By Elin Spring and Suzanne Révy
Once again, we find ourselves galloping headlong into the holiday season. As the world continues to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, we respectfully submit that gratitude and inspiration can be kind allies. We encourage you to experience the joy of photography inside galleries and museums this season. Better yet, in the spirit of giving, invite your friends and family members to share in your adventures. Throughout the Boston metro region and beyond, there are engaging photography exhibits and events in the month ahead. Here we present the offerings we find most enticing, listed by region for your planning convenience. Feel free to stop back throughout the month, as we update our listings periodically.
BOSTON PROPER
Alfred Eisenstaedt “VJ Day in Times Square, 1945,” Gelatin silver print, contact sheet. Alan and Susan Solomont. Photo by Alfred Eisenstaedt. © LIFE Picture Collection. Courtesy of the MFA, Boston.
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston – LIFE Magazine and the Power of Photography journeys through a tumultuous period in American history and culture, featuring imagery from the celebrated magazine’s archives. Published weekly from 1936 to 1972, the magazine’s photo essays capture some of the defining moments—celebratory and traumatic alike—of the last century, from the Birmingham civil rights demonstrations to the historic Apollo 11 moon landing. The exhibit reveals the collaborative efforts behind many now-iconic images and stories by photographers such as Margaret Bourke-White, Larry Burrows, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Frank Dandridge, Gordon Parks, W. Eugene Smith and Alfred Eisenstaedt (above). Three immersive contemporary “moments” feature works by artists active today who offer their critical reflections on photojournalism. On view through January 16th, 2023.
For more information, go to: https://www.mfa.org/exhibition/life-magazine-and-the-power-of-photography
“Perennial” 2006 by David Hilliard, courtesy of the artist, Yancey Richardson Gallery, NYC and MFA, Boston.
Also at Museum of Fine Arts, Boston – The Stillness of Things: Photographs from the Lane Collection presents nearly 60 innovative photographs grouped thematically across two galleries. The special treat is that they are all departures from the traditional still life and span the entire history of photography. Featuring photographs from the 1840s by William Henry Fox Talbot to the work of contemporary artists such as David Hilliard (above), Adam Fuss, Kenro Izu, Abelardo Morell, and Olivia Parker, the exhibit will be on view through February 27th, 2023.
For our review, go to: https://www.whatwillyouremember.com/stillness-of-things-photography-exhibit-at-the-museum-of-fine-arts-boston/
For more information, go to: https://www.mfa.org/exhibition/the-stillness-of-things
“Angel Trumpets” 2020, by Cig Harvey, courtesy of the artist and Robert Klein Gallery, Boston.
Robert Klein Gallery – Cig Harvey’s intoxicating photographs of flora are siren songs that lure the viewer into a multi-sensory thunderbolt. Her solo show Eat Flowers showcases images from Harvey’s latest book,”Blue Violet,” a mesmerizing visual procession through the seasons that, along with her lyrical musings, radiate a vibrant sense of awe. Harvey is being honored at Paris Photo next week and her work will be shown at the JP Morgan Chase booth, alongside eleven other renowned photographers. Her Boston exhibit will be on view by appointment through December 17th, 2022.
For gallery hours and more information, go to: https://www.robertkleingallery.com/exhibitions/71-cig-harvey-eat-flowers-robert-klein-gallery-38-newbury-street/overview/
Photograph by Joe Greer from “A Photographic Journey,” courtesy of the artist and Leica Gallery Boston.
Leica Gallery Boston – Joe Greer’s solo retrospective “A Photographic Journey” features work from his global adventures, ranging from commercial portraits to street photography. On view through November 14th, 2022.
Photo 0f John Mulaney by Jeff Garlin, courtesy of Leica Gallery Boston.
Coming next at Leica Gallery Boston – The opening reception for “A Big Bowl of Wonderful” by photographer and comedian Jeff Garlin on Saturday, November 19th from 6-8pm, with artist in attendance. This body of work showcases portraits of celebrities behind the scenes from Garlin’s insider perspective.
For information and free registration, go to: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/jeff-garlin-big-bowl-of-wonderful-exhibit-reception-at-leica-boston-registration-444724341477?aff=erelexpmlt
SOWA – Boston’s South End Arts District
Installation view of “Dusk Elegies” from the series Black & Blue by Judy Haberl, courtesy of the artist and Gallery Kayafas, Boston.
