“May you live in interesting times” ~Proverb
By Elin Spring and Suzanne Révy
September 2024 is definitely an interesting time. In the throes of this thrilling and bizarre election season, many photographers are offering their interpretations of today’s most compelling issues and political personalities, whether inspiring or just weird. Several area museums and galleries are featuring relevant exhibits, spanning subjects like misinformation and disinformation, intriguing political personalities and broader issues of identity that resonate individually, nationally and internationally. The snap of autumn in New England has always been a time of fresh starts. We hope you will join in the excitement of these exhibits & events throughout the region. We have adapted our geographic listings for easier planning and urge you to check back throughout the month for new and updated information.
BOSTON PROPER
“Queen Anne’s Lace along the lane” by Barbara Bosworth, 2006, from the series The Meadow, inkjet print, Scott Offen Collection, © Barbara Bosworth* Courtesy Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA, Boston) – During her long career, photographer and naturalist Barbara Bosworth has created a trilogy of seminal projects devoted to The Meadow, The Heavens, and The Sea. In The Meadow, Bosworth, her large-format camera, and writer friend Margot Anne Kelley chronicled a meadow in Carlisle, Massachusetts over 15 years at different times of day and in all seasons. In the large-scale photographs on exhibit, Bosworth’s incessant curiosity, detailed observations and sense of belonging to the environment invite viewers to share her visceral and spiritual connections. The Meadow will be on view in the museum’s Herb Ritts Gallery through December 1st, 2024.
To read our review, go to: https://www.whatwillyouremember.com/barbara-bosworth-the-meadow-at-museum-of-fine-arts-boston/
For more information, go to: https://www.mfa.org/exhibition/barbara-bosworth-the-meadow
Installation view of Sherrie Levine, Walker Evans, the Library of Congress, and others: The Burroughs Family (a collection), courtesy of Krakow Witkin Gallery, Boston.
Krakow Witkin Gallery – If you are a fan of Walker Evans and love a convoluted, fascinating story, “Sherrie Levine, Walker Evans, the Library of Congress, and others: The Burroughs Family (a collection)” is for you. This assemblage brings together vintage 1936 photographs of the Alabama sharecropper Burroughs family by Walker Evans (from his project with writer James Agee culminating in the publication of “Let Us Now Praise Famous Men”), images from Sherrie Levine’s 1981 “After Walker Evans,” her appropriated and re-photographed images questioning authenticity, ownership, originality and traditional notions of the male artist as authority, and pictures produced by the Library of Congress, who owns the original negatives. Honoring the artists while raising questions, the collection will be on view from September 7th – October 5th, 2024.
For more information, go to: https://www.krakowwitkingallery.com/exhibition/walker-evans-sherrie-levine-the-library-of-congress-and-others-the-burroughs-family/
From the solo exhibit Reflections of Life by Manfred Baumann at Leica Gallery, Boston. (photo ©Manfred Baumann)
Leica Gallery Boston – Known for his international celebrity, fashion and editorial images, Austrian-born photographer Manfred Baumann’s solo exhibit of his documentary work Reflections of Life, will be on view through November 3rd, 2024.
For more information, go to: https://leicagalleryboston.com/
From the series A Stranger Visited Me by Gardner Mounce, courtesy of the artist and Panopticon Gallery, Boston.
Panopticon Gallery – In response to the timeless back-to-school prompt, How I Spent My Summer Vacation gathers the images of twelve photographers. By turns nostalgic, reflective, adventurous and fun, the exhibit will be on view from September 6th – November 1st, 2024, with a free, public Opening Reception on Thursday, September 19th from 6:00 – 8:00pm.
For more information, go to: https://www.panopticongallery.com/how-i-spent-my-summer-vacation
SOWA – Boston’s South End Arts District
Photograph by Florence Henri, courtesy of Abakus Projects, Boston.
