Past Exhibits

Cindy Horovitz Wilson, “Passages”

Old textile mills, an abandoned penitentiary, medieval European castles, and the streets of Cuba vary in their geographic origin, but in each image Cindy Wilson captures a consistent vision of beauty and dignity in unexpected places. The care, purpose and ingenuity of the buildings’ design become living entities as you walk through their passages, full of spirit and history. Wilson captures illuminated architectural details, patinas, textures, graphics, and doorways that lead to undefined spaces beyond. States of timelessness and deterioration suggest the presence of what has come before. Now that the usefulness and purpose of these man-made entities have ended, time and entropy are their fate. Wilson’s images preserve these decaying relics with a sense of calm and before they are forgotten.

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Cemal Ekin, “Trees of the Aegean”

Most trees have character, olive trees manifest the most visible and varied character of them all. Considered by many as eternal trees, they live centuries, even beyond millennia. Camel Ekin has captured the character and personality of the olive trees of Ayvalik, Turkey and created stunning “portraits”, capturing the spirit residing within. In his series of images, Ekin displays the uniqueness of the trees’ rotational growth into twisted shapes of trunks; the light show of leaves with a dark green side and a shimmering silvery side; and of course, the aged dignity they seem to preserve even after severe pruning. The “Trees of the Aegean” are like monuments, a gift to us in many ways by nature.

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The exhibit is on display from April 21 to May 14, 2016. Gallery hours are by appointment.

Peter Miller, “Places”

Pause at a street corner and observe every detail at eye level in the shop window, left and right, across the street, then look above to the sky’s reflection in the windows, and below to the texture of the brick sidewalk. Observe everything in sharp focus from the periphery of the image to its center.

Photographs are reflections on permanence, the capture of a moment in time. Peter Miller amplifies the conventional idea of a photographic scene in his hyper-realist panoramic compositions. With every detail rendered and wide views captured, the images capture the moment and simultaneously question the boundaries of the real.

The panoramics merge the big skies with street level views of everyday urban scenes — people waiting for the train, walking to work, smoking cigarettes in the alley — and freeze those transient moments. The themes are shared with the 17th century Dutch landscaper painter Jacob van Ruisdael: transience and permanence; the sublime and the mundane; the forces of nature and the efforts of man to harness nature.

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Brett Henrikson, “Chaotic Forms”

Most photographs serve as a conduit for realism providing the viewer with a window into our world. The images for Chaotic Forms are broken windows; silver shards created through destruction echoing a dialogue with dark dreams from a long forgotten past. In these dreams skin becomes metallic and I let the light guide my sense of mysticism into somewhere new that only exists on the ether and in the shimmering light from my darkroom trays and from behind my eyes. In dialogue with classical painting and sculpture, Chaotic Forms allows for the surreal and the deceptive to enter back into the photograph. The slow nature of working in the darkroom takes on a meditative quality, the red light and glass plates dance in the shadows with endless possibility. I show the viewer smoke and mirrors, intimate forms and dark beauty.

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The 2nd Open Call Exhibition, jurored by Paula Tognarelli, Executive Director and Curator of the Griffin Museum of Photography opens October 15 at PMFA. A very competitive 61 photographs were chosen out of nearly 1000 entries from over 250 artists. The current exhibit is an exciting overview of today’s fine art photography across a range of mediums, styles, process, and approach. Every school of thought from the traditional to the experimental and perhaps controversial is represented.We look forward to a lively discussion.

Among the accepted pieces are outstanding examples of personal vision, creative expression, compelling concept, composed content, control of light, technical mastery of image capture and post production. Selected photographers show command over a consistent and developed body of work.

Juror’s statement

Jurying an exhibition of photographs is a cumulative process. It begins by the initial response to singular imagery. What follows is a culling to fit the photographs within a finite space. Some choose to stay the course and assemble singular images that hold their own. I tend towards finding relationships between artworks and making a collective statement rather than an individual one. For me the exhibition must harmonize and hold together like a string of pearls.

There was no shortage of good work submitted to the Peter Miller Fine Art Photography Gallery’s Juried Exhibition. It seemed that photographers dove right into my psyche for this one. So many images ignited my personal aesthetic. 130 photographs out of a thousand made the initial harvest. The space fit between 50-60 selections. To reduce the count further I had to find methods to link the photographs in conversation. The connection could be a repetitive shape or similar narrative or even just a color or subject matter. How the images get sequenced form the true conversation and move a viewer around the gallery in a rhythmic understanding, all without one word spoken.

I want to thank Peter Miller for inviting me to jury this exhibition. Assembling a final collection of photographs is very satisfying. What richness and magic we all made together. I thank you all.