Gallery Kayafas – In her solo exhibit Black & Blue, artist Judy Haberl creates monoprints from photographs she made using the backlit window frame over her kitchen sink during the long, dark pandemic shut-down. Haberl’s meditations on this period are at once solemn and fanciful, a nuanced reflection of the conflicting desires for sanctuary and escape. On view from November 4th – December 10th, 2022, there will be Receptions with the artist on First Fridays November 4th and December 2nd from 5:30 – 8:00pm.
For more information, go to: https://www.gallerykayafas.com/
“Rays” from the series and book The Dune Shacks of Provincetown by Jane Paradise, courtesy of the artist and Galatea Fine Art, Boston.
Galatea Fine Art – In her solo exhibit The Dune Shacks of Provincetown, Jane Paradise invokes the individual mystique and charm of these isolated huts, constructed largely of debris and shipwrecked ruins between 1890 – 1920. Surrounded by sweeping dunes, moody ocean and abundant wildlife, they lack basic creature comforts but continue to draw families and artists of every ilk for “summer residencies.” Known for plumbing intimate connections between people and their environments, Paradise’s images reflect a profound longing for “home.” On view through November 27th, 2022, there will be an Opening Reception on First Friday, November 4th from 6:00 – 8:00 pm and an Artist Talk on Sunday, November 13th at 1:00pm.
For more information, go to: https://www.galateafineart.com/
FORT POINT NEIGHBORHOOD
Photographs from the series Lost and Found by Michael Joseph, courtesy of the artist and PRC, Boston.
Photographic Resource Center (PRC, Boston) at fp3 Gallery – In his stunning series Lost and Found, photographer Michael Joseph creates portraits of “travelers,” a sub-culture whose tattoos, piercings, ragged clothing, and spare belongings comprise a visual storybook of the adventure or escape they seek on the roads and rails of America. On view at the fp3 Gallery through November 18th, 2022.
For directions, hours and more information about the exhibit, go to: https://www.prcboston.org/lost-and-found-photographs-by-michael-joseph/
CAMBRIDGE
From “Campesino Cuba” by Richard Sharum, courtesy of the artist and Bridge Gallery, Cambridge, MA.
Bridge Gallery – In his solo show “Campesino Cuba,” Richard Sharum shares images created while imbedding himself for four years in the remote, rarely visited, countryside documenting the lives of the Campesinos, the peasant farmers who are the lifeblood of the Cuban agricultural system. On view through November 19th, 2022.
For more information, go to: https://www.bridge.photos/shows
BROOKLINE
Installation view of “Fractured & Found” by Jessica Burko, courtesy of the artist.
Brookline Arts Center – The teetering structures in Jesica Burko’s installation Fractured & Found are a pointed and poignant exploration of life’s conflicting roles, demands, and emotions, embodied by photographic self-portraits compartmentalized in reclaimed wooden drawers. Origin Stories, photographs chronicling Burko’s discovery of the furniture, enliven nearby walls. On view at the Beacon Street Gallery through January 15th, 2023.
For more information, go to: https://www.brooklineartscenter.com/beacon
THE BURBS
Image by Danny Lyon, Knoxville, 1967, courtesy of Jim Fitts.
Griffin Museum of Photography, Winchester – Curated by Andrew Epstein, Griffin Museum Director of the Board and veteran collector, Critical Eye gathers a selection of works from ten New England based photography collectors that focus on twentieth and twenty first century photography, from hand painted tintypes and albumen prints to gelatin silver and collage. On view from November 3rd – December 4th, 2022, there will be a public Opening Reception on Sunday, November 6th from 4:00 – 6:00pm.
For more information, go to: https://griffinmuseum.org/show/criticaleye/
From the series Fugue States by Aline Smithson, courtesy of the artist and Griffin Museum.
