by Elin Spring and Suzanne Révy
Autumn brings a change in climate, a softening of light, and a flutter of new photography exhibits. Most galleries and museums are welcoming visitors again and we encourage you to reclaim the joy of seeing art in person. Here are the most compelling photography shows and events open to the public around Boston and beyond, listed by region for your planning convenience. Please feel free to check back throughout the month, as we update regularly.
SOWA – Boston’s South End Arts District
Installation view of detail from “Antigua Cemetery, Guatemala” 2018 by Robert Richfield, courtesy of the artist and Gallery Kayafas, Boston. (Photo by Elin Spring)
Gallery Kayafas – Inspired by the belief that cemeteries and shrines are gateways into the lives and cultures they memorialize, Robert Richfield’s solo show “BUDHA + CHRIST” is a vibrant collection of revelations regarding global customs. In the Alcove, “Familiar Interplay” features photographs, video and installation by Sanjé James of her bedroom, which doubled as her classroom during the Covid-19 pandemic in her senior year at Lesley University. Both exhibits will be on view through October 16th, 2021. The gallery is hosting an Artist Reception on First Friday, October 1st, from 5:30 – 8:00pm (mask or face covering required).
To read our review, go to: https://www.whatwillyouremember.com/robert-richfield-buddha-and-christ-sanje-james-familiar-interplay-at-gallery-kayafas-boston/
From the exhibit Collective Feelings by Caleb Cole, courtesy of the artist and Gallery Kayafas, Boston.
Next at Gallery Kayafas – In the solo exhibit Collective Feelings, Caleb Cole deploys his creative powers in photography, collage, assemblage, and video to juxtapose images and objects from different time periods. The emergent conversations prompt viewers to consider the lineage of queer culture and engage the act of looking backward at a fraught, often violent history to imagine possibilities for new queer futures. On view in all three galleries from October 22nd – December 4th, 2021, there will be Artist Receptions on Friday October 22nd and on First Fridays November 5th and December 3rd, 2021 from 5:30 – 8:00 pm.
For more information, go to: https://www.gallerykayafas.com/
BOSTON PROPER
Feature Image: “Aya, Batroun, Lebanon” 2019 from the series and book SHE (Radius, 2021) by Rania Matar, courtesy of the artist and Robert Klein Gallery, Boston.
Robert Klein Gallery (RKG) – In her solo exhibit and new book SHE (Radius, 2021), Rania Matar’s sensitive and lyrical individual portraits of young women from the U.S. and Middle East embrace the fragility and hope that attends coming of age in today’s geopolitical climate. On view from October 23rd – December 15th, 2021. There will be a free public Opening Reception and book launch on Saturday, October 23rd, 2021 from 2:00 – 5:00 pm, with an Artist Talk at 3:30 pm.
Please note that Matar will be giving a lecture and signing books hosted by the Photographic Resource Center at the Coolidge Corner Theater in Brookline on Monday October 18th at 7pm. Space is limited! For more information: https://www.prcboston.org/rania-matar-october-18-2021/
Also on view at RKG from October 23rd – December 15th, The Fine Print, a curated selection of photographs by master darkroom printers, such as Paul Caponigro and Jerry Uelsmann.
For information, go to: https://www.robertkleingallery.com/
“Paessagio & Pretini” photographs by Mario Giacomelli, courtesy of Robert Klein Gallery, Boston.
Brenda Diana Duff Frazier, 1938 Debutante of the Year, at home, Boston, Mass.
Diane Arbus (American, 1923–1971)
1966
Photograph, gelatin silver print
Gift of Jeffrey Fraenkel and Frish Brandt
Courtesy Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston – Treat yourself to Personal and Political: Women Photographers, 1965-1985, the newly installed rotation inside the Women Take the Floor show at the top of the Art of the Americas Wing. Representing a pivotal era in feminism, more than 30 works address themes ranging from the natural world to street photography to the domestic sphere and include renowned US photographers such as Diane Arbus (above), Sally Mann, Annie Leibovitz, Cindy Sherman and Ming Smith, as well as recently acquired works by under-recognized photographers from the Americas, such as Adriana Lestido. On view through November 28th, 2021.
To read our review, go to: https://www.whatwillyouremember.com/personal-and-political-women-photographers-1965-1985-at-mfa-boston/
For information, go to: https://www.mfa.org/exhibition/women-take-the-floor
“Galaxy Apple, New York City, NY, 1964” by Paul Caponigro, courtesy of the artist and Pucker Gallery, Boston.
