Reclaiming the Muse by Grace Weston

Edwynn Houk Gallery presents “Mona Kuhn: Between Modernism and Surrealism,” an exhibition of 7 solarized photographs by Mona Kuhn from her series Kings Road in dialogue with artworks by masters exploring surreal representation, including Man Ray, Láslzó Moholy-Nagy, Dora Maar, Erwin Blumenfeld, and Bill Brandt. The show is on view from April 4 - May 11, with an opening reception with the artist on Saturday, April 6 from 3-5pm. A walk-through of the exhibition with the artist and Darius Himes, International Head of Photographs at Christie’s, will begin at 4pm. Mona Kuhn’s portraits visualize an uncanny love story. Kuhn’s solarized photographs in this exhibition follow a young woman throughout the groundbreaking mid-century modernist home designed by architect Rudolph Schindler in West Hollywood. In this mysterious narrative, Kuhn explores the core themes of Surrealism — dreams, desire, creation, and a challenge to conventional modes — through this autonomous woman. An active subject, she seeks formal and spiritual union with the King’s Road House, an avant-garde center of its day and a symbol of community and creativity. Kuhn’s solarization pushes these scenes further into the otherworldly, dissolving the aesthetic distinction between the human body, and its presence within the building. Rendered in layers of oxidized silver, body parts and architectural elements mirror and dissolve into each other, and the woman’s silver shadow cast on the building creates a literal space of integration. The breakthrough of Surreal explorations in photography are widely traced to Man Ray’s experimentations, which radically expanded the horizons of photography beyond straight representation. This show presents two of the artist’s solarized gelatin silver prints, a technique that he discovered with Lee Miller in 1931: a nude portrait of Meret Oppenheim posing in front of Salvador Dalí’s painting, printed on a carte-postale, as well as a portrait. Both the figure of the mysterious woman and architecture were key motifs used by Surrealists and artists influenced by the movement, and photographs by László Moholy-Nagy, Dora Maar, Erwin Blumenfeld, and Bill Brandt open a historical dialogue with Kuhn’s practice. Image: SILHOUETTE from Kings Road series © Mona Kuhn

The Provocateur is Ellen von Unwerth’s fifth solo exhibition at Staley-Wise Gallery. The photographs included in this exhibition, several of which have never been seen before, reflect a liberated and irrepressible engagement with her subjects that the photographer has championed for her entire career. Von Unwerth notes “I know what it’s like when you feel really uncomfortable, so I do everything in my power to make them feel at ease – and to live and laugh and move.” These exhibition images reflect a winking provocateur; not so much the object of lust but the playful instigator - both innocent and naughty. While eroticism is in the forefront of many of these images, fantasy and humor unite von Unwerth’s vision of her subjects simply having fun - with each other, and with the viewer who they tease, taunt, and provoke. Ellen von Unwerth was born in Germany. She worked in the circus as an assistant to the knife-thrower before being discovered as a model in Munich and beginning her interest in photography. Her work has been published in the world’s leading magazines and she has photographed the album cover artwork or directed music videos for artists including Rihanna, Janet Jackson, Courtney Love, Duran Duran, and Beyoncé, as well as commercials and campaigns for brands including Ralph Lauren, Christian Dior, L’Oréal, Thierry Mugler, Uniqlo, and most notably, Guess (featuring a young Claudia Schiffer). In 2018, she launched Ellen von Unwerth’s VON, a creative magazine to express her modern and edgy approach to photography. Nine books of her work have been published and a solo exhibition of her work inaugurated the New York space of Fotografiska in 2020. Most recently, the SCAD FASH Museum of Fashion + Film in Atlanta, Georgia opened her retrospective exhibition in 2023. Image: Tête-à-Tête, Paris, 2008 © Ellen von Unwerth

