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Red streamers hanging against a blue background.


EXTINCTION PARTY
By Jonathan Blaustein

July 24 – August 29, 2020

A woman and man sitting on the ground in front of a bench. JONATHAN BLAUSTEIN, Red streamers and blue plastic tablecloth, 2017, from the Party City is the Devil series

Obscura Gallery is excited to present an exhibition of works from the timely publication of Taos artist Jonathan Blaustein’s photographic book, Extinction Party, published by Yoffy Press. This photographic book explores humanity’s over-consumption and its impact on the planet. Exhibition viewing is available with Covid-safe guidelines including a mask required, 6-feet distance, and a limited capacity at any one-given time.

“Deceptively brilliant in their minimalism, these elemental images bear witness to the waste and inhumanity of an earth catastrophically out of balance. Welcome to our world. Let’s party!” -Excerpt from the introduction essay for Extinction Party by Kevin Kwan (Author, Crazy Rich Asians.

Since 2008, at the onset of the Great Recession, photographer and conceptual artist Jonathan Blaustein has been working on art projects that investigate consumption in America, and he brings them together in one narrative in this first book, Extinction Party. In an unprecedented time of the Covid-19 pandemic, Extinction Party was (coincidentally and perhaps appropriately) released in March 2020. The images and their titles, the forward essay by Kevin Kwan, and the metaphorical story in between, the book could not be a more timely commentary on the state of our Earth and humanity.

A woman and man sitting on the ground in front of a bench. JONATHAN BLAUSTEIN. One dollar’s worth of tomatillos from Mexico, 2008, From Value of a Dollar series.

As the world grapples with the impact of climate change in the 21st Century, Blaustein’s art presents a deconstructed view of the manner in which humans churn up the planet’s resources for profit. This book culminates several bodies of work by the artist whether capturing the value of what we eat, economically and to some degree nutritionally, in a collection called The Value of a Dollar; nature harvested on his property outside Taos, NM in a series entitled, Mine; years worth of accumulated junk in his former studio titled Recycling My Junk, or party supplies from the megacorporation Party City appropriately titled Party City is the Devil, the consistent message is that we’re eating away at our home planet, at considerable peril to all its existing species.

A woman and man sitting on the ground in front of a bench. JONATHAN BLAUSTEIN. Don’t worry everything is going to be ok, 2013, From the Recycling my Junk series.

DOWNLOAD THE FULL PRESS RELEASE HERE

VIEW THE ENTIRE ONLINE EXHIBITION HERE.

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A woman and man sitting on the ground in front of a bench.

A woman and man sitting on the ground in front of a bench.

Join us for our first Obscura Gallery online auction! #StayAtHome is inspired by our current worldwide mandate and is raising money to help our artists and surrounding community in this challenging time.

The #StayAtHome auction began Wednesday, April 22, 2020 and continues weekly through June 1, 2020. We will add a new round of available work each week including vintage and contemporary work.

More than half of the proceeds from each contemporary sale go directly to the artist. In addition, Obscura Gallery will donate a portion of our proceeds from each auction round to benefit a chosen organization that is helping the relief efforts for Covid-19, so far having donated to The Pueblo Relief Fund and Native American Relief Fund.

Please see detailed bidding instructions here.

Sign up for our email newsletter here to stay informed.

Support Art, Support Artists!

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Art exhibit poster featuring desert landscapes.


A woman and man sitting on the ground in front of a bench.

Desertscapes : Altered Views of New Mexico is a solo exhibition with Santa Fe photo-based artist Caitlyn Soldan which explores various approaches to iconic views in New Mexico landscapes. Included in the exhibit are variations of Pedernal Mesa, Shiprock, and the Taos Gorge. Just as Pedernal Mesa was a great inspiration to Georgia O’Keeffe’s paintings and served as a major muse for her at Ghost Ranch where she had her studio, Caitlyn too is moved by the unique New Mexico desert land.  Soldan creates landscape studies in various photographic processes that yield unique one-of-a-kind prints which each represent the different emotional qualities in nature. By virtue of repetition with the subject matter, the artist seeks to honor the subject which inspires and motivates her.

