In the Woods, at the Dead of Night - Exhibition at Blue Raven Gallery

In the Woods, at the Dead of Night – Exhibition at Blue Raven Gallery by Jake BenzingerNovember 3, 2024

In the Woods, at the Dead of Night, is a multi-disciplinary group exhibition, at Blue Raven Gallery, displaying a collective reverence for the land and storytelling, investigating the nocturnal beauty of folklore, belief, and mysticism.

Through their relationships with the natural world, these artists imbue their work with stories inspired by mythos; constructing narratives that explore the complexities of storytelling, ritual, fiction, and the paranormal, at times, distorting the natural world, creating a beautiful otherworldly experience.

The exhibition is on view in Rockland, Maine, from October 18th – November 16th, 2024, and features artists: Dylan Hausthor, Elena Helfrecht, Tabitha Barnard, Pia Paulina Guilmoth, Morganna Magee, Jp Gibson, Sari Soininen, and Annika Earley.

The exciting opportunity of curating an exhibition, themed around the eerieness of Fall in New England, was presented to me last June. However, beneath the surface of a show visually and aesthetically in tune with Halloween, the artists featured in, In the Woods, at the Dead of Night, are all deeply intertwined and conceptually complimentary of one another. Showcasing both Maine-based artists, and a few international artists, from Germany, Finland, and Australia, the exhibition is a showcase of post-documentarian work exploring similar themes and ideas across the world.

Many of the artists create work within the space between fact and fiction, thinking about how constructed narratives can arise when considering photography as a mode of mythmaking. Drawing upon folklore, fairy tales, and self-created mythos, there is a lot of commonality and threads between all of the artists. Mixing both color and black and white work, the strong conceptual ties allow for each of their unique aesthetics to stand alone while also complimenting one another.

Alongside utilizing photography as a tool for creating narratives, the work also displays a collective reverence for the land, with thoughtful consideration of each artist’s geographical location. Through referencing stories specific to an area, or the ecological system that occupies it, each artist thinks deeply about the land; some even use it as a stage for imagination and world-building, constructing images that blur the lines of reality.

The curation of In the Woods, at the Dead of Night, came naturally to me. The exhibition includes most of my favorite artists, and I am fortunate enough to have many of them be friends and collaborators. Before having the wonderful opportunity to put this exhibition together, I already had a lot of these artists grouped in my mind. So, it was just a matter of selecting a cohesive collection of images and covering a wide range of subject matter.

The result is an exciting collection of photographs and artists that feels quite special. In academia, especially, many of these artists are currently popular and influential for emerging artists, so to have so many of them exhibiting together, coming from all over the world, is pretty unique.

Alongside curating the exhibiting artists, I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to bring in some incredible books as well. Available at the gallery, and online, are some pretty amazing photography books, most published by independent presses. Included are books published by Overlapse, VOID, Origini, Stanley/Barker, Tall Poppy Press, Valley Books, wych elm, and some self-published works as well, which include books by the artists already in the show, and additional projects that fit the conceptual space being explored.

Many of the books are rare, and a bunch are from small editions or are nearly sold out, so it’s an exciting chance to get your hands on these incredible works!

The closing reception of, In the Woods, at the Dead of Night, is on November 16th, 2024, from 4:00 – 6:30 p.m. featuring artist talks by Dylan Hausthor and Tabitha Barnard.

All of the exhibiting artists’ work, and the gallery’s collection of curated books, are available online as well. Click to View.

Blue Raven Gallery is based in Rockland, Maine and represents beautifully executed contemporary artwork from a diverse group of established artists. They value work that is innovative, that presents the artist’s unique voice, and that engages its viewer intellectually, emotionally, and visually. Blue Raven Gallery offers a curated selection of outstanding photographers, painters, and sculptors that are memorable and unique, connecting their client’s vision to the art they seek.

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Jake Benzinger (he/him) is a photographer, book artist, and writer based in Rockland, Maine; he received his BFA in photography from Lesley University, College of Art and Design in Cambridge, MA. His work explores self-created mythos, through the dislocation of space, he weaves together imagery to construct a world that exists in the liminal. He utilizes the medium to explore a world between fiction and reality, investigating themes of identity, mysticism, animism, and death.

His work has recently been featured by Float Magazine, Transference Magazine, and Fraction Magazine, and has been exhibited both nationally and internationally. Jake’s body of work, Like Dust Settling in a Dim-Lit Room (Or Starless Forest), was self-published, shortlisted for the 2023 Lucie Photo Book Prize, and sold out of its first edition of hardcover books. A second edition was released in late 2023, coinciding with a solo show at the Griffin Museum of Photography.

Jake is currently the assistant gallery manager, associate curator of photography, and curator of books at Blue Raven Gallery, a content editor for Lenscratch, and the founder/director of wych elm press.

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Tags: Exhibition, Exhibition Reviews, Gallery Exhibition, Maine, Maine Photography, Mythos, Photography Book, Photography Books, post-document