One of my photographs will be exhibited in a group exhibition juried by Jean Dykstra at Maloof Gallery (Atlanta, GA). The title of the exhibition, Joy and the Everyday, ties with a theme I explore in a new series—The Last Fair—on exhibit at the Maloof Gallery, June 26 - July 31, 2023.
Juried Exhibitions
Tintype in NYC group show
This 8x10 tintype of my kids headed off to the NYC show “Breaking More Boundaries” at Culture Lab LIC inspired by the work of Mariette Pathy Allen, curated by Orestes Gonzalez and Jesse Egner. It’s an honor to exhibit along with friends Jess Dugan and Jess Frieden and support the work of trans and gender variant communities. On view June 1 - July 30, opening reception June 3, 6-9 PM, closing toast July 30, 7:30 PM.
One of the perks of working with collodion is the joy of no digital workflow after the original object is created. Just ship and be done. I made this cherry wood stand to support the tintype, exhibited as an original object.
Family Portrait, Bad Medicine Lake, Minnesota, 2022, 8 x 10 inch tintype with cherry wood display
Exhibition in Berlin
Three prints from The Unchosen Ones project are exhibited in Berlin, Germany as part of “Portraits Without Borders” group show, Fotogalerie Friedrichshain through Feb 4, 2022. The show brings together 29 artists from Europe, Asia, the Middle East, South America, and North America, selected from 260 applications last fall.
Fotogalerie Friedrichshain doesn’t follow the “pay to play” notion, prevalent in the US photo exhibition scene. They’ve stood the test of time, as they were the first art gallery in former East Germany to focus only on photography. Exhibition opportunities like this are a wonderful opportunity to connect with other artists and see work in a similar vein. Thank you to Claire Ducresson-Boët for the installation photographs.
These pastoral studies feature Carlana, Eric, and Hannah from The Unchosen Ones (pictured left to right).
Up on the auction block: Kenzi and Hootie, Anoka County, Minnesota, 2020, Edition 1 of 3, archival pigment print mounted on dibond, 43 x 53 inches.
"Ones To Watch 2021" {Atlanta Celebrates Photography Festival}
Thank you to Mary Stanley for selecting my work for the 2021 Ones to Watch group exhibition held at the MINT Gallery in Atlanta, GA. The theme: What We Know.
The opening reception at MINT Gallery is Friday, October 1 from 6:00- 10:00 PM
ACP Auction Benefit Exhibition
I have offered a print for the annual Atlanta Celebrates Photography (ACP) Auction with a special exhibition at HA Modern Showroom at the Atlanta Decorative Art Center held October 6th - 20th. Join small gatherings of photography collectors, interior designers, friends of ACP. Stay tuned for details.
110th Minnesota State Fair Fine Arts Exhibition
I’m honored to have my work awarded an Honorable Mention by Carla Rodriguez, juror of the 110th Minnesota State Fair Fine Arts Exhibition in St. Paul, MN. The show runs through Sept 6. I hope to make it to the fair this weekend to see all the art in the show, the largest juried art exhibition in the state. Scroll to the end to see the winning photograph.
I want to share with you the back story not only of the exhibited photograph, but the project as a whole, and the specific sheep featured in the photograph, Tantor. The story features a poetic ending. First, the backstory.
Josilin and Tantor, 4-H Lamb Lead Show, Minnesota State Fair, 2015.
The Unchosen Ones began with a visit to a quintessentially American event, the state fair. I was in Minnesota, where I live, which still has a strong community of small family farms. My longstanding interest in animals and their connection to humans drew me to the 2015 Minnesota State Fair. For my previous project, Divine Animals: The Bovidae, I photographed goats and sheep in lush landscapes throughout Western Europe. I knew I wanted to continue photographing domesticated animals, but my ideas about a new series were still inchoate. As I was canvassing the fair looking for inspiration, I took in all the carefully tended-to animals and their owners, often young children. After the 4-H Lamb Lead show, I met the fourth-place finishers, Josilin, and her sheep, Tantor. I could see Josilin was disappointed, yet she held her head high. Her determination inspired me, and I made a portrait of them. Photographing the pair spurred me to think about my own childhood and its run-of-the- mill disappointments. I had a supportive family and a fulfilling childhood, yet I still vividly remember being picked last for the basketball team and not earning a ribbon at the local science fair, even though I had tried my best. As I grew older, I knew well the feeling of not being chosen—for a job, or for love. But not being chosen for something can have a valuable upside: it can create empathy. Empathy connects people and forges bonds. Later that year, I included the portrait in a Minnesota State Arts Board grant application, and that act would shape my artistic journey.
