Springstep to Exhibit AMERICAN FAMILIES

In a group show opening on January 15th (reception from 6-8pm) at Springstep's art gallery, I will be exhibiting photographs from my AMERICAN FAMILIES series for the first time in public.

BLUE at the Cambridge Art Association

I'm happy to announce that my Paniolo 1 was selected by Jen Mergel from the ICA Boston to be included in the show BLUE, hosted at the Cambridge Art Association's Kathryn Schultz Gallery at 25 Lowell Street in Cambridge. The show will be up until January 13th.

Here's the full list of participants selected for the show:

Kathryn Schultz Gallery

Jonathan Bechard
Patricia Berube • First Prize
Katharina Chapuis
Andrew Child
Rob Diebboll
Joerg Dressler
Catherine Evans
David Fallon
Helga Felleisen
Suzanne Gainer
Wendy Gedanken
Dena Haden
Ann Forbush Kathy Lobo
Kelly Kerrigan
Julie L'Heureux
David Lang
Rebecca Litt
Madeleine Lord
Nella Lush
Susan Metzger
Steve Miller
Gwen Murphy
Linda Niemann
Suzanne Papin
Gina Picariello
Hugo Porcaro
Sarah Putnam
Beverly Rippel
Andrea Rosenthal
Sarah Rossi
Brenda Steinberg
Lorraine Sullivan
Zsuzsanna Szegedi
Frank Tadley
Lisa Tang Liu
Constantia Thibaut
Dianna Vosburg
William Wexler
Marcia Widenor • Director's Prize
Yefim Zhelezov

University Place Gallery

Rick Berry
Richard Bertman
Scott Bradner
Susan Bregman
Janet Campbell
Alvin Case
Karen Davis
Susan Denniston
May DeViney • Juror's Choice
Kristina Bell Ditullo
John Doyle
Steven Duede
Thomas Durand • Juror's Choice
David Elmes
Merritt Kraft Fletcher
Christian Flynn
Ed Friedman
Jeff Grassie
Don Gurewitz
Ross Harris
Bob Hesse
Becky Holt
Will Holub • Best of Show
Cheryl Jaffe
J.B. Jones
Jurgen Kedesdy
Mary Kostman
Judy Laliberte
Yuri Lipnesh
Sydell Masterman
Anne McNevin
Stephanie Mitchell
Carolyn Newberger
Richard Perkins
Hope Ricciardi
Judith Robinson-Cox
Gloria Ross
David Rossiter
Lia Rothstein
Joan Ryan • Second Prize
Margaret Soltysik-Espanola
Valerie Spain
Amelia Stafford Todd
Ernest Stonebraker
Ted Todd
Catalina Viejo Lopez de Roda
Christine Vielmetti Daniloff
Lisa Winant
Pamela Winters
Carol Wontkowski
John Wood
Gregory Wright
Michael Wright
Philip Young
James Zall

Current and Upcoming

Just a few updates about a couple of shows I'm in or will be in...

The Pen and Brush juried black and white photography show in NYC

, juried by Roy DeCarava.
The Chair, Utah was chosen by DeCarava for the show. Roy DeCarava is a master black and white photographer and a good friend of poet Langston Hughes, with whom he jointly published a book The Sweet Flypaper of Life, chronicling the lives of Harlem residents. This show is located at the Pen and Brush Gallery, 16 East 10th Street in New York City. It'll be up from May 1-25, and the reception is tomorrow May 10th, at 4-6pm. Too bad I'll miss it. My first show in NYC!!!

The Northeast Prize Show, Cambridge, MA.

I just heard the news that my oil painting American Icons I: 492 Days was selected by Nicholas Baume, Chief Curator of the ICA Boston, to be included into the Cambridge Art Association's Northeast Prize show. I was so happy I cried. This show will be up from May 14-June 25, and the reception is on Friday, May 30, from 6-8pm.

Moved into our new place

Ken and I moved two weekends ago, and I haven't had the time to blog. But I'm back!

New Show -- Cambridge Art Association: "Interiors/Exteriors"

The Cambridge Art Association is hosting a new juried show at the Kathryn Schultz Gallery from April 4 through April 29: "Interiors/Exteriors." The juror is James Hull.

And I got in!