This exhibition has been extended through the end of June 2020

A woman and man sitting on the ground in front of a bench.
CAITLYN SOLDAN, Cerro Pedernal #19, 2019, 16×20″, mordancage, unique.

A woman and man sitting on the ground in front of a bench.
CAITLYN SOLDAN, Rio Grande Gorge Study #6, 2019, 8×10″, mordancage, unique.

A woman and man sitting on the ground in front of a bench.

DOWNLOAD THE FULL PRESS RELEASE HERE.

VIEW MORE WORKS IN THE EXHIBITION HERE.

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Exhibition poster for Paul Caponigro's retrospective.


A woman and man sitting on the ground in front of a bench.

Obscura Gallery is honored to present, Paul Caponigro: Sixty Years, a solo retrospective exhibition of landscapes and still lifes by one of the world’s most significant master photographers still working today. The nearly 50 black and white images in the exhibition include work from as early as 1958 and encompasses his extensive career photographing in the Southwest, California, and New England, as well as Ireland and England. Working directly with the artist himself to curate the exhibition, the show includes an incredible selection of Paul’s most iconic images as well as images that have rarely before been exhibited. We invite you to join us in welcoming Paul back to Santa Fe for the opening!


A woman and man sitting on the ground in front of a bench. PAUL CAPONIGRO, Galaxy Apple, New York City, 1964, 7.25 x 8.5″, gelatin silver print


A woman and man sitting on the ground in front of a bench. PAUL CAPONIGRO, Apple, Winthrop, MA, 1964, 6.75 x 8.5″


A woman and man sitting on the ground in front of a bench. PAUL CAPONIGRO, Fungus, Ipswich, MA, 1960, 13.25 x 10.5″, gelatin silver print.


A woman and man sitting on the ground in front of a bench.
PAUL CAPONIGRO, Cloud, San Sebastian, Santa Fe, NM, 1980, 13.5 x 10.5″, gelatin silver print.

DOWNLOAD THE FULL PRESS RELEASE HERE.

VIEW PAUL CAPONIGRO’S WORK HERE.

A woman and man sitting on the ground in front of a bench.

 

A woman and man sitting on the ground in front of a bench.

 

A woman and man sitting on the ground in front of a bench.

 

A woman and man sitting on the ground in front of a bench.

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Art exhibition list at Obscura Gallery.


A woman and man sitting on the ground in front of a bench.
Public Opening Reception: Friday, November 22, 2019, 5-7pm
Exhibition is on view through January 4, 2020

Obscura Gallery presents our highly anticipated Holiday Season exhibition, One-of-a-Kind, a group show of photo-based artworks found exclusively at our gallery. The exhibition consists of 30 artists from the U.S., France, Cuba and Israel including those represented with Obscura as well as guest artists who were invited to participate. The concept for this exhibition is nearly two years in the making – each artist was asked to create a unique photo-based artwork, or create a new print edition, of which either would be on exhibition and exclusively available only at Obscura Gallery. We hope you’ll join us for this exciting exhibition and find something you love for yourself or your loved ones this Holiday season, knowing it will be a unique piece only found at Obscura Gallery!

Download the Full Press Release Here

A woman and man sitting on the ground in front of a bench.

A woman and man sitting on the ground in front of a bench.

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A woman and man sitting on the ground in front of a bench.

