Second Annual Juried Spotlight Members Exhibition

Second Annual Juried Spotlight Members’ Exhibition

A different kind of juried member exhibition… Featuring work from Members: Gary Beeber, Sharon Bibeault, Ellen Feldman, Denise Laurinaitis, George Lowell, Diana Cheren Nygren, Jean Schnell and Dennis Stein.

This exhibition brings together a selection of work from our members to provide a more in-depth look at the photographers featured than a typical member show or call for entry generally allows.

This exhibition was conceived as a way to take a closer look at our members, by exhibiting a larger selection of images from the included photographers and providing the opportunity to present ideas that carry across a group of images. As a viewer I hope you enjoy this expanded look at the members featured and the different ways they assembled a selection of images to present an idea across a series of images. Consider how the series of images alters your perception of the single image…

I’m happy to have the opportunity to present the work of our members and celebrate their ability, commitment and the time invested to realize these ongoing projects. Sequence, editing and storytelling across a series of images are all elements beyond the capture process that I encourage you all to explore and constantly re-examine.

Local restrictions and health concerns related to COVID-19 prevented the live presentation of our First Spotlight Member Exhibition, so we are especially excited that we are able to present this year’s version live in our galleries. I would like to take the time to thank all the members who submitted their work for consideration and all the members for their patience with the fluid schedule and occasionally delayed presentations while we navigated the uncertain landscape 2020 presented.

– David DeMelim,
Managing Director,
RI Center for Photographic Arts

Snowing Crazy Hard by Gary Beeber

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Juror’s Statement: David H. Wells

Over four decades as a visual storyteller, I have spent a lot of nervous time as a person whose work was being reviewed by a juror, and at other times I have been the person jurying work. With that in mind, I wanted to explain my process of jurying the work sent in response to the call for entries. That way, those who submitted can understand what I did as I reviewed the work and maybe take a lesson from that to apply to future submissions.

My professional background is in documentary-derived image-making. Having studied the diversity of genres of image-making within the history of photography in college (and since then), I work hard at being open to all sorts of visual storytelling. That is why I am pleased to say how impressed I was by the breadth and depth of the submitted work. Clearly, some of it was what I think of as documentary-derived, but much of it was much more personal, narrative, autobiographical, or constructive/collaged imagery, etc. As a newspaper photographer, magazine photographer, and most recently a filmmaker, I’ve always worked with multiple image stories. The challenges stories present and the opportunity for in-depth storytelling that stories offer are what draw me to them. Those challenges and opportunities were also the ideas behind this exhibition and why I was chosen as the Juror.

As for the work that was submitted that was not juried in, that work missed the mark on one or more levels. The most basic criteria were whether the submission followed the call’s requirement of a set of five images to tell a story or present a unified idea. I know that seems obvious, but it’s sometimes surprising how often I see how some of the submitted work does not meet this essential requirement when jurying things like this…

Click for full Juror’s Statement…

…Though I’ve been successful over the years in creating visual narratives, I’ve realized (after the fact) that I learned the most from the many projects that failed. Those mistakes are seared into my consciousness as I go forward. So for me, in a way, there are no failed projects. Some projects look successful by the conventional measures of publication and exhibition. Others taught me lessons of equal value even if the learning was accomplished the hard way.

– David H Wells

About David H. Wells www.davidhwells.com focuses on photo-essays for publication and exhibition, including magazines, brochures, and annual reports. He has produced images for local, national and international clientele. His work has been featured in one-person exhibits at Brown University, U.C. Berkeley and Harvard University. His work has been part of group exhibitions at the Houston FotoFest and the Visa pour l’Image Festival in Perpignan. Portfolios of his work have appeared in American Photography Four, Camera and Darkroom, Communication Arts Photography Annual, Graphics: The Human Condition, Photo District News, Photo Magazine, Photographers International and Zoom. His photo-essays have been funded by fellowships from Nikon/NPPA, the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, the MacArthur Foundation’s Program of Research and Writing on International Peace and Cooperation, the Alicia Patterson Foundation and the Fulbright Foundation. He was featured in Photo District News as one of “The Best Workshop Instructors.”

Second Annual Juried Spotlight Members’ Exhibition

Reception and Awards: July 15th, 5:00 – 8:00 p.m.
Exhibition: Thursday, July 15th thru Friday, August 11th

This exhibition features a selection of work from members: Gary Beeber, Sharon Bibeault, Ellen Feldman, Denise Laurinaitis, George Lowell, Diana Cheren Nygren, Jean Schnell and Dennis Stein.

Gary Beeber

Artist Statement : Slide show

When we moved from Sag Harbor, NY to the Midwest we found the perfect house but the pool slide was not to my liking and the first thing I wanted to was to get was rid of it. Who knew it would captivate my imagination and provide the impetus for my next photo project? Over time the slide morphed into an art object and became my muse and metaphor for suburban life. – Gary Beeber

Gary Beeber Bio/Resume

Website: garybeeber.com
Facebook: facebook.com/Garybeeber
Instagram: instagram.com/beebergary

Sharon Bibeault

Artist Statement: Mirrored

Since I was a kid, I was always fascinated with kaleidoscopes and mirrored images. I have always found them fascinating how you could take a piece of glass or a mirror to distort in what you actually see in front of you. When I went to art college, I played around with the concept a bit with my drawings. A professor of mine encourage me more with the technique. I used to come up with some interesting results.