Below is a list of exhibiting artists:

Chuck Beisch
Brother Eugene De Lauro
Tom Diaz • Juror's Choice
Catherine Evans
Wally Gilbert
Becky Haletky • Juror's Choice
Fay Hannon
Sirarpi Heghinian Walzer
Bob Hesse • Juror's Choice
Janet Hobbs
Mary Kostman
Simon Lejeune
Bonnie Lerner
Chippa Martin
Trish O'Day
Dana Pearson
Lina LeNeve Pomeroy Tans
Judith Prager
Sheila Rice
Judy Robinson-Cox
Ruth Rosner
Janet Smith
Ernest Stonebraker
Lorraine Sullivan
Zsuzsanna Szegedi • Juror's Choice
Lisa Tang Liu
Adrian Tans
Brenda Van der Beek
Catalina Viejo Lopez de Roda
Karen Weinhaus
Susan Wheelock
Pam Winters
Etta Wolpert
John Wood
James Zall

Stephen Wilkes at The Griffin Museum of Photography

I am now officially a proud member of the board of directors of the Griffin Museum of Photography in Winchester.

The above image was taken off the Griffin Museum's homepage just moments ago. They just finished their exhibition of Stephen Wilkes' hauntingly beautiful photographs of Ellis Island (second from left above). I thought about blogging this in my new blog, The Aht Blog (visual art found around Boston), but decided against it because I saw it on its last day.

The title of the exhibition was STEPHEN WILKES, ELLIS ISLAND: GHOSTS OF FREEDOM
(January 24 - March 30). The images were created in the dilapidated hospital wing of Ellis Island where few people could access. This was a place where the sick were quarantined, and sadly, many died here, after traveling all the way across the ocean with hopes of a new life in the New World.


Images © Stephen Wilkes

According to Wikipedia, Ellis Island's facility operated from January 1, 1892 to November 12, 1954, which means that it would have been impossible that Chinese immigrants came through here. The Chinese Exclusion Act was in effect from 1882 and was not entirely abolished until 1965 under Lyndon B. Johnson. So, factually speaking, there was no Chinese American heritage associated with Ellis Island. But it doesn't matter. All the same, it is powerfully symbolic as a place for immigrants, me included.

If you've seen my fine art photography work, you'll know that I'm a sucker for decrepit places and objects. I was nearly moved to tears as I toured around the Griffin's main gallery, admiring Stephen Wilkes' work. The large scale of the two pieces pictured was close to life size. They made you feel like you were really there, making the sadness of the hospital almost palpable, as if the spirit of the dead immigrants are there, teleported into the gallery in Winchester.

My Holga Silver Gelatin Prints on Display

Tom Yum Koong in Medford (see previous blog entry) has installed 8 pieces of my silver gelatin black and white prints in their restaurant space. These images were created with my Holga camera and developed in the darkroom.

Visit Tom Yum Koong to see my work! 11-13 Forest Street, Medford, MA 02155.

13FOREST Gallery's New Arlington Space

Visit Marc Gurton's new space for 13FOREST Gallery in Arlington! It's at 167A Mass Ave, right near Flora Restaurant and the Capitol Theatre. I have a few pieces in there too! http://www.13forest.com

Joel and Maya's Plant

I photographed this plant a while back. We were plant-sitting for Joel and Maya and had forgotten to water the plant for a few days... We watered it and it was rehydrated within a few hours.

Dead Raccoon

I found a dead raccoon in our backyard this morning. Rabies? Poison? I haven't figured out what to do with it yet. I called the local health department and am waiting for a call back...

Latest updates. Well, the health department can't do anything about it because it's on private property. I may have to summon up the courage to take a shovel and put the body into a double-layered bag later...

Mentioned in the Boston Globe today

I was mentioned in an article in the Boston Globe today. It featured one of my photos as well, though I just realized that my name is not credited in the caption... The article is about our last show in the Medford Square space at 13FOREST Gallery before moving to Arlington.

Here is the article!

Upcoming Exhibit

I'll be showing my work with Sand T and Sophie Glikson at TV3 in Medford from January 10 - February 10. This is going to be a very exciting show, as we are all very different artists.

I have never shown so many black and white pieces in one show, and I'm looking forward to it.

Snow in Boston

I'm feeling very depressed about having to dig my car out. Just waiting for the caffeine to kick in my bloodstream before starting the task.

The ICA, No Name Restaurant, and the Boston Fish Pier

I became a member of the ICA (Institute of Contemporary Art) recently, and I decided to go back with my friend Bénédicte to see the current exhibit DESIGN LIFE NOW in the West Gallery (through January 6, 2008). This show has some of the best designs from 2003-2006 across many industries. This is my second visit to the show and I still haven't seen everything. The membership at the ICA is definitely worth it. I will go back again with Ken and my cousins this weekend, and possibly again sometime with my former assistant Stephen.