This Fall Obscura Gallery presents an exciting exhibition of the newly published limited edition portfolio by one of the most influential documentary photographers of his generation: Danny Lyon: Thirty Photographs (1962-1980). This collection features many of the New Mexico photographer Danny Lyon’s most iconic images. The portfolio, published in 2019 and limited to an edition of 10, was compiled by Terry Etherton of Etherton Gallery in Tucson, Arizona, spotlighting his 40-year association with Lyon. Obscura Gallery’s show is one of the first exhibitions to partner with Etherton Gallery for this newly compiled portfolio, offering for sale the full portfolio as well as individual modern prints. The reception takes place on Friday, October 4, 2019 from 5-7pm at Obscura Gallery.

All images copyright Danny Lyon / Magnum Photos, courtesy of Etherton Gallery.

Download the full Press Release here.

A woman and man sitting on the ground in front of a bench.

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Art exhibition featuring floral and bird images.


A woman and man sitting on the ground in front of a bench.

Obscura Gallery is thrilled to present our Fall solo exhibition by gallery artist Brigitte Carnochan and her new photographs inspired by the poems of Emily Dickinson. Brigitte Carnochan and Emily Dickinson share a passion for flowers that inspire both their mediums. Brigitte’s career has centered around the sensuality and beauty of botanicals and nudes, and in this new work, she circles back to her original subject matter of nearly four decades ago when she began by painting on her gelatin silver floral images with oil paints. Having been drawn increasingly over the years to the narrative possibilities in photographs, Carnochan incorporates in this series lines of poems in Dickinson’s own handwriting, inconspicuously or half hidden. The resulting images are printed with the 19th century platinum palladium photo process onto handmade Japanese gampi paper that she delicately backs with gold leaf, giving the images the look and feel of 19th century daguerreotypes, with which Dickinson would have been familiar.

The exhibition is on view through November 9, 2019.

Download the full Press Release here.

A woman and man sitting on the ground in front of a bench.

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Elderly couple in traditional clothing, holding tools.


AUGUST IN SANTA FE

Gallery Reception:
Saturday, August 10, 5-7pm

A woman and man sitting on the ground in front of a bench. MANUELLO PAGANELLI, Ecuadorian Couple, 2000, 21×21â€, edition of 40

For the month of August, we will be exhibiting a selection of our new gallery artist, Manuello Paganelli, and other newly acquired material during the Indian Markets taking place throughout Santa Fe. August brings antique and contemporary Indian Markets to our city and the town is bustling with exciting activities and exhibitions.

Paganelli’s photographs on exhibit this August are a selection from his new project photographing indigenous people across the Americas.

A woman and man sitting on the ground in front of a bench. EDWARD CURTIS, A Hopi Girl, 1905, Photogravure on Holland van Gelder from Portfolio 12

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Niki Boon Summer exhibition announcement with images.


A woman and man sitting on the ground in front of a bench.

A woman and man sitting on the ground in front of a bench. Niki Boon, Jump, Summer, 2015


Obscura Gallery proudly presents our Summer exhibition with New Zealand photographer Niki Boon and her first solo exhibition in the United States debuting photographs which document her family’s rural, home-schooled life in Marlborough, New Zealand. While our U.S. Summertime is New Zealand’s Wintertime, we can bask in the imagery that Boon has taken during the warm months in New Zealand while the children pursue an alternative education and lifestyle in a natural environment on top of the East coast of the South island of New Zealand.

A woman and man sitting on the ground in front of a bench. Niki Boon, Her Backyard, 2016

Boon’s photographic work was born from her intense desire to document her family’s lifestyle that the country environment has nurtured. A mother of four, Niki shares her family’s rural life with camera wizardry that utilizes motion, incredible perspective, and depth of field, as well as a style that bears influence from those of Jock Sturges and Sally Mann but exudes her own distinction using a wide-angle, sometimes close-up lens and ground-perspective imagery. Boon refers to her work as “turning your beautiful ordinary into art.†Drawn to black and white photography, Boon expertly controls the natural lighting of her environment, making use of shadows and the position of the sun to frame her children in whatever play they are found in that day.

