The Looks of Love

Candela Gallery starts 2025 with romance and forgotten places.

Gordon Stettinius jokes that the new exhibits at Candela Books and Gallery are “like a mullet … business in front and a party in the back.”

The party in the gallery’s main space is a veritable ‘best of Candela’ group show, as the Broad Street art space and publisher showcases some of its most popular photographic talent from its past 15 years in a tongue-in-cheek tribute to Valentine’s Day. The business in front of the house is the probing analytical work of Madrid, Spain-based artist Linarejos Moreno in her data-crammed exhibit, “On the Geography.”

Differing in tone, the first exhibitions of the new year at downtown Richmond’s preeminent showcase for fine art photography are made to contrast. “We often make that play, one room balancing the other,” says gallery founder and owner Stettinius. “It’s how the exhibits interact and play off each other, and inform each other.”

Entering the gallery, patrons will encounter the large-scale landscapes of Moreno, associate professor in Design and Fine Arts at the Complutense University of Madrid. Bordered by geographical text, the pieces give off the vibe of a police exhibit, or the before photos of a tragic weather event. “I was in Houston, where she was doing her residency,” says Candela director Whitney Cole. “I saw her work at the Inman Gallery and became smitten with it. It’s perfect.”

Linarejos Moreno, “On the Geography of Green I-II,” 2016/2022. Photo: Thomas R DuBrock, courtesy of Inman Gallery

Centered by nondescript shots of land, trees and off-road structures, the large pieces in “On the Geography” document forgotten locales and orphaned topographical info. “Moreno creates images and three-dimensional works that are compressions of memory, absence, and social space,” the Inman Gallery’s notes read. “Architectural fragments – the exhumed strata of a vanishing history – are Moreno’s primary subjects and inspiration.”

Stettinius says her work fits their space perfectly: “It’s sobering, a bit more academic, but it’s perfect counter-programming to what’s in the back gallery.”

That exhibit “XOXO” is a love letter to and from some of Candela’s more familiar image makers from the past, plus a few newcomers. “We are often trying to brainstorm how to bring different artists into a space together,” says Cole. “We thought that maybe we could do something that was a little more fun, a little more playful.”

Greta Pratt, “Senior Citizen King + Queen, Stickney, SD,” 1989. From the Candela group show “XOXO.”

This group jam, made up of both past images and new works, includes everything from Em White’s glowing red glass Ambrotypes to fellow Richmonder Willie Anne Wright’s silver lumen montaging of Victorian era images with a psychotropic flower. “It’s a plant that she cultivated on her patio,” says Cole.

London-based newcomer Yushi Li’s theatrical set-pieces subvert the masculine gaze with a knowing wink, while Norfolk photographer Greta Pratt documents the giddy affections and ritual passions found at a county fair.  Elsewhere, Tommy Bruce, from Portland, whimsically documents the kinkier side of the furry community, while the late Michael Abramson ably captures in black and white the sweat and lust of a Chicago juke joint in the 1970s. Love is, indeed, all around.

Michael Abramson’s “Pepper’s Hideout (ss075),” 1975.

“The work as a whole leans into Valentine’s Day and the commodification of love,” says Cole. “Hearts, flowers … color is what we were looking for, and images of people who might be in love.”

Michael Joseph’s “Adam.” Archival pigment print, 12 x 11 inches, framed. Edition of eight.

Previously exhibited works by another Candela favorite, Susan Worsham, will also be on display through Feb. 22 in the gallery’s newly-renovated gallery space in the back.

Starting March 7, Candela will feature two exhibits by photographic innovators who use, in the words of Stettinius, “experimental processes.” The main gallery will see the return of gallery favorite Chris McCaw, who Stettinius describes as “an inventive tinkerer who builds his own cameras.” McCaw provided the work for one of Candela’s first major exhibits and books, “Sunburn,” in 2012.

At the same time, the front gallery will feature the work of Brooklyn-based Dana Bell, who, he explains, “doesn’t really come from a photography background… she’s got a design, Pop art vibe and is very experimental in her process. I haven’t seen anything quite like her work.” Also in March, in the back gallery, Sara J. Winston, the photography program coordinator at Bard College in New York, will feature her latest work, which incorporates photos and text to comment on the effects of chronic illness and womanhood.

Cole says that Candela’s calendar is booked through the year, reflecting its growing role as a regional photography epicenter.

“2025 is packed, there’s no open slot left, which is exciting,” says Cole. “But if you happen to come across something new, you can’t say, ‘I have a space with your name on it.'”

“XOXO,” Linarejos Moreno’s “On the Geography” and pieces from Susan Worsham’s “Crystals of Silver” will run through Feb. 22 at Candela Books & Gallery. Admission is free. Open Tues-Fri. 11 a.m-5 p.m., Saturdays 12-5 p.m. candelagallery.com

 

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