I discovered the No Name Restaurant recently in the process of photographing my client's wedding. What wonderful fish and chips! For those who don't know about the No Name Restaurant, it's located right on the Fish Pier, meaning that the fish is completely fresh, of course. I felt like having a beer today, and I ordered a Budweiser Select, just out of curiosity. A terrible mistake. It's a little more flavorful than club soda. Bénédicte enjoyed the meal with a Harpoon ale. She has a few more months in Boston before returning to France, and she said she would bring her husband Nicolas back to the restaurant.

Finally, a word about the fresh fish from the pier. About a year ago, I blogged about grocery shopping in Boston, and coincidentally, today I was contacted by a David Barkay in Montreal who actually read my blog entry (check out David Barkay's blog). I've been meaning to add to that entry regarding my recent find about the fish, and now I'm motivated to do so.

I have stopped buying fish from supermarkets in Boston. I am so spoiled by the fish at the fish pier that there is no reason to buy from the supermarkets. The seafood companies are mainly wholesalers, but they will sell retail if you ask for something they have. I just bought 4 lbs of bluefish from Bramante Seafood yesterday and roasted 2 lbs in the oven last night with ginger and spiced salt (a mixture of cayenne, paprika, and salt). My mouth is still watering at the thought of last night's dinner.

Now back to work...

Joyce Tenneson at the Griffin Museum of Photography

My friend Bénédicte and I went to see Joyce Tenneson speak at the Griffin Museum tonight. The show is up through August 12,

Joyce kicked off the talk with a couple of Powerpoint slideshows, the first of which was a selection of images from her new book, a retrospective of four decades' worth work.

As she got up to speak at the end of the slideshows, she welled up with tears over the images from her Wise Women series featuring women over 65. The late Jessica Tandy was one of them. Joyce has always photographed from the heart, and she got to know some of these women very well in preparation of her portraits of them. She loved them and wanted to be close friends with them. She explained that she got emotional over them because it was the first time she looked at the slideshow on a big screen with music like this.

She apologized, but of course, we more than forgive her. We just love her that much more for getting emotional. Well, I'm speaking for myself at least.

Wise Women happens to be my favorite body of work by Joyce Tenneson, and I was happy that she was so attached to it. It's her least stylized body of work because she really wanted the women's characters to speak for themselves, and so there weren't any special backgrounds that may distract the viewer from the subject. Pretty young starlets will please the vast majority of the public no matter how poorly you photograph them. Being able to distill the inner beauty from an older woman is something only a master artist like Joyce can do. It's likely that a young male will look at this body of work and say that he has no interest in viewing, but young, shallow boys are irrelevant here. Wise Women will only speak to other wise women, women seeking wisdom, and maybe a few worthy wise men.

The session was then opened to Q&A. I learned the process by which she used to mount her large flower images.

Ken's new short story

My husband Ken won another writing contest recently. The story "Beneath the Language" is now published at http://www.onthepremises.com/issue_02/story_02_1.html

You can see another of Ken's published stories "Algorithms for Love" at Strange Horizons.

StoryLINES at artSPACE@16 in Malden

If you haven't been to http://artspaceat16.com/currentexhibition.htm's new show, go see it before it closes on June 9th. It features sculptures by Pamela Sheridan, paintings by Sam Tan, and photography by Brian Doan.

I stopped by this show for the first time two Thursdays ago and was immensely moved by Brian Doan's large format photographs of Vietnamese Americans in his series Dreamland, particularly one of a Vietnamese American young man in a U.S. Army uniform. This young man is now deployed in Iraq. Blurred in the background of this portrait is a movie poster of Apocalpyse Now.

I felt such strong emotions when I looked at this photograph because Asian Americans always have the need to prove to the rest of America that we are Americans, and the Vietnamese American soldier's portrait is great proof. And of course, the allusion to the Vietnam War just a few decades ago reminds us how once again America is "fighting for democracy" today, but it is just that much more poignant that this young Vietnamese American man, whose parents probably came to the U.S. as refugees from the Vietnam War, is now risking his life for the U.S. government for another war.

Upon browsing through his website and seeing more samples of his work, it struck me how Brian's subjects all display a sense of their own dignity. The rarity of any Asian Americans portrayed with dignity in photographs is astounding. Asian American women are often stereotyped as sex objects in commercial photographs, and Asian American men are either ignored, or portrayed as effeminates. And sadly, oftentimes Asian Americans themselves pertetuate and reinforce such stereotypes. Brian's work is very important to the whole Asian American community and in getting a voice out to the larger American society, not just Vietnamese Americans.

I returned to artSPACE@16 to meet Brian during the artist talk on May, 24th. Brian was an engineer who decided to become a full-time artist, to the dismay of his parents and others around him. Vietnamese immigrant parents, like Chinese immigrant parents, all wish for their kids to have a steady job that earns a lot of money.

