Candela Books + Gallery

Candela + Gallery has established itself as one of the most vibrant platforms for contemporary photography in the United States, offering a space where both established and emerging voices can be discovered and celebrated. Founded with the goal of advancing critical conversations around the photographic medium, the gallery presents eight to ten exhibitions each year, featuring regional, national, and international artists whose work pushes the boundaries of visual storytelling.

A cornerstone of Candela’s program is its annual open call, UnBound!, which has become a highlight of the gallery’s calendar. This free submission event gathers a broad and diverse spectrum of photographic practices, serving as a survey of the medium’s current directions. Beyond the exhibition itself, accepted works are considered for acquisition into the gallery’s UnBound! Collection, providing artists with the unique opportunity to see their work preserved as part of a growing and evolving archive of contemporary photography.

Candela is also distinguished by its commitment to publishing, having released ten books over the past thirteen years. These collaborations with artists have produced highly regarded projects, from Chris McCaw’s Sunburn, with its innovative camera-based solar burns, to Kahn & Selesnick’s fantastical 100 Views of the Drowning World and Dr. Falke’s Oraculum, which blend narrative and image into otherworldly fables. Most recently, Memory Orchards presented an anthology of photographers reflecting on family histories, further expanding the gallery’s role as a publisher of significant photographic discourse.

What sets Candela apart is its embrace of experimental processes alongside traditional techniques. The gallery welcomes cameraless works, alternative methods, and mixed media, underscoring photography’s vitality as a living and evolving art form. In this way, Candela + Gallery functions not only as a commercial space but as a cultural hub, fostering a deeper understanding of photography’s past, present, and future.