Paula Tognarelli
Executive Director and Curator
Griffin Museum of Photography

About the juror

Paula Tognarelli is the Executive Director and Curator of the Griffin Museum of Photography in Winchester, Massachusetts, a nonprofit with a mission to promote an appreciation of photographic art and a broader understanding of its visual, emotional and social impact. Ms. Tognarelli is responsible for producing over 60 exhibitions a year at the Griffin and its surrounding satellite spaces.

Paula holds an M.S. in Arts Administration from Boston University, BA from Regis College, is a graduate of the New England School of Photography and is a current candidate for her Masters in Education at Lesley University. She has juried and curated exhibitions internationally including American Photo’s Image of the Year, Photoville’s Fence, Flash Forward Festival, Deland Arts Festival, Center for Fine Art Photography, PDN’s Photo Annual, PDN’s Curator Awards, the Kontinent Awards, the Filter Festival in Chicago, San Francisco International Photography Exhibition , Your Daily Photograph for Duncan Miller Gallery and the Lishui International Photography Festival in Lishui, China.

Paula is a regular participant in national and local portfolio reviews, has been a panelist and featured speaker at photography events and conferences including MacWorld. She has been a panelist for the Massachusetts Cultural Council’s Photography Fellowships and is a nominator for the Prix Pictet in Geneva, Switzerland, a nominator for the Heinz Prize in Pennsylvania, the Robert Gardner Fellowship at Harvard University, and the Rappaport Prize in Massachusetts. She is a past member of the Xerox Technical Advisory Board. She is on the advisory board of the New England School of Photography and the Flash Forward Festival Boston.

Visit the Griffin Museum of Photography

People’s choice prize

• People’s choice prize $200 determined by online poll conducted during the exhibit. Prize awarded at the end of the exhibit. (email address required for online vote)
• Prizes are awarded as gift cards from a leading online photo and video store.

Brooke Hammerle grew up as a nomadic Navy brat, her family moving up and down the east coast from Cambridge, Massachusetts to Key West, Florida. The experience of living near the water with its constantly changing forms created a long-lasting memory of the transience of light and time.

Brooke’s artistic vision came through a background in painting. Light’s mysterious and mercurial quality to shape the visual world drew her to photography. Landscape and more recently waves are her subject. The camera’s point of focus and depth of field re-imagine the balance between nature and abstraction. Photographing the turbulent action of waves breaking against the shore becomes a fascinating rhythm, an energy captured in time-frozen images. The water, never still, reflecting light, is a constant interplay of surface and space. Brooke’s images are a metaphor of the ever-changing mystery of nature, the unity within, and the connectedness of all things.

Brooke has exhibited throughout New England is represented by art consultants in London, Philadelphia, and Boston. Her work is in private collections in the UK, France, and the USA

Steve Mason refined his skill as a photographer through many years of shooting for corporate clients in the military, automotive, and architectural industries. At the same time Steve was deeply committed to long-term personal projects that expressed an intense narrative and vision.

Steve created “3 Mile Radius”, a project that visually describes what it means to come back home to Rhode Island. Steve explains, “‘3 Mile Radius’ is a concept not a measurement. It’s the distance between memories and reflections, between being alone and loneliness, and the distance between our age and our dreams.”

The collection of black and white images explore the aging beauty, the past triumphs, the current reality, and the enduring idiosyncratic character of small neighborhoods within a small state. Massive boulders on the shoreline appear to hold time still. Ancient trees grip the earth beneath with massive fingers of roots. Desolate industrial buildings appear as monuments illuminated in the night’s soft mist. All of the images speak of a solitary strength surrounded by still, empty, frozen moments.

Steve has exhibited throughout New England and is a major force driving fine art photography forward through arts organizations and collaboratives in Rhode Island.

Abraham “Abe” Nathanson, (1929 – 2010) began his artistic career at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York, where he studied graphic & industrial design. Upon returning to his hometown of Pawtucket, Rhode Island, he and his brother Morris founded a commercial design studio where their collective entrepreneurial and creative dexterity would flourish.

Abe was well known in the Providence arts and theater communities as a photographer, painter, writer, and illustrator of children’s books. Abe was an inveterate collector, and also the inventor of the international hit word game, Bananagrams®.

As a passionate collector of ephemera, photography, and art, Abe eventually began supplying his brother’s architectural firm, Morris Nathanson Design, with unique art displays and décor solutions from his vast collection. Offering tailor made art packages to complement interior design projects, Abe’s ARCHIVES Ephemera & Design studio continues to thrive.

ARCHIVES Ephemera & Design, with the support of the Peter Miller Fine Art Photography Gallery, is honored to showcase this limited selection of Abe’s photographs spanning his career. These images were taken during some of Abe’s travels through Mexico, the Greek Islands, and New York City.  The exhibition also includes prints from his native Rhode Island.