Catherine Couturier Gallery is thrilled to announce Reverie, an exhibition of new work by gallery artist Michael Kenna opening Saturday, April 13th, from 4pm-6pm. Renowned for his black-and-white landscape photography, Kenna employs prolonged exposure times, sometimes up to 10 hours, to capture ethereal scenes. Often working at dawn or under the cover of night, he reveals hidden dimensions beyond the ordinary gaze. Inspired by fellow British photographer Bill Brandt and enchanted by the landscapes of Japan, Kenna's oeuvre reflects a poetic sensibility akin to haiku. His work has been shown at the Tacoma Art Museum, 2012; Moscow Museum of Modern Art, 2011; Palazzo Magnani Museum in Reggio Emilia, Italy, 2010; and Bibliothèque Nationale de France in 2009. Kenna's photographs are included in many public collections including the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; the Shanghai Art Museum; the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography; the Museum of Decorative Arts, Prague; and the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. Born in Widnes, England in 1953, Kenna currently lives and works in Seattle, Washington. Don't miss the chance to meet the artist in person for a book signing event on May 4th, 2024, from 4pm-6pm!

As we develop an interest in a place or subject matter, the application of parameters helps to guide our curiosities. Just as a body of water is contained by physical barriers, our attention to detail is concentrated when we opt to confine it, either geographically or conceptually. We are always guided by curiosity, but when we funnel that into a defined subject, it transforms into deep and thorough investigation, revealing ever more about the chosen subject. Ross Kiah often follows rivers to guide him when photographing new places, providing structure to the exploration of unfamiliar surroundings. Shown here are images made along the Connecticut River in Western Massachusetts, the Quinebaug River in Eastern Connecticut, the Mohawk River in New York State, and the historic Charles River in Eastern Massachusetts. Mae Whitmore traverses the perimeter and interior of expansive fields in Southern Vermont where they utilize property lines to guide them in their exploration of confines of fragmented land. Image: Ross Kiah, Madi, Near the Mohawk River, NY, 2019 © Ross Kiah

We had moved to our home in Concord in 1975 where I was regularly struck by the tragedy of the demise of the elm tree; reading about the potential devastation of palm trees in Florida I became obsessed with them. Palm Press first came into being when I made an 8 day shooting trip to Miami in 1976, determined to photograph a place peopled with palm trees; at the time I was the founding photography department chair at MassArt and possessed by an obsession to make pictures unlike my earlier work, driven by curiosity with no specific expectation. The Miami work was transformative for me, and I decided I should publish it (a very different prospect than today). My friend Lee Friedlander had Haywire Press, I imagined Palm Press. The desire for more description led to an exploration of larger cameras, frustration with them, and the ultimate development of 6x9cm and 6x12cm handheld cameras that I designed and manufactured (something useful from a couple years at MIT in mechanical engineering). Then, in 1977 I produced a portfolio of Harold Edgerton’s photographs that became a harbinger of the future. After leaving MassArt, I incorporated Palm Press (1980) and began the photographic atelier and portfolio publishing. It’s been a terrifically interesting obsessive journey - my employees coming from internships, my need to teach continually fulfilled... in nearly 5 decades we’ve produced more than 60 portfolios, collaborated with thousands of artists, museums, galleries and other organizations in meaningful and fruitful ways. Palm Press has been dependent upon the skills, insight and commitment of its dedicated interns and workers. These exhibits explore some of Palm Press’ history, publications, projects, and current staff work. Image: Zero Line Boundary © Robert Lyons

