MIND AND MATTER, the summer exhibition at Photoworks Gallery, introduces four artists in photography who are new (or in one case, returning) to Photoworks faculty. A visit to the show is both an opportunity to encounter a quartet of distinctive visions and to consider the work of four excellent teachers. The show runs from July 17 through September 13, 2010, with a reception on Saturday, July 31 from 5 to 7 pm and a gallery talk on Saturday, September 4. Photoworks Gallery is located at 7300 MacArthur Blvd, Glen Echo, Maryland.

Michael Lang’s images explores the lively yet sensitive atmosphere in “be bar,” a local bar in the Shaw neighborhood of Washington, D.C.  His use of available light and slow shutter speeds exaggerate the existing colors in the bar resulting in surreal scenes. Michael has exhibited extensively in the Washington/Baltimore area. In his fall course at Photoworks is Image Sets – Portfolios, Photo Essays and Multi-Media.

Terri Weifenbach’s painterly landscapes of the woods in and around the DC metro area employ color and line to convey the energy of abstract expressionist painting.  All photographs were taken in 2009 and are traditional c-prints. Terri is adjunct professor at both the Corcoran College of Art and Design and American University. Her upcoming Photoworks offerings are Theory and Practice of Color in Photography and Thinking in Book.

Sora DeVore’s black and white photographs are from a fourteen-year long project “The Ramirez Family, Oaxaca, Mexico.” The images reveal personal and intimate moments in the life of this family. She is adjunct professor at the University of Maryland. Returning to Photoworks after a period of travel and career development, Sora teaches Documentary Photo, Beyond the Surface.

Robb Hill’s documentary series of black and white photographs are a record of life in the Chicago neighborhood called Back of the Yards. A busy freelance photographer, Robb has worked for NPR, National Geographic Traveler, US News & World Report, and Boys’ Life among others. He will be sharing aspects of his approach in Street Photography – Shooting Class.

Plan to get to know these four photographers by attending MIND AND MATTER, and watch this website for more information about their outlooks and course offerings, to be featured in an upcoming series of online profiles.

Images: Left to right, photographs by Sora DeVore, Michael Lang, Robb Hill, and Terri Weifenbach.

From May 22 to July 6, 2010, Masters Quartet will be on display at the Photoworks Gallery. The show, representing a photographic journey from graduation to today of four classmates who received their Master of Fine Arts degrees from the University of Maryland, features images by Patricia Dalzell, Carol Harrison, Benita Keller and Photoworks faculty member Gayle Rothschild, who also curates the exhibit.

“We each were drawn to the University of Maryland because of its unique master’s program in fine art photography conducted by photographer John Gossage,” writes Gayle in her exhibition statement.  “We knew John’s work and reputation and were eager to study with him.  Our MFA thesis included an exhibition in The Art Gallery at the University, and each of us have included a photograph representative of that earlier time in this exhibition. These vintage prints are visual testimonies of both the changes and consistencies in our photographic concerns since our graduation.

“The idea for this exhibit began soon after graduate school.  After leaving the University, the four of us met over the years to share the triumphs and struggles we experienced as working fine art photographers.  We were “John’s Girls,” respecting our differences, sharing our lives and photographs and always the idea of this show would be a topic of discussion.”

The exhibit opens with a reception on Saturday, May 22, 5 to 7:30pm. A Gallery Talk takes place on Saturday, June 5 from 11am to 1pm. Photoworks Gallery, 7300 MacArthur Blvd, Glen Echo, Maryland.

Pictured:
William Christenberry, 1984, by Patricia Dalzell
Breakfast As Usual, 2010, by Gayle Rothschild
Untitled, 2009, by Carol Harrison
Lindsay With Rabbit, Shepherdstown, WV. 2009, by Benita Keller

Congratulations Award Winners!  The results are in for the Young Photographers 2010 Competition.  Click here to check out this year’s award-winning photographs, or come see all of the photographs selected for this year’s Young Photographers Exhibit at the Photoworks Gallery. The exhibit runs through May 16.  Exhibit hours are Saturdays 1-4 PM, and Sundays & Mondays, 1-8 PM.

