Sonoma State images displays discover California’s altering panorama

Nothing captures a second in time fairly like images. When photographers collect photos over years, the work can grow to be a form of dwelling historical past.

The University Art Gallery at Sonoma State University in Rohnert Park presents two views on the ability of images with new exhibitions opening Sept. 3.

“Mere Seconds,” that includes 16 pictures by San Francisco photographer Andrew Owen, examines the ecological results of latest cycles of megafires and floods throughout California, together with burned terrain and fields stained by fireplace retardant.

The collection grew out of Owen’s in depth travels documenting communities and environments formed by excessive climate. Most of the pictures have been made between 2020 and 2026, primarily with a 4-by-5-inch view digital camera.

One {photograph} reveals a cobalt-blue Jeep buried in snow, with solely its entrance finish seen.

“After the epic snowfall in the early months of 2023, I asked a firefighter in Truckee where the heaviest snow had fallen,” Owen stated. “He pointed me to Soda Springs, a residential area near Donner Summit.”

It was mid-April, he recalled, and snow coated the houses practically to their roofs. Neighborhood streets had been carved into 15-foot-tall partitions of snowpack.

“On Soda Springs Road, I came upon this Jeep in the morning poking through the edge of what looked like a glacier,” Owen stated.

Owen started engaged on the collection on Sept. 9, 2020, when wildfire smoke turned the San Francisco sky orange. The haze was attributable to smoke from the North Complex Fire and greater than 20 different wildfires burning throughout California.

Since then, he has documented episodes of ecological disruption and moments of hanging pure magnificence throughout the state, exploring what scholar Morton Paley referred to as the “Apocalyptic Sublime” — an aesthetic sensibility rooted in awe, terror and vastness.

Owen’s work has been printed on-line by The New York Times and exhibited at Small Works Projects, CULT Aimee Friberg and Book and Job Gallery in San Francisco. He is a former National Geographic Young Explorers grantee and a graduate of Georgetown University.

“Insight/Incite 20/20” celebrates PhotographAlliance of San Francisco’s twentieth anniversary with a portfolio curated by its founder, Linda Connor. The exhibition options work by 20 native, nationwide and worldwide artists, exploring themes together with id, group, migration, environmental change, social justice and belonging.

Among the collaborating artists are Wesaam Al-Badry, Binh Danh, Linda Connor, Lewis Watts, Mercedes Dorame and North Bay resident Zack Schomp, who beforehand taught images at SSU.

Together, the exhibitions replicate the vary of latest images, utilizing the medium to look at each the altering panorama and the human experiences that form it.

The two exhibitions have been guest-curated by Bay Area artist and Bass & Reiner Gallery co-founder Chris Grunder, who additionally taught at SSU.

The Sonoma State University Art Gallery is in its forty eighth 12 months of providing free exhibitions to the group.

“We are planning for our 50th anniversary already,” Malloy stated. “We’re really excited that we’ve been able to remain admission-free.”

IF YOU GO

What: “Mere Seconds + Insight/Incite 20/20”

When: Sept. 3-Oct. 17; midday to 4 p.m. Tuesday via Saturday.

Where: Sonoma State University Art Gallery, Art Building 128, 1801 E. Cotati Ave., Rohnert Park.

Admission: Free. Daily parking permits are required and could also be bought at pay stations in every campus car parking zone.

Information: artgallery.sonoma.edu, 707- 664-2295

Events

Sept. 3: Opening reception, 4-6 p.m.

Sept. 17: Sena Clara Creston, SSU affiliate professor of artwork, in dialog with artist Andrew Owen, noon-1 p.m.

Oct. 3: Panel dialogue that includes artist Andrew Owen and visitor artist Emma Reeves, 1-2 p.m.

RSVP by Aug. 31 by contacting Leigh McTaggart at mctaggle@sonoma.edu or 707-664-3049.