EXHIBITION: American Folk
American Folk
LISA ELMALEH
MARCH 7 - APRIL 19
Preview + Artist Talk: Thursday, March 6, 5 – 8pm
Opening: Friday, March 7, 5 – 9pm
This spring Candela Books + Gallery will host two solo exhibitions: Lisa Elmaleh’s American Folk and Brandon Thibodeax’s When Morning Comes. Both bodies of work present a classic-yet-contemporary take on two Southern subcultures in a period of transition.
Lisa Elmaleh employs the 19th century wet collodion tintype process in her documentation of present-day folk musicians living in and around the Appalachian Mountains. Preserving the essence of a tradition tied distinctly to place, Elmaleh creates portraits and landscapes of haunting beauty. The subject matter and the chosen photographic process are paired purposefully, as Elmaleh explains; “The tradition of American folk music echoes in the historic nature of the tintype photographic process. As urbanization becomes more prevalent in America, American rural identity and culture become obscured.”
Elmaleh is a Brooklyn-based photographer and educator at the School of Visual Arts and the Center for Alternative Photography. She has been awarded PDN’s 30, the Ruth and Harold Chenven Foundation Grant, the Aaron Siskind Foundation IPF Grant, and The Everglades National Park Artist Residency. Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally and appeared in Harper’s Magazine, PDN, and Rangefinder, among others.
A preview reception and artist talk will take place Thursday, March 6, 5-8pm.
The exhibition will open to the public Friday, March 7th, 5-9pm.