The photography of Robert Smith offers a new context to the tradition of classical Chiaroscuro. He shows us a different, dynamic way of capturing Chiaroscuro through a series of close-up photographic images of curtains taken during the last half decade. With a simple, natural fiber cotton curtain and a window opening, a developing breeze begins to create movement against the wooden sash. Of course, the play of light being such a fundamental touchstone, the accompanying darks and shadows in ephemeral folds are revelatory, creating all manner of expressive, visual possibilities. In effect, Smith is creating a connection of the human centric world of fabric to the natural world of air, in movement, in a symbiotic relationship that becomes a fascinating, visual landscape. At that, his oeuvre has focused mainly on the close-up, undisturbed natural landscape, yet he sees this tangent as a logical extension of interest as he ages with accompanying physical limitations. It’s an example we may take to heart. The images themselves range from the simple to the complex, from the bold and dramatic to the lyrical and sublime. Encompassing powerfully evocative blacks measured against mysterious and magical shadows, they bring to mind abstract expressionist compositions akin to Franz Kline and Robert Motherwell paintings and Aaron Siskind photographs. Historically, Siskind and Minor White are two of his favorite creators, good company. Smith lives in New York and has a summer studio on Monhegan Island off midcoast Maine, steeped in landscape art history, and where these photographs were taken. There he leads “Steps to Seeing” walks opening eyes to the richness of the natural landscape while acknowledging the importance of the practice of Sensory Awareness, a discipline of living more in the present moment that has given him a special way of seeing, informing his vision. Smith has a deep body of work from Monhegan and Point Lobos, California. His photographs are in numerous private and corporate collections in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Japan, South Africa and throughout Europe. One final point, Robert has a good sense of humor and insists there is no truth to the rumor that he is, in some way, related to Lamont Cranston! Enjoy this exhibition. Image: It's Curtain! 3035 © Robert Smith

A photographic diptych is a work of art that consists of two photographs that are arranged side by side. Diptychs can convey a story by connecting seemingly unrelated images. The use of two photographs side by side can allow the photographer to experiment with different compositions and to create a sense of balance or symmetry. The two images in a diptych can represent duality or opposites. They allow the photographer to explore different themes, narratives, compositions, and contrasts. Praxis presents photographic art that explores these concepts; creating new meanings and aesthetic engagement by juxtaposing two images side by side. Juried by: Sandrine Hermand-Grisel

Bill Tennessen was born in 1934 and grew up on 39th Street in North Milwaukee. He is a 1956 graduate of Marquette University’s School of Business Administration. Tennessen is a self-taught photographer who began contributing photos to the Milwaukee Community Journal, Wisconsin’s largest African American newspaper, in 1981. He has documented the Ernest Lacy demonstrations, Juneteenth Day celebrations, activities of the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Milwaukee and the YWCA of Greater Milwaukee, and the Ko-Thi Dance Company. He captured many of Milwaukee’s Central City storefront churches and the appearance in town of numerous important cultural and political personalities of our time. He has photographed the Milwaukee Bucks and Marquette University basketball and many other sports and community events. Dynamic Range was curated by Lynne Shumow (Haggerty Museum Curator for Academic Engagement) in collaboration with Dr. Robert Smith (Marquette University Harry G. John Professor of History and Director of CURTO) and Mia Phifer (Education & Research Coordinator at America's Black Holocaust Museum). Additional assistance was provided by Kate Rose (Haggerty Museum Career Diversity Fellow), Caroline Bielski (Haggerty Museum intern) and UWM students/America’s Black Holocaust Museum interns; Sebastien Brown, Sophia Furman, Logan Glembin and Niktalia Jules. Support for this exhibition is generously provided by the Marquette University Women’s Council Endowment Fund. Image: Juneteenth Day Celebration, 1985 © Bill Tennessen

Native America: In Translation brings together the works of nine Native artists who explore aspects of community, heritage, and the legacy of colonialism on the North American continent. By posing challenging questions about land rights, identity, and the legacy of violence toward Native people perpetrated by settler governments, the artists probe the fraught history of photography in representing Indigenous populations. Representing diverse nations and affiliations, the artists reclaim complex personal and collective narratives to imagine new histories of image-making. “The ultimate form of decolonization is through how Native languages form a view of the world,” exhibition curator Wendy Red Star notes. “These artists provide sharp perceptions, rooted in their cultures.” Native America: In Translation features works by Rebecca Belmore, Nalikutaar Jacqueline Cleveland, Martine Gutierrez, Duane Linklater, Guadalupe Maravilla, Kimowan Metchewais, Alan Michelson, Koyoltzintli, and Marianne Nicolson. Native America: In Translation is curated by Wendy Red Star as she expands on her role as guest editor of the Fall 2020 issue of Aperture magazine. The exhibition is organized by Aperture and is made possible, in part, with generous support from the National Endowment for the Arts.