Mike Dooley views fine art photography as a highly creative process. He will spend hours on a single image, working a scene to capture a magical slice of time. The careful study may take Mike back to the location over and over to find the right time of day, flow of the tides, and atmospheric conditions. On any early morning you might find Mike Dooley nestled among the rocks by a jagged beach waiting as the sun rises, skies brighten with color, and shadows stretch to fill his compositions. When all of the creative elements are present, Mike captures his unique view of the world. His landscapes and seascapes are distinctly recognizable by their bold colors, striking compositions and masterful displays of light.

Mike is located in Warwick, Rhode Island, and spends much of his free time exploring every nook and cranny of the Ocean State and around New England in search of subjects to photograph. Mike’s goal is to transform recognizable scenes, make you stop and wonder, and discover beauty anywhere. Mike has grown into among Rhode Island’s most recognized photographers and is an active member of The Wickford Art Association and the Photography Society of Rhode Island.

Mike has published his first book of photographs, “Through My Eyes”, a collection of 58 seascapes, landscapes, night scenes, and places and spaces from around Rhode Island, New England and beyond. Mike’s entire PMFA exhibit is included plus an additional 30 images. For more details and to get your signed first edition copy, click here.

The journey of shared discovery and inspiration is displayed in Muldoon and Willoughby’s “Visualizing Poetry” collaborative series of images. Muldoon and Willoughby selected poems for each other, discussed and developed ideas to visualize, and then created photographs representing the essence of the prose. “Creative collaboration offers a uniquely different approach”, Willoughby elaborates, “By working on shared projects I’ve found alternative paths that I would not have taken on my own. Eileen and I were challenged to rely on one another, to let go, trust, share the risk, and share the inspiration.” Muldoon continues, “The inspiration and influence received from other photographers enhances my personal vision. Collaboration is not a replacement for the way I work but it adds an extra dimension. My individual style has expanded and unfolded in unexpected new directions.”

About the artists
Eileen McCarney Muldoon is a fine arts photographer living and working in Jamestown, RI. Her photographic style has been described as painterly, but she prefers to attribute her style to the gift that photography has given her to see the world with the eyes of an artist. She uses natural light as a means to express emotion.

Olaf Willoughby is a photographer, writer, researcher and facilitator living in London, England. His life paths include a career in marketing, where he consults on the use of storytelling to improve business communications, and a passion for photography where he shoots and writes to develop his creativity and fulfill a desire for advocacy.

Learn more about photography and collaboration

• “Visualizing Poetry, The Power of Words & Images” a new book by Olaf Willoughby and Eileen McCarney Muldoon takes you on an intriguing journey through over fifty poems. Read more.
  Purchase the book.
• “Visual Conversations” workshop, Maine Media College, co-taught by Olaf Willoughby and Eileen McCarney Muldoon starting June 21st 2015. Sponsored by Leica with complementary use of their equipment.

1st place: Pierre Hauser, “Delivery Truck Door 2”

2nd place: Cindy Wilson, “Easy Dime Toss” 2015

3rd place: Joseph O’Leary – “Ryan” from the series “Of Beards and Men”

Jurored by Rob Van Petten
May 21 – June 12, 2015
See the show online

Rob’s remarks from the opening reception, May 21:

General comments – The response to this call for entries was fantastic – it was a relatively short term entry period and we received 418 entries. It was a painstaking jury process to fairly evaluate all the entries on the criterion of:
1) Does the image communicate the artist’s unique vision?
2) Does the image express emotion?
3) Does the subject matter (content and composition) stand out?
4) Did the artist control the quality of light?
5) Did the artist exhibit technical control in image capture and post-processing?
6) Was the quality of the artist’s work consistent across all submissions?
7) Was the work created within the last 3 years?
8) Did the artist follow the submission guidelines?

Moreover – Does the image hit you in the guts and say “Wow”.

3) Joseph O’Leary – “Ryan” from the series “Of Beards and Men” A photo illustration portrait in a very current style. The concept is witty and ironic – and is supported by an impeccable studio lighting technique and a de-saturated post production quality that gives the shot immediate strength and impact. The composition remains simple and straight forward while the directing of the subject totally supports the whimsical mood of the moment.

This is a gallery show – so good print quality counts.

[Peter Miller comments: Rob and I also viewed entrant’s websites to get a sense of the artist’s body of work. Joseph’s website http://www.jdro.com represents a unique concept, an incredible dedication to realizing a vision, and then following through.]

2) Cindy Wilson – “Easy Dime Toss” Is a wide angle play of shadows and shapes that appear 3D and pop off the print. The bright round temptations pull us right into the fun of this fantasy land. Broad blue sky and clouds from a low point of view are the perfect simple backdrop of this powerfully amusing composition.

