Camera USA 2015 + Pictures in Process

Highlighting contemporary art in its truest form, The von Liebig Art Center and the Naples Art Association welcome one of summer’s best art exhibitions, “Camera USA National Photography Exhibition and Award 2015,” its fifth installment. The groundwork for Camera USA 2015, a unique show for the regional art center, was laid in December 2014 when the Naples Art Association made a national call to artists for photography entries in color and black-and-white. This year, a total of 198 photographers submitted work, ranging in subject from the natural world, portraiture, photojournalism, and urban/human experience, to the abstract.

   Each photo was carefully vetted through a controlled jury process, led by three photography professionals: award-winning photojournalist Harry Benson; Patty Carroll, adjunct professor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago; and Ariel Shanberg, executive director of Center for Photography at Woodstock. These three photography professionals helped ensure the highest quality of work made it to the art center walls, resulting in a selection of 45 photographs representing 13 states, as well as all over Florida’s geographic region.

   “I think there is something for everyone [in this exhibit],” said Naples Art Association Curator, Jack O’Brien, adding “it shows a wonderful variety of photographs and styles from all over the country.”

   The jury process not only served as a way to select the 45 photographs for display in the exhibition in a fair and balanced approach, but also the conduit to nominate the recipient of the National Photography Award, a $5,000 prize for the photographer the jurors believed the most deserving. The winner of which will be announced on the exhibition’s opening reception on June 12 at 5:30 p.m.

• “Camera USA” will be on display June 15 through July 17, with a preview reception held on Friday, June 12 at 5:30 p.m. Admission for the preview reception costs $10 for non-members.

Running concurrently with “Camera USA” at The von Liebig Art Center, the exhibit “Pictures in Progress” will feature a collection of 35 recent black and white, and color photographs by Naples Art Association member artists. A non-themed exhibition, “Pictures in Process” includes images shot right here at home and abroad, including some rather striking landscapes, wildlife shots, portraits, and studio work.

• “Pictures in Process” will be on display June 15 through July 17.
• For more information, visit naplesart.org.

David Albers Little Blue Heron