Pucker Gallery – “Seeing with My Heart” features a selection of luscious abstract silver gelatin prints by the revered modernist photographer Paul Caponigro. On view through October 24th, 2021.
To read our review, go to: https://www.whatwillyouremember.com/paul-caponigro-seeing-with-my-heart-at-pucker-gallery-boston/
Coming up at Pucker, The Essence of Belonging, Alexandra de Steiguer’s emotion-filled B&W photographs of remote landscapes. On view from October 30th – November 28th, 2021.
For information about both exhibits, associated gatherings and online events, go to: https://www.puckergallery.com/
From “The Essence of Belonging” by Alexandra de Steiguer, courtesy of the artist and Pucker Gallery, Boston.
The Focused Eye: Our Unique Views outdoor photography exhibition at Fan Pier on the Public Green in Boston’s Seaport District, pictured with exhibit curator Emily Belz.
Boston Camera Club, outdoor exhibit at Fan Pier – Stroll the 250-foot long banner at Fan Pier in Boston’s Seaport District to enjoy The Focused Eye: Our Unique Views, 88 images curated by Boston photographer and educator Emily Belz, culled from members of the Boston Camera Club, (the second oldest of its kind in the country!) on view through November 2021.
For information, go to: https://bostoncameraclub.photos/?fbclid=IwAR1aUIQWa6ijWde7kcZ9CvJqJ10X4F9CeyjQb34CyIpxeffHJD0nrbB8hsk
CAMBRIDGE
“Fence, Gettysburg National Military Park, PA, 2008” by Oscar Palacio, courtesy of the artist.
Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge – “Devour the Land: War and American Landscape Photography since 1970” considers how contemporary photographers have responded to the US military’s impact on the domestic environment. Assembled by Makeda Best, Harvard Art Museums Richard L. Menschel Curator of Photography, the expansive exhibit features over 160 photographs by 60 artists across six thematic groupings, presenting a wide range of views, such as that of Oscar Palacio (above), which addresses the roles historic site architecture and photography play in shaping an American collective experience. Creatively conceived and presented,“Devour the Land” raises awareness of the ways violence and warfare surround us, in a selection of images from artists including Robert Adams, Terry Evans, Lucas Foglia, LaToya Ruby Frazier, Susan Meiselas, Richard Misrach, Steven Tourlentes, Alex Webb and Will Wilson, to name a few. On view by advance reservation through January 16th, 2022.
In a virtual panel discussion on Tuesday, October 5th, 2021 from 4:00 – 5:00pm (EST), curator Makeda Best leads a conversation with exhibiting photographers Terry Evans, Ashley Gilbertson, and Will Wilson. To register, go to: https://harvardartmuseums.org/calendar/artist-panel-devour-the-land-war-and-american-landscape-photography-since-1970
For more information about this exhibit, go to: https://harvardartmuseums.org/exhibitions/5877/devour-the-land-war-and-american-landscape-photography-since-1970
“Three Girls Leaning on Blackboard” 1981, Cambridge Rindge and Latin School, © Linda Benedict-Jones, courtesy of Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, MA.
Also at Harvard Art Museums – Recently acquired seminal photographs by Linda Benedict-Jones from her 1981 series made at the nearby Cambridge Rindge and Latin School.
ALLSTON
Postcards from Allston photograph by Edward Boches.
This public art installation featuring the documentary photography of Edward Boches celebrates the neighborhoods and citizens of Allston. An opening with the music of Aznjujbe is planned for Sunday, October 24th from 1 to 4pm, 449 Cambridge Street, Allston.
THE BURBS
“Bath Time” 2020, from the series Little Black Boy by Rashod Taylor, courtesy of the artist.
Griffin Museum of Photography, Winchester – Rashod Taylor is winner of the 2021 Arnold Newman Prize for New Directions in Portraiture! His series Little Black Boy features intimate, bittersweet portraits of himself and his young son, growing up in a country where it is still perilous to be black. The $20,000 prize is awarded annually by Maine Media Workshops + College to a photographer whose work demonstrates a compelling new vision in photographic portraiture. The finalists this year include Donavon Smallwood with the series Languor, Christian K. Lee with with the series Armed Doesn’t Mean Dangerous, and GOLDEN with the series On Learning How To Live. Images by Taylor and all three finalists will be exhibited for a very short run from Tuesday, October 5th – Sunday, October 24th, 2021, with a free Public Reception at the Griffin Museum on Thursday, October 7th, 2021 from 7:00 – 8:30 pm. It will include a virtual component.