Pam Sheridan was not an abstract artist until she was diagnosed with cancer (from which she is now recovered fortunately). Here, on the left, you can see details from one of her sculptures Paradox at artSPACE. The sculpture is about 5 feet in height and is made entirely of intricately woven barbed wires, colored threads and painted spherical shapes.

I had come across Sam Tan's paintings about a year ago in Arlington. His works are often characterized by two juxtaposing patterns and very bright, often complementary colors. In this current show (shown on right), his paintings from the Mindful Landscapes series employ cadmium orange and cobalt teal acrylic paints -- ultra intense, complementary colors in their pure forms. Sam wove them into webs of abstract shapes that remind the viewers of arteries and organs and their own mortality.

Sand T has once again put together another extraordinary show.

Ecotopia at the International Center of Photography

One of the reasons for my extended stay in New York is to see the art shows in town. On the top of my list was the International Center of Photography. And since I'm now a member at the Griffin Museum in Winchester, I get free admission. The current show at the ICP is a group show called Ecotopia on view through January 7, 2007. The biggest attraction for me to see this show was Catherine Chalmers, a photographer whose interest is primarily of ecology. I was introduced to her work by Ken, who gave me a copy of her book Food Chain. As I was doing some digging online just now, I found out that Chalmers' work can be seen at the current DeCordova exhibition Going Ape: Confronting Animals in Contemporary Art, on view until January 7th as well.

Ecotopia was one of the best photography shows I've seen. It showcases the work of 40 photographers around the theme of nature and our interactions with nature. Certainly there were subthemes that I expected -- the destructions of nature by humans. But there are also more subtle and neutral subthemes about the natural order of things in nature. Catherine Chalmers' exhibition piece turned out to be a short film rather than still photography. The film depicts a cockroach's emergence from a body of water, his journey through the woods, and eventually his demise by becoming prey to a frog.

I was also excited to find out that among the 40 participating in the show was Wang Qingsong. His website always seems to be too busy to load, and so I suspect he's doing very well. In an issue of Aperture Magazinen this year I had first seen Wang's work Come, Come, three staged images depicting waves of political protestors and the irony that they leave behind a mess of abandoned banners and other garbage--all this angry concern about China's polical future while neglecting the environment. Wang's work is full of irony and challenges herd mentality. He's one of the most refreshing contemporary Chinese artists who made his name known internationally. Most Chinese artists with international exhibits have a tendency to reinforce western stereotypes about China, while much of Wang's work is about Chinese identity and integrity in the face of globalization and commercialism.

Lowell & the Lowell Photography Weekend

Last weekend (November 11 and 12) was the Lowell Photography Weekend, which involved five participating galleries and their respective photography-related exhibitions. I visited Lowell mainly because of the Photo2006 Black and White Classic exhibition, where my one piece "View from Ladder" was displayed in the back section. The juror of the exhibition was Ron Rosenstock, who had studied with Paul Caponigro and Minor White for a number of years. The selected works were really, really wonderful. I can honestly say that I loved and admired every single piece there (and I was damned lucky to have gotten one piece in!). When you first walk into the gallery, four of Paul Wainwright's stunning pieces from his Spirals series (pictured above) are directly in front of you. I believe some of the prints in this show are not on his website. Paul Wainwright is the juror for the exhibition closing this Saturday November 18 at artSPACE@16, called PROOF: in Black and White (see my previous blog post). The Lowell Brush Gallery show is really wonderful, but its lack of publicity is a shame. I can't find an image for it on the web, but Meg Birnbaum's "Cowgirl" is a very memorable image. Meg's work is also exhibited at artSPACE@16. Another familiar name in this exhibit from PROOF is Silke Hase. I wished I could remember more names and I wished there is an updated page on The Brush Gallery's website, but there isn't. I understand that it's a volunteer-run organization and that website updates are not easy (I neglect mine all the time and do not update this very blog often enough), but one could only imagine that it must be difficult for the press to publish any content on it without even any information on WHO are in the show. I tried to obtain postcards for the show, but there were none left when I dropped off my work... *sigh* The biggest disappointment was that the juror Ron Rosenstock was not there during the opening reception. This show really is fantastic, but as far as I know, it didn't make it into the Globe. It runs until January 7th at the Brush Gallery.