Early last year, I lost my husband to cancer. One of my saving graces has been me venturing out into nature and taking my photographs. One day, I decided to experiment with my kaleidoscope and mirrored images again. I’m currently stuck on mirroring them. I wanted to find a calming peace for myself when my world was shattered to pieces. At times they remind me of a fairy fantasy world or just a calming peace. – Sharon M. Thomas Bibeault

Field of Webs and Dreams, Sharon Bibeault

Full Artist Statement/Bio

Sharon M Thomas Bibeault Bio/ Resume

FaceBook: SM Thomas Bibeault Designs
Instagram: SM Thomas Bibeault Designs

Ellen Feldman

Artist Statement : Urban Zips

Urban Zips combines my long standing work in street photography with my love of abstract expressionist painting. It is the work of Barnett Newman (1905-1970) that inspired this project. He created what he called “zips”: large “color field” paintings in which the entire canvas is covered with a single color, and is then bisected by one or more thin bands—or zips—of another color.

My own “zips” are single-frame, composite images where, typically, a close-up shot of an urban surface is sliced by one or more bands of my classic street photography. However, I am now beginning to take liberties with the rules I set up, experimenting with bending—even breaking—my own rules.

Within the frame, I build formal correspondences, conflicts, and narrative layers. The result veers toward abstraction, but the reality-based source is always present. While Urban Zips hint at elements of character and narrative, they complicate principles of physical reality: scale, perspective, the relation of figure to ground, and in some cases, time. – Ellen Feldman

Vertigo After Hitchcock by Ellen Feldman

Prague girl and NYC guy by Ellen Feldman

Ellen Feldman Bio/ Resume

Website: ellenfeldman.net
FaceBook: ellen.feldman.14
Instagram: ellenfeldmanphotographer

Denise Laurinaitis

Artist Statement: Memory is a Crashing Wave

There is a lot that I do not remember about the year my father died. I piece together memory fragments like a puzzle. He was 47 and I was 5—I thought his oxygen tank a normal part of life. I do not remember knowing that his illness meant that he would die. At 5, I was devastated. Grief lived deep within my subconscious, I needed to be held and told I would be okay. Instead, I dreamed up other scenarios to escape my reality. The stories I told myself gave me hope, until I grew older and they no longer worked.

When I turned 47, my son turned 5—the same age difference, almost down to the day. I started to examine and compare his childhood and mine, my father’s illness and my health. A box that my mother kept of my father’s items became a necessary exploration. Through handling things that were markers of his life – a camera, his wallet, his pictures of us – I was able to make the connections between his life and my memory of his absence. The unexpected scent of him was familiar and brought him closer to me, closer to making him real. – Denise Laurinaitis

The Trees Have Arms by Denise Laurinaitis

Self Portrait with Tree Blossom by Denise Laurinaitis

Full Artist Statement/Bio

Website: deniselaurinaitis.com
Instagram: denise.laurinaitis

George Lowell

Artist Statement :

– George Lowell

Manatee Gets Ready to Party by George Lowell

Diana Cheren Nygren

Artist Statement: Just Another Alice

For the last year, the world was in the grip of a health crisis unlike any experienced in my lifetime. “Just another Alice” is a series of shadow boxes through which I explore the feeling of being trapped at home while struggling to find joy and hope. During the pandemic we have been locked down, our movement has been restricted, and travel has come to a standstill. For months I have barely left my home. I feel a little crazy at times and struggle to hold onto ways to find pleasure.

I have built a small room to embody the space I have been confined to over this period of time. The image in each box shows that space, inhabited by a single empty chair and the traces of those activities to which I look for solace. Through the window of that room, I remember travels as a way of looking to the future. We all have our ways of coping. One way or another, we seek to bring light into the walls that confine us. With these images, I indulge in small pleasures, and look beyond the walls to memories of past trips and promises of new experiences. But more than that, they are a testament to the power of imagination, and the joy and strength we can gain through weaving stories. – Diana Cheren Nygren

Full Artist Statement/Bio

Website: dianacherennygren.com

FaceBook: DianaCherenNygrenPhotography
Instagram: dianacherennygrenphotography

Jean Schnell

Artist Statement: Framing the Light

During the depths of pandemic isolation and political turmoil, I was searching for any hope I could find. When I listened to Amanda Gordon’s inaugural poem, one statement resonated within me: When day comes, where can we find light in this never-ending shade?

George Fox, the founder of Quakerism, had a similar statement: I saw, also, that there was an ocean of darkness and death: but an infinite ocean of light and love, which flowed over the ocean of darkness. I have heard this statement for my entire life in Quaker Meeting. And the mental image of light flowing over the darkness has always given me hope.

I have an ongoing project of photographing Quaker Meetinghouses all over New England. The Ocean of Light statement seemed to go hand in hand with some of these photos. Collecting the photos together gave me hope when I needed it most. – Jean Schnell

Full Artist Statement/Bio

Jean Schnell Bio/ Resume

Website: JeanSchnell.com
FaceBook: Framing the Light
Instagram: jeanschnellphoto

Dennis Stein

Artist Statement: Fort Warren

The Fort Warren series was done in September of 2019. It was my first time there. I decided to use a pinhole camera and handhold it with a small tripod for some control, rather than a full size tripod that would stabilize the camera during exposure. The combination of random movement and pinhole camera would add a different visualization to the fort’s history.

– Dennis Stein

Dennis Stein Bio/ Resume

Website: dsjfineart.photography
Instagram: denjes2

The RI Center for Photographic Arts, RICPA 118 N. Main St. Providence, RI 02903
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 the 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.

We are member supported, the first step to membership is registration – https://www.riphotocenter.org/registration Details on membership options can be found at https://www.riphotocenter.org/membership-info

The Gallery at the Rhode Island Center for Photographic Arts is a member of Gallery Night Providence https://www.gallerynight.org

Questions: Contact gallery@riphotocenter.org To learn about other RICPA exhibits and programs, visit https://www.riphotocenter.org

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Second Annual Juried Spotlight Members Exhibition