RayKo Photo Center Open Studios October 8, 2005

Open House & Open Studios at the RayKo Photo Center

(428 3rd St. @ Perry btw. Bryant & Harrison)

Artists Reception & Open House:
Saturday & Sunday
October 8 & 9, 2005
11:00-6:00 PM

As part of San Francisco Open Studios 2005, sponsored by the nonprofit organization Artspan, the RayKo Photo Center will feature a group exhibition by artists: Johanna Case-Hofmeister, Mary Celojko, Randy Fisher, Karst Features, Mia Nakano, Michael Shindler, & Barry Umstead. This exhibition of work produced by the staff of the RayKo facility not only embodies the artistic spirit of the photo center, but also presents a diverse a sampling of artistic approaches and
styles unique to the medium of photography.

The landscape as subject is predominately featured in this exhibition and represents an range of approaches from formal and traditional landscape studies by artists Mary Celojko, Randy Fisher, Michael Shindler to color documentary photographs of the people and places of rural New York state and Vermont presented Johanna Case-Hofmeister.

Artists Stuart Kogod, Michael Queen, Jack Soman, known collectively as Karst Features, present a selection dramatic photographs of cave interiors that emphasize the intricate and breathtaking geological formations, revealing a world unseen by most. Working in a more conceptual framework, artist Barry Umstead presents a series of humorous tableaus that mimic Mark Rothko compositions that are created from cookies, M&M candies, marshmallow Peeps and other junk food his series "The Rothko Cantos". Artists Randy Fisher and Mia Nakano push the boundaries of traditional photography by working with experimental processes such as gum bichromate and liquid emulsion is some of the images in this exhibition. Nakano also creates a series of complex visual abstractions which are outputted digitally onto canvas that further blur the definition between traditional photography and digital imaging.