I began to look for a certain typology: exemplary youth and animals from a small but geographically diverse area in Minnesota. I chose goats and sheep because they were competition animals that also fit within the constraints of the six-foot-wide backdrop I was using. The formality of the backdrop elevated the subjects and also allowed a story to emerge between the animal and the child. My strobe lights failed to flash during my initial session, so I used the diffuse, ambient light of the overcast skies. This serendipitous accident produced a soft tonality I loved: the light fell onto my dignified subject, rendering shadows as though from a painter’s brush. I was drawn to this aesthetic.
Josilin and Escapé, Benton County Fair, Minnesota, 2016 (left) and Josilin and Tantor, Benton County, Minnesota, 2021 (right).
In 2016, I made 65 portraits of youth contestants at Minnesota county fairs. Each participant—some as young as four years old— spent a year raising an animal, which they entered into a 4-H livestock competition. None of the youth I photographed succeeded in winning an award, despite the obvious care they have given to their animal.
Four years later, in 2020, I returned to photograph the young subjects, asking them what they carried forward from their previous experience. Some of them have continued to pursue animal husbandry while others developed other interests. We imagine some of these kids will choose to continue running their family farms, an unpredictable and demanding way to make a living.
As I created the second group of photographs, I asked them what were their thoughts, their dreams, and their goals for the future? How do they fit in the future of agricultural America?
Place matters to me, especially since these portraits were not taken in a studio. Using a wide-angle lens, I stepped back to view the pastoral environment, with farm machinery and architecture and the occasional barn kitty or chicken cameo.
In January 2021, while completing the book project (forthcoming MW Editions, November 2021), I felt the urge to photograph. I called up Josilin and checked in on how Tantor was doing. She was aging with grace, I learned. I also was told female sheep with “masculine” names, like Tantor, perform better in livestock competitions.
Honorable Mention, 110th Minnesota State Fair Fine Arts Exhibition, Juror Carla Rodriguez:
Josilin, Pastoral Study, 2021, by R. J. Kern, from the upcoming monograph, The Unchosen Ones: Portraits of an American Pastoral (MW Editions, 2021). Archival pigment print mounted on dibond, 37 x 50 inches, Edition 1 of 3 + AP, 2021, $3600 framed.
Although there is abundant evidence that this way of life is disappearing as kids leave the farm, the crisis of climate change and a concern for both sustainability and stewardship of the land point to a path for survival for these agricultural practices and traditions. I hope county fairs will still be around in a hundred years.
Tantor passed away two weeks after our portrait session.
Tantor, Benton County, Minnesota, 2021 (unpublished)
Rourke Art Museum 62nd Invitational Exhibition
If I was a champion sheep, you’d call me “Salty Frog.” I’d have an earring with my name badge, too. Only fitting, “Salty Frog” will be exhibited at the Rourke Art Museum as part of the 62nd Invitational Exhibition, running 18 June - 5 September 2021. Theme: On the Autobiographical Impulse. This is the fifth year I’ve been apart of the show. I always look forward to re-connecting with the community where I had my coffee shop show in 2014 which helped launch my career as a fine-art photographer.
Supreme Champion Ewe (Salty Frog) 2018 Minnesota State Fair. This salt over pigment print was the exhibition print during my solo Burnet Fine Art exhibition in 2019. Ed 1 of 5, 20 x 24 inches. $3000
Time Capsule
Juror Shamim M. Momin, Director of Curatorial Affairs at The Henry Art Gallery, selected my work for inclusion in an exhibition, Time Capsule, at the Photographic Center Northwest (PCNW) Gallery on view June 24 – August 12, 2021. This exhibition will represent a photographic time capsule of an extraordinary time in history.
“Photographs open doors into the past, but they also allow a look into the future.” -Sally Mann
Juried for exhibition: Carlana and Donkey, Pastoral Study, Minnesota, 2020 from the series The Unchosen Ones. Archival pigment print, 20 x 24 inches, Edition 1 of 10 + 2 AP, 2021.