Also at the Griffin Museum through October 24th: quiet meditations on nature by Rhonda Lashley Lopez in Life Narrated by Nature, cyanotype photograms in Watching the Ice Melt by Zachary Stephens, and Dylan Everett’s collages celebrating creative figures he admires, such as John Dugdale, George Platt Lyons and James Baldwin.
To read our review of current exhibits (excluding the Newman Award), go to: https://www.whatwillyouremember.com/lou-jones-rhonda-lahley-lopez-zachary-stephens-and-dylan-everett-at-the-griffin-museum-of-photography-ma/
For more information on all exhibits and accompanying programs visit: https://griffinmuseum.org
“Romance” 2021, archival pigment on gampi with 24K gold leaf by Rhonda Lashley Lopez, courtesy of the artist and Griffin Museum of Photography.
“Lenore” from the series and book Major Arcana by Frances Denny, courtesy of the artist and ClampArt, NYC.
Peabody Essex Museum (PEM), Salem, MA – As a descendent of both the accusers and those accused of witchcraft in the Salem Witch Trials of 1692, photographer Frances Denny explores the face of modern American witchcraft in Major Arcana, her series of portraits including healers, artists and tarot readers across a spectrum of identities and spiritual practices. Thirteen of Denny’s portraits are featured in an expansive fall show at PEM, “The Salem Witch Trials: Reckoning and Reclaiming” on view through March 20th, 2022.
For more information about the exhibit, go to: https://www.pem.org/exhibitions/the-salem-witch-trials-reckoning-and-reclaiming
“Remnants Betty” by Greg Sands, courtesy of the artist and The Photographic Resource Center, Cambridge, MA.
Photographic Resource Center at the Fuller Craft Museum, Brockton, MA – PRC guest curator Sage Brousseau brings together photographers who employ textile design such as embroidery, stitching or weaving in crafting prints which layer ideas around memory, identity and history in Hand Eye Coordination. In collaboration with the Fuller Museum of Craft in Brockton, the artists include Lala Abaddon, Edie Bresler, Katherine Chudy, Lauren Davies, Letitia Huckaby, Kyle Meyer, Astrid Reischwitz, Chelsea Revelle, Greg Sand, Charlotte Schmid-Maybach, Heather Evans Smith and Liz Steketee. On view from October 26th through December 5th 2021, and online reception is planned for November 18th, 2021 at 7:00pm.
For more information: https://www.prcboston.org/hand-eye-coordination/
“Blue Handkerchief, Red Handkerchief” 1977 by Hal Fischer, from the series Gay Semiotics, courtesy of the artist, Project Native Informant, London, and the Addison Gallery of American Art, Andover, MA.
Addison Gallery of American Art, Andover, MA – Language, Sequence, Structure: Photographic Works by Lew Thomas, Donna-Lee Phillips, and Hal Fischer presents a trio of Bay area photographers who sought to infuse conceptualism and ideas into photography to disrupt the more emotional tenor prevalent in the west coast aesthetic of the late 70’s. All the prints in this show were recently acquired by the Addison, and they are expanding on an exhibit last year at SFMOMA called Thought Pieces which brought the trio’s work together for the first time in thirty years. On view from October 2nd through January 23rd, 2022.
For more information: https://addison.andover.edu/Exhibitions/LSSPhoto/Pages/default.aspx?in=Upcoming+Exhibitions
“Camera Obscura View of the Florence Duomo in Tuscany’s President’s Office in Palazzo Strozzi, Sacrati, Italy” 2017 by Abelardo Morell from the Projecting Italy exhibition courtesy of the artist and the Fitchburg Art Museum.
Fitchburg Art Museum, Fitchburg, MA – The master of the camera obscura, Abelardo Morell comes to the Fitchburg Art Museum with Projecting Italy. Morell’s use of this ancient technique brings Italian vistas into sumptuous rooms to honor the twentieth anniversary of the Center for Italian Culture at Fitchburg State University. On view through January 2nd, 2022.
For more information: https://fitchburgartmuseum.org/projecting-italy/
“Burned Timber, Fourth of July Creek” 2005 by Laura McPhee, C-print, gift of the artist and Carroll & Sons, courtesy of the deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum.
deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum, Lincoln, MA – Two shows incorporate photography among other media. What We Do In The Shadows features prints and photographs that explore places hidden in shadows where systems or governments can conceal something sinister, and artists seek to reveal it . The exhibit includes local luminaries such as Lou Jones, Barbara Norfleet and Laura McPhee. A second show, Sonya Clark: Heaven Bound includes six large scale vinyl print portraits of former enslaved Americans, such as Frederick Douglas and Sojourner Truth, among others. Extended! On view through January 9th, 2022.
