7/16 inches. Prints and Photographs Division, L.O.C., Washington, D.C. Farm Security Administration/Office of War Information Photograph (courtesy of Addison Gallery of American Art).
Addison Gallery of American Art, Andover – Gordon Parks: The New Tide, Early Work 1940-1950 is a traveling exhibit originated at the National Gallery of Art that focuses on the formative first decade of Parks’s 60-year career, bringing together 150 photographs and ephemera—including magazines, books, letters, and family pictures. On view through April 26th, 2020, for more information, go to: https://addison.andover.edu/Exhibitions/GordonParks/Pages/default.aspx#Title1
To read our review, go to: https://www.whatwillyouremember.com/gordon-parks-the-new-tide-early-work-1940-1950-at-addison-gallery-of-american-art-andover-ma/
Kevin Bubriski, “World Trade Center Series, September 2001” gelatin silver print, courtesy of the artist and the deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum.
DeCordova Sculpture Park and Museum, Lincoln – Photosynthesis encompasses a suite of three interrelated photography exhibits that consider diverse subjects – from botanical design to news reportage – in light of current ideas about truth in imagery. Truthiness and the News, All the Marvelous Surfaces: Photography Since Karl Blossfeldt and Peter Hutchinson: Landscapes of My Life will be on view through March 29th, 2020.
To read our review of All The Marvelous Surfaces, go to: https://whatwillyouremember.com/all-the-marvelous-surfaces-at-decordova-scuplture-park-and-museum/
To read our review of Truthiness and the News, go to: https://whatwillyouremember.com/truthiness-and-the-news-decordova-scupture-park-and-museum/
For more information, go to: https://decordova.org/art/current-exhibitions
The Davis Museum at Wellesley College, Wellesley – Going Viral features 123 “found” pictures mined from the Peter J. Cohen Collection gift of nearly 1,000 anonymous snapshots, organized into eleven sections that explore various performances, rituals, and gestures that have gone viral via photography. On view from February 6th – June 7th, 2020.
For more information about this exhibit, go to: https://www.wellesley.edu/davismuseum/whats-on/current/node/171876?fbclid=IwAR3rtrD5Hka75Xpd__XlPC4FxQpm_BKMUiFL9YOK7xx8J58ePVAmxbJnhRc
The Davis with the Photographic Resource Center also presents “Symposium: Hand Made Photography Today” this Saturday, March 7th from 11am to 5:oopm. For more information and tickets go to: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/handmade-photography-today-symposium-tickets-83063943491
Michael Hintlian from the series “Something to Live For” courtesy of the artist and the Garner Center Gallery at the New England School of Photography.
Garner Center at New England School of Photography (NESOP), Waltham – Veteran street photographer Michael Hintlian blends photographic tradition with contemporary times in his full-frame, analog prints capturing the pulse of life in today’s America in his solo exhibit Something To Live For. Last chance! Show closes this Friday, March 6th, 2020.
To read our review, go to: https://www.whatwillyouremember.com/michael-hintlian-garner-center-gallery-new-england-school-of-photography/
For more information, go to: https://www.nesop.edu/events/the-garner-center/something-to-live-for/
Marblehead Portrait Project 1990-1995. All photographs taken with Type 55 Polaroid material. Original negatives destroyed in studio fire in 2003. Image files and prints produced from Kodak photo CD (1995) made from 35mm slides of original 20×24 silver prints ©Rick Ashley (courtesy of the artist).
Marblehead Museum, Marblehead – Famously the “Birthplace of the American Navy,” quaint coastal Marblehead is steeped in history that its townspeople celebrate with gusto and charm at every opportunity. It is no wonder then, that celebrated resident photographer Rick Ashley and the 2003 “Fire of Historic Proportions” (Marblehead Reporter) that brought down his studio along with beloved “Tony’s Pizza” is the Museum’s current focus in its “Marblehead Memories Project.” Salvaged from the devastating fire are a wonderful wall of Ashley’s reclaimed 20″ x 24″ Polaroids capturing the town’s quirky character through a full range of its citizens. If you knew nothing else about Marblehead, Ashley’s portraits would be a genuine guidebook. Another wall is devoted to the 35mm street photographs made at town events with the melted Leica displayed nearby, as are other photographs and ephemera that are cause for wonderment and delight. On view through April 30th, 2020. For more information, go to: https://marbleheadmuseum.org/category/current-exhibits/
BEYOND BOSTON
Jo Sandman, Light Memory #2, 2006, sepia-toned silver gelatin print, 16” x 20”. Gift of the artist, 2019.87.2. (courtesy of the artist and Fitchburg Art Museum).
Fitchburg Art Museum, Fitchburg, MA – Experimental artist Jo Sandman has employed antique nineteenth-century photographic processes alongside contemporary medical and digital imaging techniques in photographs exploring the human figure, mortality, and the tensions between the material and the spiritual. Her solo, three decade retrospective Jo Sandman: The Photographic Work celebrates the museum’s acquisition of over 70 photographs by Sandman, the largest collection of the artist’s photography internationally and relates to themes explored in FAM’s concurrent exhibition, After Spiritualism: Loss and Transcendence in Contemporary Art. On view from February 8th – June 7th, 2020, for more information, go to: https://fitchburgartmuseum.org/jo-sandman/
Postcard courtesy of the RI Center for Photographic Arts.
Rhode Island Center for Photographic Arts- To celebrate women’s history month, the center has organized an invitational show, “Behind the Lens 2020.” featuring the work by five women photographers selected from submissions to their open calls. They are Grace Marie Dewitt, Deb Ehrens, Molly Lamb, Zena Tadmoury & Jess Voas, and the exhibit will be on view from March 19th through April 10th, 2020. An opening reception is planned for March 19th from 5:00pm to 9:00pm. For more information go to: https://www.riphotocenter.org/behind-the-lens-2020-women-in-photography/
Share On Facebook
Tweet It