Abakus Projects – Florence Henri: 1928-1933 features archival photographs by the artist (1893-1982), an American-born Swiss artist trained in music, painting and photography. She studied at the Bauhaus with László Maholy-Nagy, who said of her work, “With Florence Henri’s photos, photographic practice enters a new phase, the scope of which would have been unimaginable before today…. Reflections and spatial relationships, superposition and intersections are just some of the areas explored from a totally new perspective and viewpoint.” She was particularly celebrated for her use of mirrors, creating photographs that were at once exacting and ambiguous. On view through Sunday, September 22nd, 2024 there will be a free, public Opening Reception on First Friday, September 6th from 6:00 – 8:30pm.
For more information, go to: https://www.abakusprojects.com
GREATER BOSTON
“Best Friends Hannover #3” 2018 by Nevin Aladag, courtesy of the artist and Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, MA.
Harvard Art Museums (HAM), Cambridge – In a deep dive into factors contributing to a sense of national identity, HAM presents Made In Germany? Art and Identity in a Global Nation. Exhibition curator Lynette Roth has created an examination of the complexities of modern German identity, featuring mixed media artwork from 1980 to the present by artists of diverse backgrounds and different generations. The majority of the show is comprised of photographs, photo collages and videos exploring such influences as labor migration following World War II, the unification of East and West Germany in 1990, and the influx of asylum seekers to the country since 2015. Made in Germany? asks, rather than offers ready answers to, the question of who or what represents Germany today. On view from September 13th, 2024 – January 5th, 2025, there will be a free Opening Celebration on Thursday, September 12th from 6:00 – 7:30pm.
Registration is required for the free, public Opening Celebration: https://harvardartmuseums.org/calendar/opening-celebration-made-in-germany-art-and-identity-in-a-global-nation-featuring-artist-henrike-naumann
For information about the exhibit and extensive associated programming, go to: https://harvardartmuseums.org/exhibitions/6286/made-in-germany-art-and-identity-in-a-global-nation
Bridge Gallery, Cambridge – Photographer Mark Ostow’s unflinching eye offers a unique and revealing lens on political candidates in the lively solo show See How They Run. On view from September 14th – October 19th, 2024, there will be a free, public Opening Reception with the artist on Saturday, September 14th from 5:00 – 8:00pm.
For more information, go to: https://www.bridge.photos/contact
“Normal Heart” 2023, by Amy Giese, courtesy of the artist and PRC, Cambridge, MA.
Photographic Resource Center (PRC), Cambridge – EXPOSURE 2024: The 28th Annual PRC Juried Members Exhibition, with selections by Samantha Johnston, Executive Director & Curator, Colorado Photographic Arts Center, features limited portfolios by thirteen artists: Amy Giese (photo above), Abbey Hepner, Jeffrey Heyne, Kim Llerena, Greer Muldowney, Laura Beth Reese, Astrid Reischwitz, Anastasia Sierra, Lisa Tang Liu/J. David Tabor, Dean Terasaki, Suzanne Theodora White, Elizabeth Wiese, and Andrew Zou. On view at the Lesley University VanDernoot Gallery through September 29th, 2024.
EVENTS OF NOTE: There will be a free Gallery Night with the Artists on Thursday, September 19th from 6:30 – 8:30pm: https://www.prcboston.org/prc-nights-in-the-gallery-exposure-2024/
There will be a free Gallery Reception with the Curator on Saturday, September 28th from 5:00 – 7:00pm: https://www.prcboston.org/exposure-2024-the-28th-annual-prc-juried-members-exhibition-2/
To read our review, go to: https://www.whatwillyouremember.com/exposure-2024-juried-group-exhibit-at-photographci-resource-center-in-cambridge-ma/
For more information, go to: https://www.prcboston.org/exposure-2024-the-28th-annual-prc-juried-members-exhibition-2/
Genealogical Chart with Hair (A study of some Negro-white families in the United States), Caroline Bond Day, 1932. Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Peabody Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology at Harvard University, Cambridge – In his award-winning project, Manifest: Thirteen Colonies, Wendel A. White selected and photographed objects with charged historic and spiritual impact on African Americans. Black and white baby dolls from a famed social science experiment, a midcentury voting machine, a lock of Frederick Douglass’ hair all gain resonance in White’s spare, naturally-lit images. As the 2021 Robert Gardner Fellow in Photography at the museum, White’s exhibition is accompanied by a book published by the museum in conjunction with Radius Books. On view through Sunday, April 13th, 2025.