To read our review: https://www.whatwillyouremember.com/what-we-do-in-the-shadows-at-decordova-sculpture-park-and-museum-lincoln-ma/
For more information and to make reservations: https://thetrustees.org/program/decordova-exhibtions/
“Oak Street” 2017 by Justin Kimball from the series Elegy, courtesy of the artist and the Mead Art Museum, Amherst College.
Mead Art Museum, Amherst College, Amherst, MA – Inspired by his ancestor, Robert Roberts, who was the first African American to publish a commercial book, The House Servants Directory, a primer on the tasks, mentality and behavior for workers and employers in the domestic sphere, Jonathan Mark Jackson presents his work in conversation with mentor and Amherst photography professor, Justin Kimball whose project, Elegy, looks at the economic impacts of the 2008 market crash on small towns in the northeast. The Room that Grew is on view through January 22nd, 2022.
For more information: https://www.amherst.edu/museums/mead/exhibitions/2021/a-room-that-grew
From the series Blossom Blizzard by Valda Bailey, courtesy of the artist and Sohn Fine Arts, Lennox, MA.
Sohn Fine Art, Lenox, MA– Valda Bailey’s solo exhibition of colorful and layered impressionistic landscapes, We May as Well Dance is on view through October 10th, 2021. Reception and Artist Talk Saturday, October 2nd, 2021 from 3:30 – 5:00 pm.
For more information: https://www.sohnfineart.com
ROAD TRIP!
Rhode Island
From the series An Indian from India by Annu Palakunnathu Matthews, courtesy of the artist and sepiaEYE, NYC.
Newport Art Museum, Newport, R.I. – ReVision, an expansive and mind-expanding mid-career retrospective of photography-based works by artist Annu Palakunnathu Matthews features six projects across three galleries, ranging from her dreamy Holga series Memories of India (begun in 1996), to her humorous and biting diptych series An Indian from India (2001-2008, above), to her affecting current work in The UnRemembered, featuring installations of video and stunning projections in crystal that will take your breath away. On view through January 9th, 2022. There will be an Opening Reception with the Artist TONIGHT, Thursday, September 30th, 2021 from 5:00 – 7:00pm.
For information, go to: https://newportartmuseum.org/exhibitions/revision/
Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons, Freedom Trap, 2013, Polaroid, 30×22 inches, Fitchburg Art Museum, Gift of Dr. Anthony Terrana, 2020.64, © Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons.
Also at Newport Art Museum, Hair Stories is a splendid multimedia exhibit exploring cultural, religious and societal ideas intertwined with hair, featuring photographers Tara Bogart , María Magdalena Campos-Pons (above), Sean M. Johnson, Vivian Keulards, Zanele Muholi, Lorna Simpson and DM Witman among others. On view through October 31st, 2021.
For more information, go to: https://newportartmuseum.org/exhibitions/hair-stories/
“Annye Raye Pitts” by Mary Beth Meehan, courtesy of the artist.
Rhode Island Center for Photographic Arts (RICPA), Providence, RI –Annye Raye Pitts: Witness,” is a collaborative exhibit by photographer Mary Beth Meehan and Jonathan Pitts-Wiley, grandson of the show’s subject. Annye Raye Pitts was a community activist, educator and singer who escaped the oppression of Montgomery, Alabama in 1959 as part of the Great Migration to seek freedom and a better life for herself and her children in Providence, R.I.. Meehan’s photographs and Pitts-Wiley’s personal effects, artifacts and stories create a rich tapestry of a remarkable life. On view through October 15th, 2021. For more information, go to: https://www.riphotocenter.org/annye-raye-pitts-witness/
From the exhibit “All Together Now” at RICPA, photographer unknown.
Next at RICPA – Juried by Jan Howard, Curator of Prints, Drawings and Photographs at the RISD Museum, the group exhibition “All Together Now” explores ideas of community in this time of national turmoil. On view from October 21st – November 12th, 2021, there will be an Opening Reception on Thursday, October 21st, 2021 from 5:00 – 8:00 pm.