PCNW's 24th Annual Juried Exhibition, TIME CAPSULE, June 24 - August 12, 2021. Installation photo by Erin Spencer.
Open Call Winner | Helsinki Photo Festival
My work was selected by an international panel of jurors to be exhibited at the Helsinki Photo Festival 2021, July 7 - September 30, 2021. The theme “fearless” will be a thread through the 50 winners selected.
Can being fearless improve your life or will it ruin it? What does it take to lose your fear? Can we live without fear or will it make us numb? These questions were considered in my approach of re-photographing The Unchosen Ones in 2020.
Special thank you to the Judging panel: Alexa Becker, Andy Adams, Curt Richter, Emanuela Mirabelli, Karoliina Korpilahti, Marianne Ager, Moritz Neumüller, Naoya Yoshikawa, Federico Estol, Rafael Rybczynski, Stefan Bremer, Stig Marlon Weston.
#helphoto21
LEFT: Emma and Ethan with sheep, Blue Earth County Fair, Minnesota, 2016, RIGHT: Emma and Ethan, Blue Earth County, Minnesota, 2020, 20 x 24 inches, archival pigment print, edition of 10 + 2 AP, by R. J. Kern.
Photography: A Sense of Place
Photography: A Sense of Place
Juried by Jacqui Palumbo at Site:Brooklyn Gallery
March 1 – March 30, 2021
“What are the elements that make up a place and ingrain it in our memories? Place is more than a stretch of land or the space between two walls. Sometimes it's an innocuous detail that burrows itself into our brains—light scattered on a tablecloth, or clutter strewn on a desk. A location may only stay with us for a particular feeling it evoked, while its physicality remains murky. Other times our memories of a setting are centered around a person—or that person's absence… “
– Jacqui Palumbo
Exhibiting Artists
Stan Banos, Rich Bergeman, Lucy Bohnsack, Tod Bryant, Annette LeMay Burke, Ruby Chu, Elle DioGuardi, Cristina Fontsaré, Julia Forrest, Vladlen Gorlami, Sarah Hoskins, Austin Irving, Ethan Jones, R. J. Kern, Ken Konchel, Jacob Lunderby, Grace Anne Odom, Alana Perino, Léna Piani, Andre Ramos-Woodard, Cynthia Rettig, Matt Roberts, Holly Romano, Christina Santner, Brittany Severance, Bria Sterling Wilson
Kenzi and Hootie, Anoka County, 2020. Archival pigment print, 20 x 24 inches sheet size, edition of 10 + 2AP.
Birds, Nest, and Nature {Exhibition}
Juried by Jeffrey De Blois, Assistant Curator, ICA Boston and Rebecca Lowery, Assistant Curator, MOCA Los Angeles, the exhibition includes over 150 local, national, and international artists inspired by the show theme at the Bedford Gallery in Walnut Creek, California. I’m proud to be apart of this show. And I’m particularly impressed how they’ve built a website to support the show, given the virtual exhibition.
My photograph, Supreme Champion Goose Male / Female Pair, 2018 Minnesota State Fair, (Salt print over archival pigment print, 20 x 24 inches) was chosen for exhibiton. This photograph just make me smile and is one of my favorites. The particular print I entered earlier this year has gone to a new home, so I created Edition 3/5 to support the exhibition (seen in installation photograph).
Installation view at the Bedford Gallery, Walnut Creek, CA.
My entry into the 2020 Minnesota State Fair Fine Arts Exhibition: Holy Cow (Quarantined greater than 14 Days), archival pigment print, mounted on dibond, 2020.
Honorable Mention: MN State Fair
While the 2020 Minnesota State Fair is not happening this year, I’m excited the show goes on at the Fine Arts exhibition. I was a bit apprehensive this year submitting work, as the risk of rejection is always a possibility.
I am excited not only to be accepted into the 108th Minnesota State Fair Fine Arts Exhibition, but I received an Honorable Mention by photography juror Buck Holzemer for my photograph, Holy Cow (Quarantined greater than 14 Days). It still offers me humor, despite COVID-19 times.
And some wonderful press for the show including a few mentions of my work:
I’ll be hanging out 6pm on Saturday, August 29 (date night), enjoying my favorite art event of the year!
