John Chiara: Bay Panel
at SF Camerawork
Past exhibition
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SF Camerawork × Haines Gallery are pleased to present John Chiara: Bay Panel, a new solo exhibition by the celebrated Bay Area photographer. The second of two collaborative exhibitions presented in SF Camerawork's gallery at Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture, the show centers on an ambitious, large-scale work that exemplifies the artist's singular approach to image-making.
SF Camerawork has played an important role early in Chiara's artistic development, providing support and visibility at pivotal moments in their careers. This exhibition honors that history while underscoring the organization's lasting impact on photographers working in and around San Francisco for over fifty years.Artist Talk:
Saturday, July 18, 2 PM to 3:30 PM
SF Camerawork
2 Marina Boulevard, Building A
San Francisco, CA 94123 -
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JOHN CHIARA
Bay Panel, 2020
6 Camera Obscura Ilfochrome Photographs, Unique
56.5 x 287 inches, framed
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John Chiara describes his process as “part photography, part sculpture, and part event.” Working with and within enormous, hand-built cameras that he transports throughout Northern California on a flatbed trailer, the artist creates unique positive photographs directly onto color photographic paper, without the use of a negative. The resulting works retain visible traces of their making: hand-cut edges, tape marks, chemical streaking, and light leaks that foreground photography as a physical and performative act.John Chiara: Bay Panel centers on the six-part, horizontal work from 2020 of the same title, originally commissioned by the Pilara Family Foundation for an exhibition in their former space. Shown only briefly before being placed in storage, the work will now return to public view for the first time. Stretching over 24 feet in length, Bay Panel offers a sweeping meditation on the San Francisco Bay and the city’s layered photographic history. Referencing the panoramic traditions of nineteenth-century photographers such as Eadweard Muybridge, Chiara’s work captures the Bay’s shifting atmosphere alongside markers of urban development and commercial exchange, including the Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco’s distinct skyline, and passing cargo ships, viewed from various vantages across the Bay. At once ethereal and finely detailed, Bay Panel highlights the dynamism and beauty of the Bay Area itself.Additional photographs included in the exhibition further demonstrate Chiara’s singular practice and his sustained engagement with the landscapes and histories of Northern California.
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Photo: Tom Bollier