Also at the Griffin Museum – In her solo exhibit Fugue States, Aline Smithson creates haunting and sometimes disturbingly disrupted images through chemical and/or digital manipulation, probing both the legacy of physical prints and the lifespan of digital files in our rapidly changing photographic world. In his solo show A Facefull of Mangoes, Justin Michael Emmanuel presents his award-winning graduate thesis work completed at the University of Hartford Art School in 2021. In this series of sensitive B&W documentary images, he addresses systemic racism by inviting empathy and “showing the human aptitude to love.” Both exhibits will be on view from November 3rd – December 4th, 2022. There will be a public Opening Reception on Sunday, November 6th from 4:00 – 6:00pm.
For more information, go to: https://griffinmuseum.org/griffin-museum-galleries/
From the series A Facefull of Mangoes by Justin Michael Emmanuel, courtesy of the artist and Griffin Museum.
“Mothercraft” by Toni Pepe, rephotographed appropriated press image from the series Mothercraft, courtesy of the artist and the Danforth Art Museum.
Danforth Art Museum at Framingham State University, Framingham – Three solo exhibits curated by Danforth Art Director Jessica Roscio, Toni Pepe’s An Ordinary Devotion, Lisa Rosowsky’s Othering and Jane Szabo’s Family Matters, grapple with the current political landscape through the lens of the personal, utilizing or appropriating photography to consider the role of family and memory in the hierarchies of private and public power. On view through January 29th, 2023.
For our review, go to: https://www.whatwillyouremember.com/toni-pepe-an-ordinary-devotion-lisa-rosowsky-othering-jane-szabo-family-matters-at-danforth-art-in-framingham-ma/
For more information, go to: https://danforth.framingham.edu/see-art/
“The Missing” by Lisa Rosowsky, 2016, featuring photographs courtesy of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum “Remember Me” project. (Installation photograph by Suzanne Révy)
“I Wish it Weren’t So” by Jane Szabo, 2017, from the series Family Matters, courtesy of the artist and the Danforth Art Museum.
“First Frost, Path to Newbury Field, Concord, MA” 2021, from the series A Murmur in the Trees by Suzanne Révy, courtesy of the artist.
Concord Free Public Library, Concord – Photographer (and WWYR? Associate Editor) Suzanne Révy follows in the footsteps of Thoreau as she wanders through the unfolding seasons in her series A Murmur in the Trees. In each multiple-panel landscape, an alchemy of lyrical patterns, undulating focus, palpable atmospherics, and above all, that certain slant of light, suspend the viewer in an ethereal place of stillness. A selection from this series will be presented in conversation with drawings by Mica K. Knapp in the exhibit Works of Light, on view through November 30th, 2022. There will be a free public Reception on Saturday, November 12th from 1:00 – 4:00pm.
For more information, go to: https://concordlibrary.org/news-events/exhibits
“BU Terrier Invitational Day” by Pelle Cass, from the series Crowded Fields, courtesy of the artist, DeCordova Sculpture Park and Museum and Abigail Ogilvy Gallery, Boston, MA.
DeCordova Sculpture Park and Museum, Lincoln – New Formations celebrates the human body in athleticism and performance through painting, video and photography including work by Pelle Cass, Heather Rasmusson and Philip Trager. Contemporary photographs will be installed along with a collection of vernacular pictures recently donated to the museum from the Peter Cohen Collection. In addition, the museum presents Downstream using photography and video with an element of fluidity to evoke the disparities in living conditions during this age of climate change, featuring photographs by Paul D’Amato, Charles “Teeny” Harris, Arno Rafael Minkkinen, and Abelardo Morrell among others. All exhibitions are on view through March 12, 2023.
For more information: https://thetrustees.org/program/decordova-exhibitions/
“Piranha, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University” by Rosamond Purcell, courtesy of the artist and the Addison Gallery of American Art, Andover, MA.
Addison Gallery of American Art, Andover – Rosamond Purcell: Nature Stands Aside is the first retrospective of this Boston-based photographer and conceptual artist who has influenced Mark Dion and Sally Mann among others. Working alongside paleontologists, anthropologists and other scholars, Purcell explores the human drive to collect and inspect in an effort to understand the world. On view through December 31st, 2022. Also at the Addison, Harry Benson: Four Stories offers a dive into the legendary photojournalist’s archive, emphasizing his coverage of the building of the Berlin Wall, the Beatle’s first American tour, the James Meredith March Against Fear and the Robert F. Kennedy assassination. On view through January 30th, 2023.