And some screen grabs from the really cool virtual tour of the exhibition >>
I was also surprised to see Stuart Klipper’s photograph (he’s a friend that lives a few blocks away), hang a few pieces to the left of mine.
Masur Museum of Art Exhibition
Four works from my series, The Unchosen Ones, were selected for the 56th Annual Juried Competition Exhibition, juried by Catherine Futter, Director of Curatorial Affairs at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. The juried group exhibition at the Masur Museum of Art, Monroe, LA runs Feb 28 – May 11, 2019. Futter’s curatorial statement reads:
This exhibition focused primarily on IDENTITY— how identity is assigned, constructed, fluid, rejected, reclaimed, and embraced. Some works are portraits that represent a sitter’s outward style and convey an inner attitude. Others are more enigmatic, more mysterious. They ask us to question our own identites past, present, and future. How do we see ourselves? How do we want to be seen?
A reception with the juror's talk and prize announcements held Thursday, April 25th, 5:30-7:30pm.
Special thanks to Lindsay Kearney, Curator of Collections and Exhibitions at the Masur Museum of Art, for providing installation photographs of the work. I am honored to have my work exhibited with the participating artists. It has been wonderful to work with her and her team!
Participating Artists:
Elizabeth Abaravich, CA; Abe Abraham, NY; Trenton Brown, GA; Richard Buswell, MT; Paula Campbell, TN; Norm Diamond, TX; M. M. Dupay, OH; Leslie Elliottsmith, LA; Farimah Eshraghi, MA; Amy Faggard, TX; Ashley Gardner, AR; Gale Gibbs, TX; Stephanie Gonzalez, TX; Sarah Granberg, OR; Richard Greene, CA; Crummy Gummy, FL; Gao Hang, TX; Lewinale Havette, GA; Dianne Hebbert, NY; Pato Hebert, CA; Ming Ying Hong, MS; Jennifer Hoskins, SC; Shreepad Joglekar, KS; R. J. Kern, MN; Noelle King, NY; David Knox, LA; Sena Kwon, NY; Joshua Littlefield, MD; Gabi Magaly, TX; A.M. Martens, IL; Andy Mattern, OK; Corinne McAuley, AZ; Daniel Melo, CA; Rebecca Miller, MO; Jason Nelson, LA; Jim Pearson, IL; Sandi Pfeifer, FL; Nikii Berry Richey, TN; Evie Richner, TN; Sharon Shapiro, VA; Annisty Thompson, AL; Chad Thompson, SC; Tonja Torgerson, IN; Rhonda Urdang, AZ; Kevin Vanek, MS; Jiawei Zhao, NY
6th International Open Call, juried by Aline Smithson
The Rhode Island Center for Photographic Arts announced the awards for the 6th International Open Call, juried by Aline Smithson (founder of LENSCRATCH). I am excited and honored to share Kol and Annabell, Anoka County Fair, Minnesota, 2016 from my series, The Unchosen Ones, received second place!
Looking through the names of the 74 photographers selected, I’m proud to be listed with these friends and colleagues. I’ve enjoyed getting to know these artists and their personal projects (and some even swapping prints, including 1st place winner Eric Kunsman for his print, 4th of July, 2014 – Palmyra, NY). The exhibition is on view through Friday, March 15th, 2019 and is free to the public.
Little known fact: I first visited RISD in Providence in 1994 and considered enrolling in their BFA program, as my high school teacher Ricker Winsor graduated there and worked with Harry Callahan). I decided to pursue a liberal arts degree at Colgate University, however, I am excited to exhibit work in the same small town that inspired many great photographers).
Exhibition in China
I am honored that a selection from my series, "The Unchosen Ones," was exhibited as part of the 2018 Yixian International Photography Festival in Anhui, China. Guo Jing curated the exhibition for international section at the festival, one of the most influential festivals in China. I met Guo Jing during a portfolio review at Photolucida 2017 in Portland and she exhibited "The Sheep and the Goats" in China last year as well. In addition to the Chinese photographers, there were over exhibitions from over 50 photographers from the United States, France, Russia, Australia, Italy, Egypt, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Japan, and Singapore. The exhibition exhibited more than 3,200 works. View gallery >>
Photographs Courtesy Yixian International Photography Festival. Pictured left to right in group picture: Fang Huanran, Deputy President of China Photo Press; Guo Jing, Host of Yixian International Photo Festival Opening Ceremony; Hu Ning, Vice chariman of the Political Consultative Conference of Huangshan City; Reza De Hadi, a French photographic artist; and Fang Huanran, Vice President of China Photographic Newspaper.