For more information, go to: https://www.riphotocenter.org/all-together-now-call-for-entries-with-jan-howard/
New Hampshire
From the series “Becoming Grey” by Nancy Grace Horton, courtesy of the artist.
3S ArtSpace, Portsmouth, NH – Known for her investigations into the stereotypical roles and imagery of women, Nancy Grace Horton turns her camera to women who opted to forgo hair dyes in favor of their natural greys. Her project, Becoming Grey is designed to be interactive, with photographic and audio components. Horton celebrates realistic representations of female identity, power and desire. On view through October 16th, 2021! There will be an “Art ‘Round Town” Reception with the artist on Friday, October 1st from 5 :00 – 8:00 pm.
On Wednesday, October 6th, 2021, the public is welcome to “Becoming Grey: Seacoast Women Discuss the Silver Lining” community event starting at 7:00 pm at the gallery.
For more information about the exhibit and associated events, go to: https://www.3sarts.org/gallery/becoming-grey-exhibit
Maine
“Parked Car, Small Town, Maine Street” 1932 by Walker Evans, gelatin silver print, printed circa 1969 by Charles Rodemeyer. The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Gift of the artist, 1975. © 2021 Walker Evans Archive, The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Portland Museum of Art, Portland – To commemorate the 75th anniversary of Walker Evans’ landmark show at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City and the accompanying influential monograph, American Photographs, former MoMA curator Sarah Hermanson Meister along with Collections Specialist Tasha Lutek organized this selection of Evans’ pictures which travels to Portland this fall. On view through December 5th, 2021.
For more information: https://www.portlandmuseum.org/walker-evans
“Harvest Moon” 2020 by Nina Poole. courtesy of the artist and Cove Street Arts.
Cove Street Arts, Portland, ME– In Harvest Season, curator Bruce Brown brings together twelve Maine-based photographers in a study of reaping the fall harvests of Maine’s precious growing season: Susan Porter, Kris Larson, Audrey Gottlieb, David Stess, Julie Searls, Joyce Tenneson, Nina Poole, Nanci Kahn, Lynn Karlin, Linda Cullivan, Mike Cullivan and Corrie Zacharias. On view through October 9th, 2021.
For more information: https://www.covestreetarts.com/exhibitions-1/harvestseason
“Painted Lobster Buoys, Stonington, Maine” 1971 by George Tice, Gift of Norton and Thelma Webber, Waterville, Maine, 1992, courtesy of the Farnsworth Art Museum, Rockland, Maine.
Farnsworth Art Museum, Rockland, Maine – Here is a show we’d love to see: George Tice and Andrew Wyeth: Parallel Visions, the first exhibition to show Tice’s Maine work in the place that inspired it and the first to pair the two artists together, exploring the unique vision of each artist through their depictions of those evocative parallel worlds that capture both the myth of Maine and the reality its residents call home. On view through October 31st, 2021.
For more information, go to: https://www.farnsworthmuseum.org/exhibition/george-tice-and-andrew-wyeth-parallel-visions/
Vermont
“On the Outside” by Erik Williams from Black Frame Vision “Street Photography” courtesy the artist and the Shelburne Museum.
Shelburne Museum, Shelburne, VT – New England Now: People is the second exhibition in a new biennial series featuring regional artists. This multi-media exhibition explores the cultures and traditions among diverse communities in contemporary New England, and includes the photographs of Melonie Bennett, Evie Lovett, Erik Williams (above) and Annu Palakannathu Mathew, on view through October 17th, 2021.
For more information:https://shelburnemuseum.org/exhibition/new-england-now-people/
“Tenement Roof #1” by Vaune Trachtman, from the series Now Is Always, photopolymer gravure with surface roll on Shirimine paper, courtesy of the artist.
Vermont Center for Photography (VCP), Brattleboro – In her series Now Is Always, Vaune Trachtman’s textured photogravures mix archival imagery by her late photojournalist father with her own contemporary passing scenes from a car. In blending them together, Trachtman provokes a fleeting sense of nostalgia and a deeply felt bond with her father. If you missed this show at the Griffin Museum over the summer, now is your chance to view an ethereal, moving exhibit. On view through October 31st, 2021.
To read our review of the Griffin show, go to: https://www.whatwillyouremember.com/vaune-trachtman-now-is-always-alayna-pernell-our-mothers-gardens-jacqueline-walters-at-the-edge-of-the-fens-at-griffin-museum-of-photography-ma/
For information about the VCP show, go to: https://vcphoto.org/exhibits/current/
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