Mary Ellen Bartley uses photography to explore the physical and formal qualities of the printed book and its potential for abstraction. By emphasizing the unique “aura” and materiality of printed matter, Bartley’s work offers a celebration of textural and tactile properties, a particularly potent act in this increasingly digital age.
Bartley continues to borrow from the conventions of abstract painting in Push 2 Stops (2014). These photographs of empty photo sleeves arranged on a lightbox recall the Suprematist paintings of Kazimir Malevich, while the handwritten annotations on the sleeves imbue the series with a sense of loss or absence.
Born in the Bronx, NY, in 1959, Bartley received her BFA from Purchase College, SUNY, and she lives and works in Wainscott, NY. Her work has been exhibited in numerous institutions including The Queens Museum, NY; The Walker Art Center, Minneapolis; Houston Center for Photography; The Drawing Room, East Hampton, NY; Parrish Art Museum, Southampton, NY; The Watermill Center, NY; and National Museum of Archeology and Ethnology, Guatemala City. Bartley has taken part in numerous residencies, including at The Queens Museum, NY; Visual Studies Workshop, Rochester, NY; and Watermill Center, NY.
Recognitions include Photolucida’s Critical Mass Top 50 Photographers in 2011, 2012, and 2013; and a first place Lucie International Photography Award in 2012 for her series Artists and Models.
Mary Ellen Bartley uses photography to explore the physical and formal qualities of the printed book and its potential for abstraction. By emphasizing the unique “aura” and materiality of printed matter, Bartley’s work offers a celebration of textural and tactile properties, a particularly potent act in this increasingly digital age.
Bartley continues to borrow from the conventions of abstract painting in Push 2 Stops (2014). These photographs of empty photo sleeves arranged on a lightbox recall the Suprematist paintings of Kazimir Malevich, while the handwritten annotations on the sleeves imbue the series with a sense of loss or absence.
Born in the Bronx, NY, in 1959, Bartley received her BFA from Purchase College, SUNY, and she lives and works in Wainscott, NY. Her work has been exhibited in numerous institutions including The Queens Museum, NY; The Walker Art Center, Minneapolis; Houston Center for Photography; The Drawing Room, East Hampton, NY; Parrish Art Museum, Southampton, NY; The Watermill Center, NY; and National Museum of Archeology and Ethnology, Guatemala City. Bartley has taken part in numerous residencies, including at The Queens Museum, NY; Visual Studies Workshop, Rochester, NY; and Watermill Center, NY.
Recognitions include Photolucida’s Critical Mass Top 50 Photographers in 2011, 2012, and 2013; and a first place Lucie International Photography Award in 2012 for her series Artists and Models.
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The Present as FoundOctober 2–23, 2026The divergent creative practices of this year’s Zvono Award finalists – Ljiljana Arsić, Isidora Branković, Mustafa Mlinarević, and Emina Veladžić – have shaped a media-heterogeneous, methodologically diverse, and conceptually multilayered exhibition.
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Ryuichi SakamotoComposer / MusicianIf Ryuichi Sakamoto had been born in 16th century Italy, we’d know what to call him: a Renaissance Man. But since he was born in Japan in the mid-20th century, we have to string together words like composer, musician, producer, actor, and environmental activist.
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Arnold J. Kemp: Not One ThingJul 28 – Dec 6, 2026
Arnold J. Kemp: Not One Thing is the first institutional survey of work by the Chicago-based artist Arnold J. Kemp (b. 1968, Boston). The exhibition focuses on Kemp’s performative and material tendencies of masking, traced through various media.
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Iris van Herpen: Sculpting the SensesMay 16 – Dec 6, 2026
Van Herpen transcends conventional clothing norms while embracing both traditional couture artisanship and innovative techniques. Ranging from the micro to the macro, the exhibition explores the body’s place in space…
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Art Week Tokyo 2026November 4–8, 2026
Art Week Tokyo 2026 expands its activation of the city’s diverse array of museums and art spaces. New institutional highlights include Nam June Paik: The 20th Anniversary of His Passing at Watari-um…
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Mohammed Sami: HostlessOct 3, 2026 – Jan 3, 2027In his new body of work Hostless, Mohammed Sami focuses predominantly on internal spaces. The paintings become a site for mnemonic processes, mental operations in which abstraction falters and something unsettling begins to seep through.
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Oulu2026: PlayJan 14 – Dec 31, 2026Fotografiska Tallinn brings a photo exhibition to Finland for the first time. Entitled PLAY, the group exhibition is part of the European Capital of Culture programme...
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The Wild Gene / Ivana FischerSep 18 – Nov 7, 2026“Childhood is a frightening place. Only when considered from a great distance, whether that be across space or time, can it appear carefree and idyllic. Because growing up is always marked by changes that cannot be controlled...
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Todd Hido: #2424-1, 1999 / #3878, 2005from the series Between the TwoPrinted Matter is thrilled to announce the second [#2424-1, 1999] and third [#3878, 2005] in a series of three fundraising Risograph-print editions by the artist Todd Hido. These two images bookend Hido’s most recent Risograph print...
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Making Futures 2026: International Research ConferenceOctober 29–31, 2026For its 2026 international conference, Making Futures (TM) will explore the relationship between objects, material intelligence and the emotional encounters we design with and through the natural world around us.
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Robert Rauschenberg & the NewsFeb 19, 2026 – Jan 4, 2027The New School Art Collection and the Vera List Center for Art and Politics are pleased to present Robert Rauschenberg & the News: Select Prints from The New School Art Collection...
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Tina BerningARTIST / ILLUSTRATORTina Berning (b. 1969 / Braunschweig, Germany) is a Berlin based artist and illustrator. After working as a graphic designer for several years, she began to focus on drawing and Illustration.
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Submit to ArtpilYear Round / InternationalArtpil is accepting submissions of Profiles, Articles, and Announcements. With a focus on modern + contemporary arts, Artpil provides stories, event news, exhibition guides and interviews, featuring profiles of artists of all disciplines...
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Inferno & ParadisoJun 26 – Nov 1, 2026Inferno & Paradiso is an immersive slide-projection exhibition created by Alfredo Jaar, one of the most socially active artists of our day. For this show, Jaar selected 20 contemporary reportage photographers and asked each of them to choose two images from their archives...
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I Want To See A Lighthouseby Gary Briechle
Gary Briechle’s practice is disciplined, almost monastic. Every day roving around Rockland, Maine in an SUV loaded with chemicals, looking at the same mundane scenes and subjects, but expecting different results.
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Wolf TonesOct 3, 2026 – Apr 4, 2027
Wolf Tones presents the work of six artists as a refracted analogy of an acoustic phenomenon. The wolf tone is an irregular vibration produced by a musical instrument such as the cello. It is the result of an acoustic conflict produced by its wooden body.
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40th Anniversary Archival PresentationMar 19 – Dec 20, 2026The MIT List Visual Arts Center traces its origins to the Hayden Gallery (founded in 1950), which brought artists and the MIT community together through diverse exhibitions and residency projects.
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Lotta Antonsson: I Am EverythingApr 25 – Nov 29, 2026One of Sweden’s leading contemporary photographers, Lotta Antonsson, is coming to Fotografiska with I Am Everything. In this exhibition, the artist explores themes of gender, identity, and objectification within a visual world
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