For more information: https://addison.andover.edu/Pages/default.aspx
“Pillow Fight, Paris” by Harry Benson, 1964, 44″x44″ gelatin silver print, gift of Eileen and Jonathan Otto, courtesy of the Addison Gallery of American Art, Andover, MA.
“Valeriia” by Faith Ninivaggi, from the series Unwavering Spirit, courtesy of the artist.
Hoon Keith Quiet Study Lounge Gallery, Curry College, Milton – In Unwavering Spirit, photojournalist Faith Ninivaggi’s uses a 4″x5″ camera and black and white film to make portraits of Boston area Ukrainian students. She accompanies the portraits with interviews that reveal their anxieties and fears and how they supported each other in the wake of Russia’s unprovoked attack on their country. On view through January 23rd, 2023, a Reception is planned for TONIGHT! November 3rd, 2022 from 6:30 to 9:30pm.
For more information: https://www.curry.edu/student-life/student-center/hoon-keith-quiet-study-lounge
“Jackdaws flying and Self-Portrait” by David Krooshof, chronograph from the series Dark Trails, courtesy of the artist and the Schiltkamp Gallery, Clark University.
Schiltkamp Gallery in the Traina Center for the Arts, Clark University, Worcester – Curated by Stephen DiRado, The Affected Landscape brings together four artists – David Krooshof, Peter Mauney, Anne Rowland and Seth David Rubin – who explore landscape through photographic experimentation, manipulation and appropriation, resulting in fractured or liquid forms across the images. On view through November 30th, 2022.
For more information: https://www.clarku.edu/departments/visual-and-performing-arts/facilities/schiltkamp-gallery/
“Ritual Dance, Bhutan” by Ron Rosenstock, 2009, courtesy of the artist and the Fitchburg Art Museum.
Fitchburg Art Museum, Fitchburg – Ron Rosenstock’s World in Color presents saturated studies from global travels of this the central Massachusetts based photographer. Known primarily for his black and white pictures and overseas workshops, this is the first time the photographer presents his color work. On view through March 15th 2023.
For more information: https://fitchburgartmuseum.org/ron-rosenstocks-world-in-color/
William Thomas Saunders (1832–1892)
Feather, 1860–s1880s
Albumen print
10 5/8 × 8 1/8 inches (26.7 × 20.6 cm)
Peabody Essex Museum
Museum Collection, 1981
PH23.2
Peabody Essex Museum (PEM), Salem – Power and Perspective: Early Photography in China explores how the camera transformed perceptions of 19th-century China through more than 130 extraordinarily rare photographs accompanied by paintings, decorative arts, and prints. Exhibit co-curator Stephanie Hueon Tung, PEM’s Byrne Family Curator of Photography lends perspective on the show: “Photography has never been a neutral technology of documentation; who and what gets captured and the stories that these photographs tell is a function of power.” The show incorporates work from a collaboration with current emerging photographers in China, who responded to images in the exhibit with works that offer their personal insights into China today. On view through April 2, 2023.
For more information, go to: https://www.pem.org/exhibitions/power-and-perspective-early-photography-in-china
LED mixed media cyanotypes on silk by Amy Heller at the Provincetown Art Association and Museum. (Installation photograph by Suzanne Révy)
Provincetown Art Association and Museum (PAAM), Provincetown – Out of the Blue brings together three Cape Cod artists exploring the creative possibilities of the historic Cyanotype process. Curated by Michelle Law, it features Midge Battelle, Rebecca Bruyn and Amy Heller LAST CHANCE! On view through November 13th, 2022.
To read our review: https://www.whatwillyouremember.com/out-of-the-blue-midge-battelle-rebecca-bruyn-amy-heller-provincetown-art-association-and-museum-ma/
For more information: https://paam.org/out-of-the-blue-cyanotypes-by-midge-battelle-rebecca-bruyn-and-amy-heller/
ROAD TRIP!
Vermont
“there’s a place i want to take you” by Vanessa Leroy, courtesy of the artist and Gallery Kayafas, Boston.
