First Look

By Suzanne Révy

First Look, an annual juried show, begins within the realms of camp and surrealism, travels through evocative dreams of chiaroscuro and rainbows and finally lands in playful imagination. Juried by Panopticon Imaging’s Alexa Cushing and Brandon Dunning, they have deftly installed a narrative arc that is visually transporting and just below the surface, teems with the uneasiness of these stressful times. First Look is on view at Panopticon Gallery in Boston’s Kenmore Square through March 28th, 2022 and features photographs by Bamby, Allison Plass, Miranda Schmitz, Diane D. Hemingway and Laurie Swope.

“The Garden Gate” from the series The Empty Nester by Bamby, courtesy of the artist and Panopticon Gallery, Boston, MA.

“The Departure” from the series The Empty Nester by Bamby, courtesy of the artist and Panopticon Gallery, Boston, MA.

“The Breakfast Scene” from the series The Empty Nester by Bamby, courtesy of the artist and Panopticon Gallery, Boston, MA.

Inspired by the 1950’s era films of Douglas Sirk, who explored psychological themes of love, longing and loss, Bamby constructs images featuring a woman of a certain age in his series The Empty Nester. Living in the mid-century modern comfort of domestic bliss, his model’s facial expressions and body language, like the heroines in Sirk’s films, hint at a sense of ennui and yearning. In one, the subject’s suitcase is packed, her scarf covering her hair as she glances over her shoulder in anticipation, while in another she lies on the floor smoking and drinking while having a facial. Both images are filled with despair. Details such as a toaster, an ashtray, a deck of cards and white picket fence, rendered in primary colors, endow the images with a kitschy quality which is disrupted by psychological tension, raising questions around the pursuit of shallow bliss and the dissatisfaction that often follows. 

“Rough Play” from the series Hold Me Tight by Allison Plass, courtesy of the artist and Panopticon Gallery, Boston, MA.

“Harlan in Blue” from the series Hold Me Tight by Allison Plass, courtesy of the artist and Panopticon Gallery, Boston, MA.

“Heatstroke” from the series Hold Me Tight by Allison Plass, courtesy of the artist and Panopticon Gallery, Boston, MA.

Similarly, in Hold me Tight, Allison Plass employs saturated colors and gorgeous light in a series of pictures featuring her teenage sons. Highly polished and carefully sharpened, these prosaic moments are cinematic and mythic. The act of hanging a towel in the bathroom is weighted with gravitas, a moment of brotherly affection in the late afternoon revels in human gesture, skin tone and the gender fluidity of youth. An image of a classic marble sculpture reveals an interest in western art history which is emphasized in a picture that looks like an epic Baroque moment between an ailing teenaged boy and the hands attending to him. Plass has managed to find both vulnerability and heroism in images that bridge the real with the hyperreal.

“Collapsing” from the series Black Waves by Miranda Schmitz, courtesy of the artist and Panopticon Gallery, Boston, MA.

“Marie Rose” from the series Black Waves by Miranda Schmitz, courtesy of the artist and Panopticon Gallery, Boston, MA.

“Crashed Pigeon” the series Black Waves by Miranda Schmitz, courtesy of the artist and Panopticon Gallery, Boston, MA.

Miranda Schmitz explores grief in Black Waves, a series of dark black and white abstracted images that evoke the pang of loss in three landscapes and two figurative works. The landscapes examine texture. In one, sand is juxtaposed with deep, sharp shadows of rocky cliffs in the background which look like fangs. Two other landscapes employ a low key tonal range to emphasize the mystery of place. The figurative works stress a sense of fragility, as Schmitz subtly renders the vertebrae and the nape of a neck surrounded by darkness in “Marie Rose.” “Crashed Pigeon” reveals the palimpsest where a pigeon met its demise when it hit a window. Despite the foreboding darkness, her pictures are profoundly peaceful. 

“Prism” from the series Impossible Diamonds by Diane D. Hemingway, courtesy of the artist and Panopticon Gallery, Boston, MA.

“Woods Rainbow” from the series Impossible Diamond by Diane D. Hemingway, courtesy of the artist and Panopticon Gallery, Boston, MA.

“Sweetness” from the series Impossible Diamond by Diane D. Hemingway, courtesy of the artist and Panopticon Gallery, Boston, MA.

In contrast, Diane D. Hemingway employs optical tools to create kaleidoscopic compositions in Impossible Diamonds. Inspired by youthful treks into nature where she fell into a state of wonder, Hemingway spent the second year of the pandemic experimenting with lasers, prisms and mirrors found in a box belonging to her late father, who had been a science teacher. In these pictures, Hemingway creates a world of childlike discovery in her own backyard. The results are a dreamy ode to her father through enchanting chromatics and an embrace of natural phenomena revealed in unearthly specters of light. 

“Lake Dreams” from the series Before Self-Consciousness by Laurie Swope, courtesy of the artist and Panopticon Gallery, Boston, MA.

“Superhero” from the series Before Self-Consciousness by Laurie Swope, courtesy of the artist and Panopticon Gallery, Boston, MA.

“Newt” from the series Before Self-Consciousness by Laurie Swope, courtesy of the artist and Panopticon Gallery, Boston, MA.

Laurie Swope presents a black and white series of pictures which celebrate that brief time in our lives when we can fully and unapologetically immerse ourselves in imaginative and creative play. Before Self-Consciousness brings the senses forward as young children taste, touch and engage in the natural environment. With a sidelong glance from atop a fallen tree precariously perched over a pond, a child appears completely lost in their own world while a friend reaches for the water. The woods illuminate the cape of a costumed boy, and a small newt wriggles across a wrist, encouraging viewers to find their inner child, and enter the kingdom of play. This may ease your tension and stress after a difficult two years. 

For more information: https://www.panopticongallery.com

(Feature Image) “The Beauty Ritual” from the series The Empty Nester by Bamby, courtesy of the artist and Panopticon Gallery, Boston, MA.