Summer Selections

A Summer Selection

Featuring Anthony Friedkin, Chip Hooper, Laszlo Layton, Dana Montlack, and Oriana Poindexter

Opening Reception: Saturday, July 18, 5–8pm

Joseph Bellows Gallery is pleased to present A Summer Selection, a group exhibition featuring photographs by Anthony Friedkin, Chip Hooper, Laszlo Layton, Dana Montlack, and Oriana Poindexter. The exhibition opens with a reception on Saturday, July 18, from 5 to 8pm.

Bringing together five distinct photographic practices, A Summer Selection explores the natural world through images of the ocean, coastline, marine life, and the environment. While varied in subject and process, the artists share an attentiveness to nature and its forms, revealing through close observation the interplay of light, movement, atmosphere, and the delicate systems that connect us to the world around us.

Anthony Friedkin’s wave photographs capture the ever-changing character of the Pacific Ocean with remarkable clarity and sensitivity. Focusing on the sculptural forms of breaking waves, his images reveal a dynamic interplay of light, movement, and atmosphere, transforming fleeting moments into timeless studies of nature’s power and beauty.

Chip Hooper’s contemplative seascapes reflect a profound sensitivity to the changing light and atmosphere of the Pacific coast. Through expansive horizons and subtle tonal transitions, his photographs evoke a sense of stillness and timelessness, inviting viewers into moments of quiet reflection.

Laszlo Layton’s photographs of shells and marine specimens are drawn from his Cabinet of Curiosities and Pictorial Zoology series, inspired by the richly illustrated natural-history volumes of the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. Using vintage soft-focus lenses and early photographic processes, including toned cyanotypes and, at times, hand coloring, Layton transforms his subjects into evocative studies that merge scientific observation with the romantic character of historical natural-history illustration.

Dana Montlack’s layered photographic works emerge from decades of environmental research and artistic exploration. Blending scientific inquiry with a distinctive visual vocabulary, her images reveal the intricate relationships that shape the natural world, encouraging a deeper awareness of our connection to the environment.

Oriana Poindexter’s cyanotypes are created from specimens of kelp gathered through her own fieldwork, transforming one of the ocean’s most essential organisms into luminous photographic studies. Drawing upon her dual practice as an artist and marine scientist, her work celebrates the sculptural beauty of marine life while inviting reflection on the delicate balance of coastal ecosystems.

Together, the works in A Summer Selection move between the expansive and the intimate—from the force of a breaking wave and the stillness of the horizon to the intricate structures of shells, kelp, and other natural forms. Across both traditional and alternative photographic processes, the five artists offer distinct yet interconnected perspectives on the beauty, complexity, and fragility of the natural world.