POMPANO BEACH, Fla., Jan. 9, 2018 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — Bailey Contemporary Arts (BaCA) in Pompano Beach is proud to present “Portraits” – a dynamic show featuring the works of one of the country’s most esteemed photographic artists, Keliy Anderson-Staley, whose work has been exhibited at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery and the Library of Congress. The exhibit will also include emerging Florida photographer, Stephen Gaskins.
The exhibit runs January 13-February 23, with the artists’ reception on February 2, 2018. For more information, visit www.baileyarts.org.
“[Hypen] Americans” is a diverse collection of American faces made across the country. The title of the project refers to the hyphenated character of American identities (Irish-American, African-American, etc.) without labeling anyone’s actual identity.
“We are thrilled to exhibit Keliy Anderson-Staley’s ‘[hyphen] Americans,’” said Juliana Forero, Ph.D., BaCA’s gallery curator. “What adds to the incredible nature of these photographs is Keliy’s process, which adheres to techniques used in the 1800’s.”
This video explains the historic process (Vimeo):
These portraits are all wet-plate collodion tintypes, made with chemistry mixed according to nineteenth-century recipes, period brass lenses and wooden view cameras. This nineteenth-century process was the first process widely used to make photographic portraits. The project draws attention to the fact that all portraits exist within a history of images, and that our perception of ourselves and our ancestors has always been mediated by photographic technology.
Keliy Anderson-Staley has exhibited her work at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, Morris Museum of Art, California Museum of Photography, Bronx Museum of Art, Akron Art Museum and Southeast Museum of Photography. Her work is in the collections of the Library of Congress, Cedar Rapids Museum of Art, Portland Museum of Art and Museum of Fine Arts-Houston.
She was a New York Foundation for the Arts Fellow and a recipient of grants from Puffin Foundation, Houston Arts Alliance and George A. and Eliza Gardner Howard Foundation. She received the Carol Crow Memorial Fellowship from the Houston Center for Photography and the Clarence John Laughlin Award from the New Orleans Photo Alliance. She is also an assistant professor of photography and digital media at the University of Houston.
Her images have appeared in publications including Tricycle, Hemispheres, Art and Auction, Conde Nast Traveler, Contact Sheet, Photo District News, Camerawork and New York Magazine. A book of her tintype portraits, “On a Wet Bough,” was published by Waltz Books.
This exhibit also features emerging photographic artist, Stephen Gaskins, who will display a collection of stunning photographs featuring African American women.
Stephen Gaskins owns a portrait studio where he spends countless hours capturing and editing images of prominent members of the community. A graduate from the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale in the Multi-Media Design program, he is a successful self-taught photographer who started exploring photography four years ago and who grew his skills with the daily practice on the photography workflow.
The exhibition is free and open to the public.
Bailey Contemporary Arts is located at 41 NE 1st St., Pompano Beach, FL 33060 | (954) 284-0141. Learn more at: http://www.baileyarts.org/.
*Web Image Caption/Credit: “Dulce” by Keliy Anderson-Staley.
News Source: Bailey Contemporary Arts