AN AMERICAN PROJECT AND EMBRACING EATONVILLE Curated from our collection, Light Work is pleased to present a selection from two of Dawoud Bey’s photographic projects: An American Project and Embracing Eatonville. Black-and-white images from An American Project, made in Syracuse in 1985 during his artist residency, chronicle the community and history of the city. These prints were recently gifted by Bey and Stephen Daiter Gallery to celebrate the dedication of the Jeffrey J. Hoone Gallery. Embracing Eatonville was a photographic survey of Eatonville, FL—the oldest Black-incorporated town in the United States—that featured work by Dawoud Bey, Lonnie Graham, Carrie Mae Weems, and Deborah Willis, and was exhibited at Light Work in 2003. Bey made color photographs of high school students combining their portraits with text sharing personal hopes, fears, and dreams. “I was invited to do a residency at Light Work in 1985, after being introduced to the organization by my friends, photographers Michael Spano and Sy Rubin. Applying and being accepted has remained an important highlight of my career almost forty years later. It was the first time I was also able to have the kind of absolute support that allowed me to have what is still one of my most productive months ever as an artist. That support was something that I’d never experienced before, and it allowed for a profound burst of creative activity, going out into the Syracuse community every day to make photographs without the worry about how that investment of time would be remunerated.” – Dawoud Bey Dawoud Bey (born 1953) is an American photographer and educator renowned for his large-scale photographs including American adolescents in relation to their community, and other marginalized subjects. In 2017, Bey was the recipient of a “Genius Grant” from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. Currently living in Chicago, Illinois, Bey is Professor Emeritus at Columbia College Chicago, and is represented by Sean Kelly Gallery (New York), Rena Bransten Gallery (San Francisco), and Stephen Daiter Gallery (Chicago).

Our impact on nature has far-reaching consequences, as we know from our changing climate. Human / Nature will explore our faceted relationship with the natural world, including moments of harmony and recovery, as well as our tendency towards destruction. The show will shepherd viewers through scenes reflecting on the impact of urbanization and climate change on worldwide ecosystems. Human / Nature is comprised of 14 artists whose work explores, in various ways, humankind’s fraught and mutually beneficial relationship with nature. Alfredo De Stefano Brendan Pattengale Cig Harvey David Ụzọchukwu Djeneba Aduayom Edward Burtynsky Helene Schmitz Inka & Niclas Lewis Miller Lori Nix / Kathleen Gerber Ori Gersht Pat Kane Santeri Tuori Yan Wang Preston

The power of photography as a storytelling medium is well-represented in Gannaway's ongoing series Remember Me, now in its 19th year. From intimate portraits to alluring landscapes to everyday vernacular photography, Gannaway takes viewers on an emotional journey with images that feel, at times, voyeuristic and confronting. The use of color as a thread weaving through time is subtle yet observable. This series began in 2006 as a story for a New Hampshire newspaper, Concord Monitor, which followed the St. Pierre family as they navigated through the processes of illness, death and grief. What could have ended with the death of the mother evolved into the beginning of a longitudinal visual narrative focusing on the coming of age of the youngest child, a 4-year old boy. The honesty and rawness come through consistently in images spanning nearly two decades; there is no glossing over the rough edges or overly leading sentimental shots. Gannaway is not telling a tale about a motherless boy in a place far, far away; she is showing us a universally-relatable human story of life, love and remembrance. Photos from the beginning of Remember Me earned Preston Gannaway the Pulitzer Prize in Featured Photography in 2008.