An Exhibition for Contemporary Photography
At the Rhode Island Center for Photographic Arts we wanted to start the year with an exhibition to take the temperature of current photographic practice, a survey of whats now. This open call was conceived as a showcase for contemporary photography and we would like to thank everyone who submitted work for consideration. In the end, 74 photographers were selected from 27 States, Canada, and England to be a part of our 6th Open Call. We are excited to be producing this exhibition and providing the opportunity to bring so many new photographers to Providence. Many entries were excluded due only to limitations of space and we will be revisiting and reviewing all entries at a later date as we look for photographers to feature in 2020.
Opening Reception: February 21st 5:00 – 9:00pm
On View: Thursday, February 21st, thru Friday, March 15th, 2019
Free and Open to the Public
Opening Reception & Awards Presentation: February 21st, 2019 5:00 – 9:00 p.m.
First Place: Eric Kunsman; 4th of July, 2014 – Palmyra, NY
Second Place: R.J. Kern; Kol and Annabell, Anoka County Fair, Minnesota
Third Place: Ashley Gardner; Family Planning
Honorable Mentions:
Brendon Kahn; Selfie Rainbow
Joshua Littlefield; Snap
Dale Niles; Boy Toys
Tricia Capello; The Last Good Bye, The First Hello
Jasmine Clarke; Marissa
A special thanks to our juror, Aline Smithson for her efforts in selecting the work to inform our look at contemporary photography in 2019.
Juror’s statement – Aline Smithson
I have just spent the last week immersed in your photographs, revisiting and reconsidering each image. It was an exciting and daunting process and in the end, I selected about 3 times the amount that could hang on the walls. Thank you for submitting so much excellent work and making my decisions so difficult. Martha Stewart once said that she has a stronger memory of items she didn’t buy, than ones she did, and in some ways, the same goes for jurying an exhibition. There were so many terrific images that I struggled to include, but was unable to—so please know that this was not a cursory examination, but a long hard look at your work.
With this call for entry, no statement was required and for some of the submissions, I knew there was an interesting idea behind the imagery, but without the statement, the photographs were untethered from their concept and therefore lost their impact. I was looking for fresh approaches to photography, where the image had been reinterpreted by the artist in some way, whether conceptually or with the process or presentation. The photograph has become ubiquitous in our culture and in order to stand out, it is necessary to push beyond the ordinary or the common tropes that have already been covered. And as all judgment in art is subjective, I am just one person’s opinion, with my own way of looking at photography. Not being selected for this exhibition is in no way a devaluation of your work. I salute your efforts in submitting and so appreciate time with your work. – Aline Smithson
Exhibiting Photographers
Syl Arena – Morro Bay, CA
Kristen Bartley – Brooklyn, NY
Christopher Burns – Baton Rouge, LA
Tricia Capello – Newbury, MA
George Cavalletto – New York, NY
Jo Ann Chaus – Edgewater, NJ
Kelly Ciurej – Honolulu, HI
Jasmine Clarke – Brooklyn, NY
Mark Coggins – Belmont, CA
Richard Cohen – Barkhamsted, CT
Marcy Cohen – Croton on Hudson, NY
S. Adam Cook – Bloomington, IN
Nicole Cudzilo – Santa Fe, NM
Virgil DiBiase – Valparasio, IN
Benjamin Ernest – Arlington, MA
Diane Fox – Knoxville, TN
William Franson – Byfield, MA
Terri Fullerton – Seattle, WA
Ashley Gardner – Fayetteville, AR
Robert Gordon – Fayetteville, AR
Nevis Granum – Seattle, WA
Bronwen Hazlett – Dover, DE
Joseph Heathoctt – Jackson Heights, NY
Rohina Hoffman – Sherman Oaks, CA
Lisa Hoffman – Lincoln, NE
Marc Jaffe – Barrington, RI
Brendon Kahn – Paradise Valley, CA
Daniel Kariko – Greenville, NC
Marky Kauffmann – Somerville, MA
Caitlin Margaret – Kelly Hillsborough, NC
R. J. Kern – Minneapolis, MN
Ken Konchel – St. Louis, MO
Kent Krugh – Fairfield, OH
Eric Kunsman – Rochester, NY
Molly Lamb – Quincy, MA
J. K. Lavin – Venice, CA
Sonia Litynskyj – Rochester Hills, MI
Qingqian Liu – Rochester, NY
George Lowell – Moosup, CT
Vicky Martin Leek – Staffordshire England
Alyssa McDonald – Vernon, CT
Frances Melhop – Glenbrook, NV
Julie Mihaly – Poughkeepsie, NY
Kate Miller-Wilson – Hanover, MN
Emmanuel Mozon – Belleveue, WA
Ken Moran – Cumberland, RI
Christopher Morse – Cumberland Center, ME
Robert Nielsen – Carmel Valley, CA
Dale Niles – Fayetteville, GA
William Nourse – Amesbury, MA
Lauren Orchowski – New York,NY
Michael Pannier – Greenville, SC
Peoneemoull Pech – Providence, RI
Kelli Pennington – Portland, OR
Maja Planinac San – Francisco, CA
Lori Pond – Los Angeles, CA
Manda Quevedo – Bethlehem, PA
Neal Rantoul – Bemont, MA
Astrid Reischwitz – Bedford, MA
Heather Ross – Taos, NM
Meg Roussos – Johnson City, TN
Russ Rowland – New York, NY
Louise Russell – San Diego, CA
Louis Russo – Hartford, CT
Philip Sager – San Francisco, CA
Andi Schreiber – Scarsdale, NY
Jack Straton – Portland, OR
Jessica Voas – Brighton, MA
Aaron Wax – Brooklyn, NY
Scott Whitworth – Bloomington, IN
Brittany Williams – South Bend, IN
Juror
Aline Smithson, is the founder of the online photography journal LENSCRATCH Lenscratch and an award-winning photographer in her own right. After a career as a New York Fashion Editor working with the greats of fashion photography, Aline is now a Los Angeles based conceptual portrait artist and contributing writer to numerous fine art photography publications, including Don’t Take Pictures, Lucida, andF Stop Magazine among others. She is a founding member of the Six Shooters Collective Six Shooters and has been teaching at the Los Angeles Center of Photography since 2001. She has exhibited widely and her work is held in numerous public collections. Aline’s photography was selected for the Critical Mass Top 50 and in 2015 the Magenta Foundation published her first significant monograph, Self & Others: Portrait as Autobiography. She is active as a curator and juror of exhibits and is a popular reviewer and educator at many photo festivals and workshops across the United States. Aline is best known as an artist for her conceptual portraiture and a practice that uses humor and pathos to explore ideas of childhood, aging, and the humanity that connects us. She has exhibited widely including over 40 solo shows and has become one of the preeminent promoters of contemporary photography. Aline Smithson.
The Rhode Island Center for Photographic Arts, RICPA
Located in the heart of Providence, RICPA was founded to inspire creative development and provide opportunities to engage with the community through exhibitions, education, publication, and mutual support.
RICPA exists to create a diverse and supportive community for individuals interested in learning or working in Photographic Arts. We strive to provide an environment conducive to the free exchange of ideas in an open and cooperative space. Members should share a passion for creating, appreciating, or learning about all forms of photo-based media. We work to provide a platform for artistic expression, that fosters dialogue and drives innovation in the photographic arts.
The Gallery at the Rhode Island Center for Photographic Arts is a member of Gallery Night Providence Gallery Night
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