Kerry Skarbakka opens at Irvine Contemporary

2006 Light Work Artist-in-Residence Kerry Skarbakka opens his exhibition The Struggle to Right Oneself: A Survey tomorrow night at Irvine Contemporary in Washington, DC. In this series, the artist trips, falls, and generally loses his balance in ways both everyday and almost comically epic. Ultimately, the images reference the existential battle to remain upright in a challenging world. Included in the exhibition are several photographs that have not been exhibited previously, including Window Crash, 2009, at right.

At Light Work, we’re showing a video from Skarbakka’s series Elements of Attraction in conjunction with our upcoming exhibition Rachel Herman: The Imp of Love. Skarbakka’s video, which shows the artist falling down a sandy embankment in slow motion, makes a poignant counterpoint to Herman’s portraits of once-couples.

Kerry Skarbakka
The Struggle to Right Oneself: A Survey

December 19-January 30, 2009
Opening: December 19, 6:30-8:30pm
Irvine Contemporary
1412 14th St., NW
Washington, DC 20005
202-332-8767

Keith Johnson stops by for a visit

Today 2005 Artist-in-Residence Keith Johnson stopped by Light Work and Community Darkrooms on his way back home to Connecticut after spending some time at Visual Studies Workshops in Rochester. We got the chance to see some beautiful work from his Extended Landscape, Suite Niagara, and Grids series.

At left, we (l-r Mary Goodwin, Keith, Hannah Frieser) enjoy a couple pictures from the Grids series as well as some of Keith’s great stories from his travels to places as diverse as the Mayan ruins of the Yucatan Peninsula and St. Louis.

Review over at Dodge & Burn

Selina Roman over at the blog Dodge & Burn wrote a review about photo MIAMI 2009 which features Light Work and former Light Work Artist-in-Residence Carrie Mae Weems. Click here to see the review as well as other recent posts including interviews with Neelakshi Vidyalankara and María Fernanda Hubeaut.

Light Work Collection grows

This week 2009 Artist-in-Residence Yolanda del Amo sent us a gorgeous digital c-print of her image Winfried, Brigitte, 2006, for the Light Work Collection, which currently contains almost 3,500 pieces. The collection is comprised mainly of gifts, such as del Amo’s, from the hundreds of artists who have spent time at Light Work since we began our residency program in 1976. The collection also features the archive of Rita Hammond’s work, which was donated upon her death in 1999.

You can view each piece in our collection online. Each image is accompanied by detailed information about the photograph and the artist who made it. The My Favorites feature of the online database is a wonderful tool for teachers and students. This feature allows you to group images together onscreen, making is a fun and effective way to learn about curating. Researching in our online collection is free, and you can access it 24 hours a day. Check it out and curate a show of your own.

Welcome Priya Kambli

Our December Artist-in-Residence, Priya Kambli, has arrived just in time for the first major snowfall of the year in Syracuse. Good thing that Priya plans on spending most of her time indoors at Community Darkrooms making multiple editions of prints from her series Color Falls Down.

The series takes its name from a popular Hindi movie song, which speaks to the artist’s ultimate goal with the work: to bring together her roots in India with her life in America. Priya uses digital collage to combine the different cultures, generations, and identities that inform her life and work.

At right, the photographer keeps close tabs on various iterations of proofs as she works with Digital Lab Manager John Mannion to perfect her prints. Today the first full-scale print rolled off the 9900 in the new digital service area, with many more to come soon.

Miss Florida, art lover, at photo MIAMI

Miss Florida Rachael Todd dropped in at the Light Work booth at photo MIAMI. A collector, who had just purchased the Hank Willis Thomas platinum print Branded Chest, asked Rachel to pose with the print, and she obliged.

Call Light Work to check the availability of Branded Chest for your collection. We only have a handful left of this beautiful print.

Light Work at photo MIAMI 2009

We’re pleased to post this week from photo MIAMI, which features 25 exhibitors from around the world, from Syracuse to Beijing. Things got off to a strong start with a bustling press and VIP preview this evening. Hundreds attended the six-hour preview, with most of those folks making their way through the Light Work booth.

We have prints on sale from our 2009 Subscription Program, including images by Elijah Gowin, Doug DuBois, Stanley Greenberg, and Suzanne Opton, as well as a host of other images from our Fine Print Program and Master Editions. Also attracting considerable attention at our booth were the signed books Maggie, …all the days and nights, Pitch Blackness, and On the Sixth Day.

Among those who stopped by to say hello at our booth was former Light Work Artist-in-Residence Peggy Nolan, who lives in the area. A blogger from Dodge and Burn dropped in to interview us about Light Work’s residency program, exhibitions, and Contact Sheet.

photo MIAMI opens to the public tomorrow at 11am when we’ll have more news.