Pictured above:

“Closer” (detail)
Charlotte Cutts, Age 17
The Madeira School
First Place Winner
High School Division
Young Photographers Competition 2010

EXHIBIT OPENS AT PHOTOWORKS GALLERY FRIDAY, MARCH 19

Skateboarding, ballet, ritual traditions and the devastation of natural disasters are among the topics essayed in Mirror to the World, Photoworks Second Annual group exhibition of documentary photography. Curated by popular Photoworks instructor Frank Van Riper, the show features work by eight DC-area photographers pursuing documentary projects both at home and around the world. The show opens with a reception, 6 to 9 pm on Friday, March 19, and runs through Sunday, April 18, 2010.

Mirror to the World highlights an eclectic mix of images and narrative styles. Timothy Hyde’s striking images focus on natural devastation both here and abroad. Praveen Mantena’s photographs provide a quiet, personal take on a desert purification rite. Sonia Suter brings a tender perspective to a young girl’s trials and triumphs at ballet class. Mark Silva creates an eloquent black and white essay on Easter preparations at a Russian Orthodox Church.
Sean Bowie offers a gritty look at young skateboarders in Baltimore, Jonathan Zuck takes us to the colorful frenzy of open-air markets in Seoul, Korea, Joshua Yospyn features portraits from a Renaissance fair, and Frank Turner captures poignant portraits of the friends and neighbors he loves.

Mirror to the World, an invitational show, debuted last year to highlight the documentary and narrative photography programs at Photoworks, where Van Riper has taught for the past six years. “This year’s exhibit follows in a great tradition,” Van Riper declared, “offering stories of sensitivity and visual texture, and, of course, photographs to linger over.”

Photoworks Gallery is located on the first floor of the Arcade Building, at 7300 MacArthur Boulevard, Glen Echo, MD.

Image: Seawall Shops, Galveston Island (2008) by Timothy Hyde.

Photoworks at Glen Echo Park is now accepting entries for the 2010 Young Photographers Juried Competition — open to digital and film photographers in private and public schools (elementary, middle and high schools) in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, DC.

View competition rules here and entry form here.

Quick Facts…

Submissions Accepted: March 22 – April 11
Student Notification of Acceptance: Thursday, April 15
Exhibit Dates: Sunday, April 25 – Sunday, May 16
Awards Ceremony & Reception: Friday, April 30, 6:30 to 8pm
Questions? Lisa Murphy at murphymail5@comcast.net.

Last year’s competition was our largest and most successful effort to date. Check out the winners here: 2009 Winners of Young Photographers Juried Competition

Image: “Alligators!” by Jackie Sisson, Age 15; Young Photographer’s Juried Competition, April, 2009

NOW THROUGH MARCH 14 — RECEPTION & TALK RESCHEDULED FOR FEB. 19

“YOU WILL BE DRIVEN TO A POINT MIDWAY BETWEEN LIFE AND DEATH! SHOCK-FULL OF THRILLS!” That sort of B-movie hype, in stand-up red letters, is just one of the elements you’ll find in the collages of Chris Lawson and Jared Ragland. But it also might be an apt description of the viewer’s response to the unique world these artists create. It’s a realm where movie still photos meet holy relics, where pulp illustration intersects with the poignant found object, where exploitation meets the ineffable. Their collaborative show, Cut Slash Paste: Collage Work By Chris Lawson and Jared Ragland, will be highlighted with an Artists’ Talk and Reception, 7:00 to 9:00 PM at Photoworks Gallery on Friday, February 19 (rescheduled from February 5 due to inclement weather.) Curated by Photoworks’ instructor William Knipscher, the exhibition runs through March 14.

