The contemporary American cultural and political landscape has become divided and pessimistic. Curator Ruben Natal-San Miguel's latest exhibition looks to its complexities and optimistic flipsides.  

From fractured Facebook feeds to dreaded family gatherings, as Americans, we've seen a consistent decline of hope. Earlier this year, this prompted curator Ruben Natal-San Miguel and Harlem gallerist Loni Efron to announce a call for work with an upward angled view, juried by TEDx curator and former Slate photo editor David Rosenberg, Executive Director of the Center for Photography at Woodstock (CPW) Hannah Frieser, and Humble Arts Foundation co-founder Jon Feinstein. 

Titled American Splendour, the exhibition, which opens Friday, June 1 at Harlem, NY's Iloni Gallery and includes work from more than fifty photographers, presents a refreshing take on everything grim. From honest portraits to abstracted plateaus, American Splendour reveals a glimmer of hope within the rough.

American Splendour will be on view June 1, 2018 - July 12, 2018.
Opening reception:  Friday, June 1. 
ilon Art Gallery
204 West 123rd Street. Harlem, NYC. 

Below are some highlights: