Nine Women Photographers
The Rhode Island Center for Photographic Arts presents the work of nine women, as curated by Massachusetts-based photographer and educator Marky Kauffmann. The exhibition, “Outspoken: Expanded” explores and challenges ideas related to being female. Individually, the photographers focus on a range of issues from adolescence to aging. Collectively, the show explores and provides insights into a broad spectrum of struggles encountered, reconciling society’s mixed messages and contradictory expectations.
The exhibition presents award-winning work that is thought-provoking and makes for a show best experienced in person. Among the lingering questions this group show leaves viewers with: Without the title, would you know the work was created by women? Does knowing the work on view was created by women change your perception or how you react to the images?
Presented to coincide with Women’s History Month, the exhibition features photography by Nadine Broughton, Blake Fitch, Nancy Grace Horton, Marky Kauffmann, Tira Kahn, Susan Lapides, Sunjoo Lee, Raina Matar, and Emily Schiffer. See their information after the gallery preview below.
Exhibition: March 21, 2019 – April 12, 2019
Opening Reception: March 21th 5:00 – 9:00pm
Gallery Hours: Thursday 1-4, Friday + Saturday 1:00 – 6:00pm
Outspoken: Expanded
Exhibited Work Preview
(Click to enlarge and see the full, uncropped photograph)
Nadine Boughton
Photographer and collage artist Nadine Boughton grew up under the shadow of George Eastman’s Kodak Tower in Rochester, New York. Boughton’s collages use imagery from vintage magazines of the 1950s to explore the psychology, politics, and polarities of mid-century America. Boughton was selected for the Photolucida Critical Mass Top 50 in 2011, 2013, 2014 and 2016, and her work has been exhibited widely. Her work is represented by Trident Gallery in Gloucester, Massachusetts. nadineboughton.com
Blake Fitch
Fullbright Fellowship Finalist (1999) Blake Finch has long been interested in documenting nuances in the emotional lives of girls and young women. The quality and breadth of her imagery has enabled Fitch to receive a variety of grants and sponsorships, including support from Kodak and Calumet Photographic. Her work has been exhibited internationally and is held in the collections of numerous private and public collections. She is represented by Miller Yezerski Gallery and ClampArt.
Nancy Grace Horton
Photo-based artist Nancy Grace Horton embraces both analog and digital techniques to create bold narrative fragments fed by her background in photojournalism. Her series, “Ms. Behavior” utilizes gender roles as inspiration to stimulate a feminist discussion. Her Learning to See school and community projects bring students together to use photography to explore their communities. Her work has been exhibited in group and solo exhibitions, and she is the recipient of numerous grants and awards. http://hortonphoto.com/
Marky Kauffmann
Marky Kauffmann utilizes traditional darkroom techniques, alternative processes, and digital technologies to create her unique images. A passionate educator, Kauffmann has taught photography at secondary schools and at the New England School of Photography. Kauffmann has been a guest curator at several Boston-area galleries and Outspoken, which she also curated, has exhibited throughout New England. Kauffmann is a recipient of the 2017 Massachusetts Cultural Council Fellowship in Photography and was a finalist for the fellowship in 1986 and 1988. markykauffmannphotography.com
Tira Kahn
Tira Khan’s photographs focus on people, family and unguarded moments. Her images are often personal, with components of daily lives that reflect broad, universal themes. Her series Growing Up Girl, included in this exhibition, has been featured on Der Spiegel, Lenscratch, Musée Magazine, and What Will You Remember. Her photographs have been published in two books: We Who March, on the 2017 Women’s March; and Family. Life., organized through the Alexia Foundation. tirakhan.com
Susan Lapides
American photographer Susan Lapides’ work focuses on people, culture, and place. Her subjects range from portraits of visionaries to the fishing communities of New Brunswick, Canada. Lapides has shown her work widely and is a 2018 recipient of the Beth Block Juried Membership Honoraria from the Houston Center for Photography. Her award-winning photography is in numerous public and private collections. susanlapides.com
Sunjoo Lee
Seoul, South Korea-based mixed media photographer Sunjo Lee’s award-winning work focuses on a unique lyrical journey into her personal life and explores her past, present, and future world in a time and spatial perspective. Her work has been featured in major photography publications, as well as in group and solo exhibitions in galleries throughout Seoul. She is a recipient of the Gold Medal for the San Francisco Bay Area International Photo Festival. leesunjoo.net
Rania Matar
The work of Lebanese-born Rania Matar, winner of the 2018 Guggenheim Fellowship in Photography, focuses on women and girls in the U.S and the Middle East, with an emphasis on identity and universality. Her work has been widely exhibited and is in the permanent collections of several museums, institutions, and private collections worldwide. She is the recipient of numerous grants and awards and has published three books: L’Enfant-Femme, 2016; A Girl and Her Room, 2012; Ordinary Lives, 2009. raniamatar.com
Emily Schiffer
Fullbright Fellow Emily Schiffer is a photographer and mixed media artist interested in the intersection between art, community engagement, and social change. Schiffer founded and continues to teach and shoot at the My Viewpoint Youth Photography Initiative on the Cheyenne River Reservation in South Dakota. She also co-created See Potential, a community engagement and public art project that installs documentary images on abandoned buildings in the South Side of Chicago. emilyschiffer.com
Exhibition: March 21, 2019 – April 12, 2019
Opening Reception: March 21th 5:00 – 9:00pm
Gallery Hours: Thursday 1-4, Friday + Saturday 1:00 – 6:00pm
Outspoken: Expanded
From the Curatorial Statement
The nine women photographers in Outspoken: Expanded are speaking out. They each have something to say about being female. Some of this work delves into the private lives of the artists, as they grapple with children, family, life, and death.
Some of this work is political, commenting on patriarchy’s ability to constrain and limit the course of female lives.
For me, Outspoken is personal. For years, I never said a thing. I kept quiet. I was a “good girl.” The camera gave me my voice, which had been silenced for years. Not anymore! — Marky Kauffmann
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.
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