Both Lawson and Ragland consider themselves collage artists from the south, yet each brings their own individual influences to the collaborative effort. Chris Lawson’s background is in creative writing and visual art – using collage, drawings, and paintings to drive narrative themes. Living and working in Haiti, Cambodia, Northern Ireland and his hometown of Birmingham, Alabama, he describes his work style as “on the fly” – perfecting the concept of the “studio suitcase” – he can work just about anywhere, with diverse materials and methods. He also admits to a soft spot for horror. Jared Ragland, another Alabama native, has worked as a documentary photographer in Haiti, Bosnia and a dozen other countries. His artistic work includes everything from indie-rock show posters for a Birmingham, Alabama club, to a New Orleans-based photography project. He appreciates collage in that it allows him to work within vernacular language and appropriated forms. He is a sucker for album art, war photography and illustrated Bibles.

Cut Slash Paste runs February 5 – March 14, 2010, at Photoworks Gallery, located on the first floor of the Arcade Building, in historic Glen Echo Park, 7300 MacArthur Boulevard, Glen Echo, MD.

Currently on display at the Photoworks Gallery is 10 x 10 for 2010, a salon-style exhibit of work by Photoworks faculty, students and friends. Unjuried and assembled through an open call (think “Open Mic” for photographers), the show offers an eclectic mix of traditional and new approaches to both technique and subject matter. On display January 9 through 31, 2010.

Photoworks’ first exhibit of the new decade is a celebration of photography from our community. The entrants range from a six-year-old girl in our off-site digital program held at local elementary schools to fine art instructors teaching at Photoworks. The 80 imges are a reminder of the breadth and depth of visual interest in our community. some are students, some instructors, interns, photographers from our monthly “Coffee & Critique,” gallery exhibitors, open darkroom and digital lab users, and new faces exhibiting work for the first time.

It’s all around us. But how do we define the urban landscape? The City: Surface and Space, an exhibition currently at Photoworks offers two contrasting responses to this question through the work of photographers Michael Horsley and Marc Tkach. Says exhibition curator Mark Power, “The show is about two artists exploring different facets of the city. Michael Horsley photographs urban surfaces and Marc Tkach explores the spaces of various cities.” The show features black and white digital prints.

Exhibition dates are Saturday, November 21 – January 3, 2010, with a reception on Saturday, December 5, 2009 from 6:00 – 8:00 PM. Gallery is open Saturday, 1-4 PM, and Sunday and Monday 1-8 PM. Or call for appointment, 301-634-2274.

Many of the books incorporate photography in surprising and inspiring ways, which makes the show a must-see for photographers who are considering book presentation of their work. The show opened on November 7 as part of Photoworks’ entry in FotoWeek DC, and runs through Sunday, November 22 at Glen Echo Park’s Popcorn Gallery.

Two artists whose work combines photography, the written word, and self-portraiture are featured in the current exhibit at Photoworks Gallery. Process: Word and Image, presents work by John Borstel and Matthew M. Smith. Mark Power, Photoworks faculty member, serves as curator for this thoughtful and evocative exhibit. The show runs through November 15. As one of several Fotoweek DC events on November 7, the artists and curator will participate in a gallery talk at 12:3o PM.

Borstel and Smith’s work combines intimate revelation with a certain theatrical flourish – the photographic equivalent of performance art. Each artist employs a range of strategies to synthesize image with text, providing an absorbing and provocative experience for viewers. In his curator’s statement, Mark Power sees a thread of vulnerability that runs through the exhibit.

“Vulnerability is the keynote,” Power states, “that makes the revelations in the exhibit all the more poignant. In Borstel’s work, theatre, costume and mime plays a strong role. In Smith’s portraits, amid formal combinations of domestic artifacts, we see a person coping with rejection and isolation.”

Humanities Director for Liz Lerman Dance Exchange John Borstel is an active member of the greater Washington arts community. His work has recently been seen in a solo exhibition at the Atrium Gallery in the Takoma Park Community Center.

Matthew M. Smith is an MA Graduate from the University of Maryland, employed at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. His work is featured in the current OPTIONS 2009 exhibit at Connor Contemporary Art in Washington, DC.