As his new exhibition sits in quarantine at New York City’s ClampArt gallery, Joseph Desler Costa writes a letter to Humble’s editors about his experience in this uncertain time.

We at Humble are long time fans of Joseph Desler Costa’s work. I originally caught wind of it when he submitted to Radical Color, an exhibition I curated in 2015 at Portland Oregon’s sadly defunct Newspace Center for Photography. I was drawn to his dreamy, mysterious use of color and smart riffs on branding, cultural icons, and even (though he might not outwardly say it) references to stock photography.

I followed Costa’s work through his partnership with Foley Gallery and was eager to see (assuming I could travel to NYC) his latest solo exhibition at ClampArt this spring. Sadly, like so many 2020 photography exhibitions, his work hangs on ClampArt’s walls with no one to see it in real life.

In lieu of a Q+A about the exhibition, Costa shared the following letter with me about his life as an artist with a suspended exhibition in the time of COVID-19. We are publishing it below, unedited, alongside the images we wish we could see in person.

Costa will also be giving a virtual exhibition tour and discussion with Allen Frame and Stephen Frailey this Friday, April 24th at ClampArt . RSVP HERE for the Zoom link.

PostedApril 23, 2020

AuthorJon Feinstein

CategoriesExhibitions, Artists, Galleries

Tagsquarantined photography exhibitions, Joseph Desler Costa, ClampArt, NYC 2020 photography exhibitions, artists reflect on COVID-19, art in the time of COVID-19, new photography, abstract photography

On Monday, March 23, San Francisco Art Institute announced that it will close its doors, possibly for good.

The institution home to the nation’s first fine art photography program, founded by Ansel Adams in 1945 and led by a luminary faculty cohort including Dorothea Lange, Imogene Cunningham, Minor White, Lisette Model, and Edward Weston.

If SFAI remains shuttered, it will be a loss to art communities both locally and across the globe. Humble’s senior editor Roula Seikaly asked SFAI alumni and instructors to share their thoughts on the time they spent on the North Beach campus, and why the school and the people they encountered there were important to their personal and creative growth.

PostedApril 6, 2020

AuthorRoula Seikaly

CategoriesArtists, Galleries

TagsSF Art Institute, San Francisco Art Institute, Lonnie Graham, Rafael Soldi, Eirik Johnson, Meghann Riepenhoff, Marcela Pardo Ariza, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Janet Delaney

Image courtesy of the collection of Robert E. Jackson

Robert E. Jackson finds metaphors for social distance in his collection of vernacular photography.

Social distancing is undoubtedly the word of the moment. Right now, more than 3.5 million photos on Instagram are hashtagged #socialdistancing, and nearly every photography organization has an open call related to the theme. We can't escape it.

As you might expect, it's been on the mind of snapshot collector, Robert E. Jackson. Over the past few weeks, Jackson culled his collection of over 14,000 vernacular photographs, looking for images that signal social distance.

“While snapshots deal so much with intimacy,” says Jackson, “I thought I would search my collection for photos which seem to deal with loneliness and disconnection. Not people by themselves, but people interacting in an odd way with other people.”

Although we have no knowledge of the backstory behind any of these images, looking at them now might give some clarity and humor to what we are all experiencing.

all images appear courtesy of the collection of Robert E. Jackson

PostedMarch 30, 2020

AuthorJon Feinstein

CategoriesGalleries, Vernacular Photography

Tagssocial distancing in photography, Robert E. Jackson, vernacular photographs, snapshots, vintage photographs, art during Covid19

With the Coronavirus/ Covid19 crisis upon us, brick and mortar museums and galleries are pausing their exhibition programming, postponing openings, or, in the most unfortunate scenarios, canceling exhibitions entirely. In light of this, Humble will from time to time feature entire exhibitions from galleries we admire, trust, and call our friends. Right now, we bring you Axis Gallery’s Portraits Without People - curated by Roula Seikaly.

While Seikaly conceived the idea long before we could even consider the potential for today’s pandemic, the exhibition, and its theme seem unintentionally ominous.

Each image from the exhibition appears below, paired with Seikaly’s statement and some installation shots. We encourage you to reach out to artists that catch your eye (their website links are in each image credit), and to the Axis Gallery for any purchase inquiries and updates.

In health, safety, and solidarity,

Humble Arts Foundation Editors

PostedMarch 20, 2020

AuthorEditors

CategoriesExhibitions, Artists, Galleries

TagsPortraits Without People Exhibition, Roula Seikaly, art during Covid19, online exhibitions, Axis Gallery

Aligned With-Sodpet © Adama Delphine Fawundu

Adama Delphine Fawundu’s exhibition Sacred Star of Isis & Other Stories, on view at San Francisco’s Museum of the African Diaspora through November 15, probes the tensions that shape her personal and creative life. Raised with both her parents Mende and western cultural and spiritual values, her current project teases out how identity is shaped against complex and often distorted historical narratives.

Exhibition Review by Roula Seikaly

PostedNovember 12, 2019

AuthorRoula Seikaly

CategoriesArtists, Exhibitions, Galleries

TagsAdama Delphine Fawundu, San Francisco Museum of African Diaspora, new photography, photography and identity, Museum of African Diaspora, MOAD, Roula Seikaly

A Letter to the Editor From an Artist in the Time of COVID-19.

Artists Reflect on the Sudden Closing of San Francisco Art Institute

Portraits Without People: An Online Companion to Axis Gallery Sacramento's Quarantined Exhibition

Adama Delphine Fawundu Uses Photography, Hair, Shells and Other Ephemera to Map Her Cultural Identity

A Letter to the Editor From an Artist in the Time of COVID-19.

Artists Reflect on the Sudden Closing of San Francisco Art Institute

Social Distancing in Vintage Snapshots

Portraits Without People: An Online Companion to Axis Gallery Sacramento's Quarantined Exhibition

Adama Delphine Fawundu Uses Photography, Hair, Shells and Other Ephemera to Map Her Cultural Identity