A woman and man sitting on the ground in front of a bench. Niki Boon, The Bath, 2016

Black and white enables me to see light differently. Rather than focusing on colors, I find I focus more on the direction and quality of light. I just find the interaction between light and shadow more interesting to focus on than color relationships.

A woman and man sitting on the ground in front of a bench. Niki Boon, Ice Block, 2015

Click here to view more of Niki Boon’s work. 

Click here to download the full Press Release.

 

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Exhibition poster for landscape photography artists.


A woman and man sitting on the ground in front of a bench.

Obscura Gallery presents Traversing East, an exhibition with Michael Berman and Neil Folberg, two contemporary photographers who both come from, participate in, and extend the tradition of Western landscape photography. Both artists now immerse themselves in Eastern landscapes to discover the unseen, and explore humanity’s relationship to nature both physically and spiritually. New Mexican Michael Berman’s ongoing project exposes the Mongolian Bogd Kahn Mountain landscape in its range of complex and diverse ecosystems. For the past three years, Michael has been photographing in the oldest government designated Protected Natural Area on Earth and has been detailing what is occurring to the landscape and wildlife amidst the ever-expanding surrounding community of Ulaanbaatar. American-Israeli photographer, Neil Folberg, who was originally born in California and moved to Jerusalem over 40 years ago, creates photographs which explore the relationship between man, nature, and the cosmos. The lucid landscapes of the Middle East share the range of topography found within the nearly untouched, serene terrain. The exhibition also includes his most recent series’, Taking Measure, and White Winds, where the artist includes himself in vast, pure landscapes of the Faroe Islands and Iceland in which he considers the ultimate limits of knowledge and vision.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FULL PRESS RELEASE.

Click here to view Michael Berman’s work in the exhibition.

Click here to view Neil Folberg’s work in the exhibition.

Sign up for our email newsletter to stay tuned for more information about our exhibitions.

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Art exhibition announcement for Louviere+Vanessa.


A woman and man sitting on the ground in front of a bench.

Obscura Gallery presents the solo exhibition, Retro-Active, with the New Orleans prolific duo Louviere+Vanessa, including past and current work from their various series over the last 15 years. Louviere+Vanessa’s style exudes a Southern Gothic pairing of transgression and beauty through mystery, dark humor, and the supernatural, often involving the figurative use of protagonists such as humans and animals alluding to literature and philosophy. The artists effectively combine the mediums and nuances of film, photography, painting,  printmaking, and even music, resulting in mixed media works that use gold and silver leaf, resin, varnish, wax, charcoal, various other mediums, as well as ways of recording the visual through sound, and finishing many of the pieces with handmade frames.

DOWNLOAD THE FULL PRESS RELEASE HERE

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Handwritten signature in cursive script.


A woman and man sitting on the ground in front of a bench.

A woman and man sitting on the ground in front of a bench.

Obscura Gallery presents our first in an ongoing exhibition series of The Artist as Collector, debuting the series with the photographic collection and personal works of the late Santa Fean, Paige Pinnell. Pinnell, who passed away in 2017, embodied the passion for photography by being a photography dealer, artist, educator, and collector. Paige’s deep knowledge of and connection to photography on a national level had influence on many in the local Santa Fe community in the 1960-70’s and was integral to what would become the development of the photography market in Santa Fe at that time. Obscura Gallery is honored to present this exhibition of works for sale to pay tribute to Pinnell’s photographic legacy.

The exhibition includes works by:
Paul Caponigro
Edward Curtis
LA Huffman
William Henry Jackson
Eadward Muybridge
Anne Noggle
Paige Pinnell
Douglas Prince
Henry Holmes Smith
George Tice
Jerry Uelsmann
Todd Walker
Todd Webb
Edward Weston
Ben Wittick
Myron Wood

Click here to view the images in the exhibition.

DOWNLOAD THE FULL PRESS HERE.

A woman and man sitting on the ground in front of a bench.

A woman and man sitting on the ground in front of a bench.