PGH Photo Fair

10/12/2022

An announcement from PGH Photo Fair:

After ten years, the PGH Photo Fair will be coming to a close. This event began from a place of pure passion and it has been a thrill to build, shape, and iterate this project over the years. Evan Mirapaul started the Fair in 2012 at the former Ace Hotel in East Liberty, moving then to UnSmoke Systems Artspace in Braddock, and finally landing for five of its seven exhibiting years at the Carnegie Museum of Art (CMOA), with Casey Droege joining as Co-Director in 2016. We are grateful to all who came along for this ride including our dozens of gallerists, special program guests, staff and volunteers, art collectors, event participants, and fair visitors. Your enthusiasm kept us going and we hope PGH Photo Fair ignited a love for art, collecting, and photography that will continue on.

Although the Fair itself will be over, the archive of PGH Photo Fair will live under the stewardship of Silver Eye Center for Photography. It will remain accessible as a record of all the significant figures who played a part and the community of arts appreciators that emerged to support this project.

07/07/2022

When thinking about curating photography, it is important to consider what goes into the process, and how it compares to other forms of visual art. We spoke with curator, writer, and Deputy Director of Programs at Silver Eye Center for Photography Helen Trompeteler on curating photography. Helens own curatorial practice ‘promotes photography as a fine art medium that can provoke contemporary dialogue, foster community, and inspire more equitable futures’. For part one of our dialogue with Helen, she shares with us what goes into curating a photography exhibition.

“When I begin developing a new exhibition, I critically ask myself how this exhibition will create new opportunities for connection with audiences and serve the artist's creative vision. Many additional self-reflective questions affect my curatorial approach, but these foundational concerns inform all my subsequent decision-making. These decisions include final image selection and layout, paper and framing options, and the writing, design, and pacing of interpretive text. All these elements are part of storytelling in the physical exhibition space. They will affect how audiences engage with photography and whether the artist will realize their aims.

Curating is a highly collaborative process. I collaborate closely with all our artists at Silver Eye. I strive to provide a framework of care, support, and facilitation so they can take new creative directions or risks in their practice. I feel very fortunate to collaborate with colleagues, including Sean Stewart, who shares his immense expertise in printing and production. 21st-century definitions of curating perceived the curator as a solitary guardian or authoritative voice in defining an aspect of knowledge or taste. However, my curatorial approach always aims to be conversational. I focus on introducing themes, references, ideas, and frameworks for individuals to explore on their own terms. Collaborators are essential to my curatorial thinking, including everyone who engages with the exhibition and shares their perspectives.”

Installation view of Mouse Trap with photographs by Patricia Voulgaris, 3 March - 23 April, 2022, Silver Eye Center for Photography. Photograph by Sean Carroll

04/21/2022

Nakeya Brown is a conceptual photographer creating work around themes of Black womanhood, and the politics of Black hair. Her photography has been exhibited widely, including the recent Radial Survey exhibit Silver Eye Center for Photography. They’ll also be hosting a 5 week virtual workshop with Brown this summer. Learn more and sign up on their website.

04/15/2022

2019 PGH Photo Fair Speaker Antwaun Sargent is a writer, curator, and author of The New Black Vanguard: Photography Between Art and Fashion. His commitment to “reframing the conversation around some of the voices that have been left out” has led him to a role as a director and curator at Gagosian, where he will continue to work towards promoting artists of color in the galleries.

04/09/2022

Taking the time to acknowledge the loss of Nancy Lane. Nancy was an avid arts collector, a passionate advocate for Black artists, and we were incredibly fortunate to have her as one of our 2019 photo fair speakers. Read the New York Times profile of her life and her legacy via this link: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/01/arts/nancy-lane-dead.html

03/11/2022

PGH Photo Fair has always existed for the purpose of not only promoting photography, but also encouraging the collection of contemporary and fine art photos. Whether it's a $40 photo book, a $4,000 contemporary photograph, or a $40,000 vintage print, these pieces can add to your collection and your space. Photographs can mark a moment in time, celebrate histories, and explore diverse perspectives. Consider adding more photographic works to your collection today. Explore some of our previous galleries, dealers, and photo projects to get some ideas.

📸 by Sean Carroll

03/03/2022

Highlighting 2019 PPF exhibitor miyako yoshinaga gallery’s current exhibition, ‘Just Visiting This Planet’, featuring works by six contemporary Japanese photographers. Ranging from landscapes and portraits to still life's, their work is sensitive to the transient nature of life while exploring its emotionally profound moments. These concepts are deeply rooted in Japanese culture, and the associated expression of gentle sorrow have been cultivated in Japanese art for centuries.

‘Just Visiting This Planet’ is on view through March 12.

Works pictured:

Mikiko Hara
Untitled

Yu Yamauchi
N 4 7 °5 5 ' 0 7. 8 " E 1 0 6 °5 5 ' 0 3. 5 " - #07

Mayumi Lake
Japanese Hunch #4984

Fugo b.
Flying Frying Pan 01

Emi Anrakuji
Untitled 226

02/27/2022

A beautiful write up for In Concert: Photography and the Violin, from the collection of Evan Mirapaul, currently on view at Transformer Station. The show will be up until April 3rd, and we encourage you to check it out if you’re in the Cleveland area!

The Transformer Station's entertaining show, "In Concert: Photography and the Violin,'' portrays the global obsession with a difficult instrument, while charting the history of photography.

02/17/2022

Radial Survey vol. 2 is a new biennial exhibition of the preeminent emerging and mid-career photo-based artists working within 300 miles of Pittsburgh, from previous PGH Photo Fair gallerist, Silver Eye Center for Photography. This exhibition includes work from 8 regional artists whose work explores how their personal identities intersect with the histories of places they are from, and where they work. Radial Survey closes February 19th, so be sure to check it out before then!

📸 by Sean Stewart

02/14/2022

Repost Transformer Station with Make Repost
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"In Concert: Photography and the Violin" is on view now, visit Wednesday–Sunday 11am–5pm!

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Installation photography by Field Studio

Transformer Station
1460 W 29th St
Cleveland OH 44113

Hours:
Wednesday–Sunday
11am–5pm

IN CONCERT: PHOTOGRAPHY AND THE VIOLIN
January 22, 2022–April 3, 2022

Masks required for all visitors.