Submitting consistently good entries deserves recognition. There were several photographers whose work shows quality thorough out a series of images. Consistency proves a level of commitment and control beyond having a few lucky shots.

[Peter Miller comments: When you walk in the door of the gallery Cindy’s print immediately attracts your interest. The piece is beautifully composed and executed and it is wonderfully presented. The final steps of printing and framing make a big difference.]

1) Pierre Hauser – Delivery Truck Door #2. Pierre’s submissions were consistently beautiful, visually thoughtful and deserves recognition for quality thorough out.

This is first a well seen abstract ballet of pastel delights in subtle hues. The components are well balanced while my eye dances around would-be birds and faces and finally follows a string of dots to a dark counterpoint of shadows providing a rich contrast of base of details in the shadow areas. Though I went through the total of 418 submissions at least 8 times, this image stuck in my mind each trip. The economy of components, the play of colors in space, and the choice of elements ultimately contrasts the dimension of airy elements playing above this murky rooted foundation. Beyond the composition this image evokes a metaphysical scenario that suggests a balance of contrasting emotional moods. Maybe decay and renewal. And all in a single moment discovered on the back door of a delivery truck.

This photograph represents the power and the purpose of a photographic vision.

[Peter Miller comments: Pierre’s work is truly transformational. Possessing the visual sensibility to find visual beauty hidden within the mundane is a great gift. From a distance Pierre’s piece is an abstract expressionist masterpiece. At a closer view there’s a dynamic interplay of photographic capture versus pure color, composition, and form.]

There’s another prize I would like to award…¶

A very high level honorable mention to everyone else who deserve recognition for such a high level of accomplishment in photography. This was a difficult series of decisions. Many of you deserve to be awarded for what you submitted and are genuinely worthy of prizes as well. Some of you showed consistently high quality images over a series of pictures. The show includes about 70 images and you all deserve a gold star on your forehead.

[Peter Miller comments: Again, many thanks to all who entered and made the show a great success. I am going to host another “Open Call” juried show in October 2015. The additional time to promote the show and add sponsors will bring an even livelier experience for participating photographers and the gallery.]

Accepted artists are listed.

See the show online.

Merging processes and ideas led DeMelim into the world of commercial printing and studio photography. The variety of experience afforded him a versatile fine art tool chest made of an appreciation for screen-printing, strong graphic imagery, bold colorful shapes ,and exaggerated lines.

All of his skills are transported into the digital age in DeMelim’s “built panoramas”. His series of wide-format images is a further exploration, adding contemporary digital color correction and digital darkroom techniques. The panoramas display a raw, urban, and energetic vision. Sequenced images, architectural shapes, and layers collide to reveal fragments of brilliant colors. David unites all the shattered elements in a elongated wide format, reminiscent of a long strip of photographic film. As the viewer decodes David’s scenes into one experience, a lively story emerges.

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Murray recorded his travels to the frozen worlds of Antarctica and Iceland in a series of fascinating other-worldly photographs. Sheer walls of towering ice tunnels seem to radiate a bright chilly blue color. A midnight sun infuses the icebound landscapes in eerie tints. Moody gray tones outline frigid serrated maritime peaks. Chunks of ice glisten metallically on black sand beaches. Paul’s landscapes span the range from mystical subtlety to spectacular adventures.

From the frozen continent Paul transports you to the now (un)frozen streets of Cuba. Paul’s images reveal people and places once inaccessible to US citizens. Paul’s respect for time and place radiates in his subjects’ warmth and humanity.

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The panoramic technique allows a broad view of a scene and at the same time captures all the intricate details. Peter’s goal is to go beyond what is seen within the camera’s view finder and reproduce the actual experience of being within a scene.

Inspiration is taken from the Dutch landscape painters from the 1600s especially Jacob van Ruisdael. The expansive skies and “divine light” in his paintings makes the figures and their homes below seem as if they are being watched over by the heavens, beneath a divine benevolence.

Peter’s panoramics merge the big skies with street level views of everyday scenes — people walking to work, out on their boats — and freeze those transient moments. The themes are shared with van Ruisdael: transience and permanence; the sublime and the mundane; the forces of nature and the efforts of man to harness nature.

See the exhibit.

Don recalls, “I always thought I would be a painter and looked at my photography as a way to record my “history” – a recording medium rather than an art form. But somewhere along the line I became frustrated by my inability to paint the way I wanted to and turned to photography as an artistic medium. My love of painting and the way that painters use light has had a major impact on my photography. That and my conversion to digital photography and photo editing software and the creative range that it provides, are probably the major influences in what you see today. (The highest compliment you can pay me is to say: “Wow! I thought that was a painting!”.)

“My landscapes, botanicals and outdoor photographs are meant to celebrate the beauty and wonder of nature, to foster appreciation of the natural world, both big and small.”

See the exhibit.