To read our review, go to: https://www.whatwillyouremember.com/wendel-white-exhibit-manifest-thirteen-colonies-at-harvard-peabody-museum-of-archaeology-and-ethnology-in-cambridge-ma/
For more information, go to: https://peabody.harvard.edu/news/wendel-white-photo-exhibition-manifest-thirteen-colonies-open-harvard%E2%80%99s-peabody-museum
THE BURBS – Route 128 to Worcester
Feature Image: From the series Capital Gains, 2022 by Hayley Lohn, courtesy of the artist and Griffin Museum of Photography, Winchester, MA.
Griffin Museum of Photography, Winchester – Three fall shows tackle issues of personal and political consequence. In Artificial Intelligence: Disinformation in a Post Truth World, Josh Azzarella, Rashed Haq, Hayley Lohn (photo above), Andrea Orejarena & Caleb Stein and Phillip Toledano exploit manipulation and distortion to question “reality” during and far beyond elections. Marcus DeSieno’s solo show Privacy is a Myth We Tell Ourselves to Sleep and Sheri Lynn Behr’s solo show And You Were There, Too (photos below) each delve into the ubiquitous practice of surveillance and outdated assumptions of privacy. On view from September 6th – October 27th, there will be a free, public Opening Reception with many of the artists on Saturday, September 6th from 6:00 – 8:00pm.
For more information, go to: https://griffinmuseum.org/
From the series Privacy is a Myth We Tell Ourselves to Sleep by Marcus DeSieno, courtesy of the artist and Griffin Museum of Photography, Winchester, MA.
From the series And You Were There, Too by Sheri Lynn Behr, courtesy of the artist and Griffin Museum of Photography, Winchester, MA.
“Vision(ary): Portraits of Cultures, Communities and Environments” installation courtesy of Susan Lapides.
In addition, the Griffin Museum presents an outdoor installation called Vision(ary): Portraits of Cultures, Communities and Environments, consisting of twenty photography projects that celebrate regional customs and traditions scattered throughout downtown Winchester. The installations will be on view through September 16th, 2024.
CENTRAL & WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS
“Are My Dreams too Bold for the Carbon Skin I Bear” by Wilfred Ukpong, 2011-2017, from the series Blazing Century 1: Niger Delta/Future Cosmos, Sinon Collection Fund, courtesy of the artist and the Fitchburg Art Museum.
Fitchburg Art Museum, Fitchburg – In an ongoing celebration of their expanding photography collection that now includes a large selection of pictures made by African photographers, the museum has installed Africa Rising: 21st Century African Photography. It includes photographs by Zanele Muholi, Lalla Essaydi, and Wilfred Ukpong (above), among others whose work grapples with themes such as environmental exploitation, the aftermath of colonialism, women’s empowerment and Afro-Futurism. On view through February 23rd, 2025.
To read our review: https://www.whatwillyouremember.com/africa-rising-contemporary-photographs-at-the-firtchburg-art-museum-fitchburg-ma/
“Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain, Philadelphia” by Walter Iooss, 1966, Gift of Benjamin Janisko, courtesy of the artist and the Fitchburg Art Museum.
Also at Fitchburg Art – With the world’s attention on Olympics this past summer, it is fitting to see the legendary sports photographer Walter Iooss’ dynamic pictures collected and showcased in a museum setting. Iooss boasts over 300 Sports Illustrated covers from his sixty year career covering a broad range of major sporting events. He employed a cinematic eye with a well developed sense of timing and visual spectacle during his storied career. GOAT: The Sports Photography of Walter Iooss will be on view through January 5th, 2025.
To read our review: https://www.whatwillyouremember.com/g-o-a-t-the-sports-photography-of-walter-iooss-at-fitchburg-art-museum-ma/
For more information: https://fitchburgartmuseum.org
“Mushrooms and Shadows” by Anne Arden McDonald, courtesy of the artist and Sohn Fine Art, Lenox.