Review of 2018 Yixian International Photography Festival
MinnPost Feature
Writes Espeland: "The large, lovely portrait of a young woman and her goat may stop you in your tracks. It’s an image from a series Kern calls “The Unchosen Ones.” Taken from the sidelines at 10 county fairs across Minnesota that lead up to the state fair, they show animals and their young handlers – but losers, not winners. These are not the pairs that will go on to glory at the big fair in the cities. Photographed against a simple gray backdrop, the subjects – children and teenagers, sheep and goats – are lit like old masters. They are luminous and dignified. If this is what losing looks like, maybe it’s not so terrible after all."
R. J. Kern with “Kenzie and Hootie, Anoka County Fair, Minnesota, 2016”, MinnPost photo by John Whiting
“The Great State of Minnesota” Award
The Executive Director of the Minnesota Citizen's for the Arts (MCA), Sheila Smith, selected me for the “Great State of Minnesota” Award at the 2018 Fine Arts Exhibition held at the Minnesota State Fair in St. Paul, MN opening this week. I'm honored and humbled. When we met, I shared with her my enthusiasm for the art grants in Minnesota which have generously supported my fine-art career. MCA was the first independent organization to give a cash award to artists at the Minnesota State Fair that "honors an artist depicting Minnesota subject matter in a highly skillful way." I'm proud to grow roots in this great state!
Renaissance Photography Prize 2017 (Finalist)
The Unchosen Ones project is a Finalist in the Renaissance Photography Prize 2017, juried by Clare Grafik, Dewi Lewis, Fiona Rogers, Fiona Shields, Gem Fletcher, Marloes Krijnen, Melissa DeWitt, and Simon Roberts and will be exhibited at the Getty Images Gallery, London, England then will travel in 2018 to the following venues:
January 27 – March 10, 2018 Aberystwyth Arts Centre, www.aberystwythartscentre.co.uk
April 28 – June 9, 2018. The Civic, Barnsley, www.barnsleycivic.co.uk
IPE Silver Award from the Royal Photographic Society
I’m honored my work from the series "The Unchosen Ones" garnered a Silver Award from the Royal Photographic Society (RPS) International Photography Exhibition, now touring around the UK. I thank RPS for their support!
Four award winners were been selected from thousands of entries from across the world by the panel: Karin Bareman, Curatorial Project Manager for Autograph ABP;Zelda Cheatle curator, editor, lecturer and consultant in photography; Ingrid Pollard, photographer, media artist and researcher; and photographers and former IPE exhibitors Abbie Trayler-Smith and Sian Davey .
Held since 1854, the RPS hosts the longest running exhibition of its kind. Pictured is the exhibition at The Old Truman Brewery, London as part of Photoblock, a collection of exhibitions celebrating the best in contemporary and traditional photography.
The award-winning images will also be exhibited in a group show at theprintspace gallery, London, in 2018.
The FENCE 2017
For the second year in a row, I am honored to have work on The FENCE. 40 photographer's work was chosen by 68 jurors among thousands of entries from around the world. The FENCE is a traveling photography exhibition reaching over 4 million visitors annually through open-air exhibitions in 7 cities across the United States: Brooklyn, Boston, Atlanta, Houston, Santa Fe, Durham, and Denver.
Upon my visit to CLICK 120 in October 2017, I was able to connect with my friend Chris Ogden who brought The FENCE to Durham, NC.
The FENCE to Durham, NC photo by Chris Ogden
The FENCE in Brooklyn, NY photo by Christopher Cook.
The FENCE in Brooklyn, NY photo by Christopher Cook.
Curated Exhibition at MoMa, Tbilisi, Georgia
In June 2017, my work was exhitibited at the Museum of Modern Art in Tbilisi, Georgia curated by Tina Schelhorn who I met at Photolucida '17. Also included in the show are fellow US photographers Carole Erb and Henry Hornstein.
The work was published in the July 2017 issue of the German magazine, FotoMagazin, with an article written by Ralf Hanselle, “Fine Art of the Fauna.”