My husband Ken and friends Joel and Maya accompanied me through all but one of the participating galleries at the Lowell Photography Weekend. Ken and I had visited Lowell for a Dar Williams concert over the summer one evening, but we had never walked around Lowell before. And I believe it was the first visit for Joel and Maya. I was surprised at how many museums and galleries there were in Lowell. The Whistler House Museum of Art has some good quality work exhibited in its main member's exhibition and its digital photography exhibition in the outer gallery and is worth visiting. On our way to the various galleries, we stopped by the Revolving Museum. The installation piece in the lobby and the kitchen walls filled with painted matzohs are some of its most impressive features. The current exhibition is "Race, Class, Gender ≠ Character." It's an interesting theme. One video installation that I almost didn't pay attention to turned out to be the most poignant piece to me. I think the title was "After the Smile." It candidly captures different groups of tourists posing for someone else's camera in front of some popular tourist attraction. When the posed shot is over the smile immediately fades and are often replaced by frowns, annoyance, or dejectedness. The Revolving Museum has one of the better websites of the above mentioned galleries and museums in Lowell.

The revitalized Lowell is a beautiful place with many old mills converted into modern luxury condos and museums. One can see that much money has been raised to make it beautiful, but how does it keep running as a self-sustaining economy? Does UMass Lowell offer enough consumers for its retail businesses? Are there enough art collectors and buyers to frequent its many museums and galleries?

PROOF: In Black and White, artSPACE@16 in Malden

I've mentioned the current show PROOF: In Black and White several times in my blogs, but I haven't actually taken the time to talk about my thoughts on the show itself, artSPACE@16, nor Sand T -- the phenomenal artist, gallery founder and director.

Let's talk about the show itself. PROOF: In Black and White is a juried exhibition (for those not familiar with the term -- it means that the participating artworks are chosen by a juror, who is often an expert on the subject--in this case, photography). The juror is Paul Wainwright, a traditional black and white large format (referring those old large cameras that you use with a black cloth over your head) photographer. The requirement to enter the show is that traditional film and darkroom processing must be used to produced these images. On the jury day, Paul went around and picked the pieces judging solely on their artistic merit and without seeing the artists' names.

When I dropped off my work, I knew I had tough competition. The caliber of the work present was very impressive. And on the opening of the show, I felt immensely honored to be exhibiting my work among such wonderful photographs--and I learned a lot of their wonderful techniques. Here are some of artists with the most striking pieces and unique techniques. Paul Weiner's work shown here is one of them. He used a large format camera set on long exposure and flashed a flashlight over the room to draw patterns on the wall.

Chris Yeager's medium format studio portrait of singer-songwriter Rose Polenzani is shown on the left.

Silke Hase's Holga image (shown here on right) gives me new inspiration to try a Holga.

Erik Hansen's (left) abstract long/double exposure of a model set up in his studio.

Robert William Streeter prints and processes a single image with multiple negatives--American Sarum is shown below right.

Elsa Campbell (left) brushed developer onto silver gelatin paper, instead of putting it into a developer bath as you would normally, thereby creating a unique print every time.

Now about the gallery artSPACE@16 and Sand T... This is the fourth show I've attended there, though it's the first time I'm exhibiting. For first time visitors who don't know anything about the place, they are often shocked to find that it is a converted garage in a secluded residential neighborhood in Malden. It's a hidden gem and well worth the trek. Sand T had pretty much converted her garage into a gallery using her own pocket money and created such professional exhibitions that got wonderful media attention. It is rated in the Boston Globe as one of the best galleries by Raphaela Platow, curator at the Rose Art Museum at Brandeis University. Sand T has worked tirelessly for years to bring this sort of attention to artSPACE@16. One can only imagine the struggle. Oh, did I mention that she doesn't even ask for commissions from her artists who make a sale??? I was flabbergasted when I heard this. She says she'll only hope for donations from the artists, and I can only hope that the artists know about this donation policy. Having just had a one-year project of a gallery myself (what was Pigmentia Gallery in Medford is now run by Marc Gurton and renamed 13FOREST Gallery), I know how tough it is to juggle the show schedules, getting money and time to have exhibitions. I am relieved that I'm on the other side now, but it certainly gives me a special appreciation for the gallery directors who put together shows for us -- and the commissions are justified.

As a person, Sand T is warm, generous, helpful and embracing to all artists around her. She is resourceful and can literally build walls and pedestals, paint and do anything to make any space look like a museum. When I first opened Pigmentia Gallery, Sand T introduced herself to me and connected me to not only the Malden art community but many artist communities all over Massachusetts. She is a very talented artist in her own right, though I know it must be hard to find time to do her own work with so many exhibitions going on. From this link you can see some of her work: http://www.artspaceat16.com/sandt.htm. Sand T crosses many media disciplines. She's an installation artist, sculptor, painter, and photographer. Just spend five minutes with her and you'll feel energized.