Sohn Fine Art, Lenox – Alchemy of Light presents work by artists who employ light, chemistry and metals to create cameraless compositions of texture and form. Participating artists are Michael Flomen, Chuck Kelton, Anne Arden McDonald and sculptures by Jonathan Prince. Also showing, Marilyn Uncovered: The Bert Stern Family Collection. On view through September 30th, 2024.
For more information: https://www.sohnfineart.com
CAPE COD & THE ISLANDS
Gary Marotta Fine Art, Provincetown – “Still,” a solo show featuring the exotic and playful still-life photographs of Kimberly Witham is on view through October 17th, 2024.
For more information, go to: https://garymarottafineart.com/
ROAD TRIP!
Rhode Island
Courtesy of The Rhode Island Center for Photographic Arts.
Rhode Island Center for Photographic Arts, Providence – The fifth annual Juried Members’ Spotlight showcases projects by seven members juried by Frances Jakubek. Participating photographers are Lee Cott, Laurie Peek, Reed Pike, Keith Prue, Matt Temple, Sean Sullivan and Martha Wakefield. On view through September 13th, 2024.
For more information, go to: https://www.riphotocenter.org/
Connecticut
Folded Cyantoype by Fritz Horstman, courtesy of the artist and the New Britain Museum of American Art.
New Britain Museum of American Art, New Britain – Fritz Horstman experiments with cyanotype and folded paper to create sculptures that are inspired by the glaciers of Svalbard in Valleys & Blue Light and range in size from a few inches to six feet. On view from September 6th, 2024 through March 30th, 2025.
For more information: https://nbmaa.org
Vermont
“Outdoor Tightrope Walkers” by Eliot Fernander, 1972, courtesy of the artist and the Shelburne Museum, Shelburne, VT.
Shelburne Museum, Shelburne – Two shows to check out! First, A Grand Spectacle in the Great Outdoors showcases Eliot Fernander’s 1972 black and white photographs of a rare outdoor performance by Clyde Beatty-Cole Brothers Circus when the wet grounds prevented them from putting up the Big Top. Second, be sure to check out New England Now: Strange States which brings a group of multi-disciplinary New England artists together, including photographer Tara Sellios (below). On view through October 20th, 2024.
For more information: https://shelburnemuseum.org/
“Lux” by Tara Sellios, courtesy of the artist and the Shelburne Museum, Shelburne, VT.
New Hampshire
“Celebrations after the last prayers of Ramadan” by Gerald Annan Forson, 1980, Accra Ghana, courtesy of the artist and the Hood Museum.
Hood Museum, Hanover – Off Beat: Portraiture and Politics in the Photography of Gerald Annan Forson brings the tumultuous events of late 20th century Ghana into focus. Annan Forson’s interest in both grand spectacle and quiet, intimate moments brings his work into dialog with important forebears such as Felicia Abbas and Malick Sidibé. On view through winter of 2025.
For more information: https://hoodmuseum.dartmouth.edu/explore/exhibitions/beat
Maine
From the series The Village by Yoav Horesh, courtesy of the artist and Buoy Gallery, Kittery, ME.
Buoy Gallery, Kittery – The Village presents a broad selection of gelatin silver and digital black and white prints by Yoav Horesh made in and around his neighborhood of Kittery, Maine that reveal the sublime moments within the quotidian rhythms of daily life. On view through October 5th, 2024.
For more information: https://www.instagram.com/buoy.gallery/
“Yoga Practice” by Susan Rosenberg Jones, 2021, courtesy of the artist and the Maine Museum of Photographic Arts.
Maine Museum of Photographic Arts, Portland: Figurative: The Body as Language features twenty artists who explore the human figure in myriad methods. An artist talk is scheduled September 13th, 5:00 to 8:00pm. The exhibition will be on view through September 28th, 2024.
For more information: https://www.mainemuseumofphotographicarts.org
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