Vermont Center for Photography (VCP), Brattleboro – The VCP is hosting its first ever Brattleboro Foto Festival from Thursday, November 3rd – Sunday November 6th, 2022. Featuring “PhotoSlam” TONIGHT! Thursday, November 3rd from 5:00 – 8:00pm, wherein photographers of all ages and experience can bring a thumb drive of 20 jpg files and take their turn at the “open mic.” Other events include an Opening Reception for Vanessa Leroy’s “there’s a place i want to take you” featuring her dreamlike autobiographical cyanotypes in the Main Gallery (above) and Eddy Pula‘s empathetic street photographs in the Latchis Theatre Gallery (below) both on Friday, November 4th from 5:00 – 8:00pm.
For a schedule of the full weekend of events, go to: https://vcphoto.org/fotofest/?mc_cid=77b6e50d78&mc_eid=32d17572ca
Photograph by Eddy Pula, courtesy of the artist and VCP, Brattleboro.
From the exhibition Renate Aller: Between Memory and Expectation, courtesy of the artist and the Brattleboro Museum and Art Center, Brattleboro, VT.
Brattleboro Museum and Art Center, Brattleboro – “The interval—the space in between—is about the moments during which apparently nothing happens; but without these moments, change is impossible. The Space Between Memory and Expectation is another way to describe this stillness and transition.” In Renate Aller’s solo exhibition (and accompanying monograph, Kehrer Verlag 2021) she uses large-format photographic installations to create “picture windows” that invite the viewer to enter and absorb the textures of the landscapes and all that they imply: movement, change, time, and human influence. On view through February 12th, 2023.
For more information, go to: https://www.brattleboromuseum.org/2022/06/10/renate-aller-the-space-between-memory-and-expectation/
Connecticut
Installation by Komatsu Hiroko, courtesy of the artist and the Joseloff Gallery at the Hartford Art School, University of Hartford.
Joseloff Gallery at Hartford Art School, University of Hartford, West Hartford – The first large scale exhibition in the U.S. of Japanese artist Komatsu Hiroko: Second Decade features her signature immersive photographic environments together with handmade artist books, photograms, and 8mm films, plunging viewers into a magical world of monochrome. On view through December 10th, 2022.
For more information: https://www.hartford.edu/academics/schools-colleges/art/galleries/default.aspx
Maine
“Kate and Rachel Van Der Zee, Lenox, MA” by James Van Der Zee, 1909, courtesy of the Portland Art Museum, Portland, ME.
Portland Museum of Art, Portland – Presence: The Photography Collection of Judith Glickman Lauder highlights a broad range of 20th century photography, including works by James Van Der Zee (above), Berenice Abbot, Diane Arbus, Sally Mann, Gordon Parks and Roman Vishniac among others. The exhibition marks Lauder’s promised gift to the museum of some six hundred works, which will transform and enhance the museum’s photography holdings. On view through January 15th, 2023.
For more information: https://www.portlandmuseum.org/exhibitions
“Spread your Wings” by Sue Michlovitz, 2019, courtesy of the artist and Cove Street Arts, Portland, ME.
Cove Street Arts, Portland – Portland Debuts introduces eight photographers to Portland’s photography audiences. Curated by Bruce Brown, the exhibition features imagery by Will Brown, Michael Heathers, Diane Hemingway, David Manski, Sue Michlovitz (picture above), Ellen Toby Slotnick, Suzanne Theodora White and Adam Daley Wilson. On view through November 19th, 2022.
For more information: https://www.covestreetarts.com/exhibitions-1/portlanddebuts
#3, From the Rose Colored Goggles series, 2022, appropriated photo transfer of a female soldier, embroidery thread and a fragment of a pink receiving blanket, by Deb Whitney, courtesy of the artist and Maine Museum of Photographic Arts, Portland.
Maine Museum of Photographic Arts (MMPA), Portland – Twenty artists contribute to the eclectic Morphing Medium, Photographic Books, Installations, Alternative Processes, and Ephemera, on view through December 3rd, 2022.
For information and associated programming for this exhibit, go to: https://www.mainemuseumofphotographicarts.org/
Rhode Island
Rhode Island Center for Photographic Arts (RICPA), Providence – Juror Eric Kunsman brings together the works of seventy-one photographers working in B&W photography. On view from November 17th – December 9th, 2022, there will be an Opening Reception on Thursday, November 17th from 5:00 – 8:00pm.
For more information, go to: https://www.riphotocenter.org/black-white-and-all-the-grays-between-call-for-entry/
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