Dreams and Reality: BAPC at stARTup SF 2019
stARTup’s mission is to champion under-recognized artists, and to empower them in their careers. This includes working with artist collectives and non-profits who sustain diverse communities of working artists.
At stARTup SF 2019 we’re excited to exhibit work from the Bay Area Photographers Collective (BAPC), one of our non-profit partners. This collective provides a home base for Bay Area photographers devoted to their art, and encourages independence, experimentation, cooperation, and creativity through monthly portfolio reviews, bimonthly salons, and frequent workshops, artist talks, and exhibition opportunities. Currently, they comprise between 20-30 photographers, working in all aspects of the photographic arts.
In Room 305, nine BAPC photographers will showcase works building on their recent show On Dreams and Reality, curated by Ann Jastrab. Here is a preview of seven photographers you can find at stARTup San Francisco!
Born and raised in Washington, DC, Rose Borden moved to Oakland, CA nine years ago after spending more than a decade in New York, NY. She is a photographer who shoots mostly digitally and prefers to use existing light to shoot mainly black and white abstract / experimental images and interesting captures while traveling. She is obsessed with showing the world in a unique way, but with very little manipulation.
As a current member of the Bay Area Photographers Collective (BAPC), starting April 16th, 2019, Rose will be showing work in Kyoto as part of the Kyotographie International Photography Festival. Recently, she exhibited as part of a juried show with members of Professional Women Photographers (PWP) in Manhattan.
A graduate of The George Washington University in Washington, DC, she earned a B.A. in Psychology with a double minor in Fine Art/Art History and Sociology. Rose works as a digital photo retoucher for clients in San Francisco and nationally.
Ari Salomon’s work focuses on reinterpreting the tradition of street photography. His process is based in the performative process of discovering candid people and places and give it a twist. He is also interested in how photography can reveal the nature and limitations of human perception. He loves the poetic contrast presented by making art about the grand qualities of the mundane.
Ari was born in Israel, raised in San Diego and is now based in San Francisco. He received a B.A. from U.C. Santa Cruz in 1993 in Art History with a focus on contemporary art theory and photography. Ari is both a photographer and a web designer.
Linda Fitch’s interest in night photography happened early on and remains my primary focus where she often travel abroad to remote places. Working alone and uninterrupted is an integral part of her creative process. Being a traditional black and white film photographer, Linda finds inspiration and satisfaction creating images in her own darkroom. It is a slow and deliberate process that fulfills her need for the “hands-on” experience.
Angelika Schilli fell in love with photography at a young age. She likes transforming ordinary things into extraordinary visual surprises with the help of her camera.
Angelika has been a member of the Bay Area Photographer Collective for over 18 years. She has exhibited her work in a variety of juried shows, including the Berkeley Art Center, Corden Potts Gallery, Harvey Milk Photo Center, Mendocino Art Center, RayKo, and San Francisco City Hall, as well as at the A. Smith Gallery in Texas, the Photo Place Galley in Vermont, and the Soho Photo Gallery in New York City.
Jason Andrescavage is concerned with photography that tells stories, relates experiences, and reveals people as dynamic subjects. Drawing inspiration from legacy styles and processes, his goal with portraiture is to portray universal struggles with a sense of larger-than-life urgency. In his work Jason strives to depict his subjects in ways that simultaneously expose more than the everyday facade, yet also allude to further barriers left standing. He is equally drawn to what is being hidden from view as well as what is being shown. People interact with the world through the measured use of overt mannerisms and hidden thoughts. Jason’s aim is to take account of the evidence of this balancing act.
Jason has been making photographs for 15 years, concentrating on traditional film and wet darkroom techniques. He is an alumni of the photography program at City College of San Francisco, and in January of 2014 he earned a Masters Degree in Photography from Kingston University, London. His personal practice centers on portraiture and fashion, and when not creating photographs, he is a photography and darkroom teacher.
Adrienne Defendi is an artist whose work explores family narratives, changing perspectives, and the fragility of life. Her lifelong interests in memory and myth, narrative and nostalgia, inform and contextualize her photographic expression. She lives and works in the San Francisco Bay Area.
A member of the Bay Area Photographers Collective for seventeen years, Adrienne has exhibited her work nationally and internationally. Her work has been included in many juried exhibitions, including shows at RayKo Photo Gallery, Berkeley Art Center, SFMOMA Artist’s Gallery in Fort Mason, Triton Museum of Art, the Center for Photographic Art in Carmel, Cordon Potts Gallery in San Francisco, Marin Museum of Contemporary, and SOHO Photo, NYC. She has exhibited her work internationally at the Czong Contemporary Art Institute (CICA), South Korea, in the Photo Yokohama Festival, Japan, and in the PH1 Contemporary Photography Gallery in Hungary. A 2015 Critical Mass finalist, her work has been featured in the publications LensWork, Seeing in SIXES, Don’t Smile, Shots, Light Leaks, and B&W Magazine, as well as online in “LenScratch,” “Your Daily Photograph,” “Don’t Take Pictures,” and “All About Photo.”
Gene Dominique is a longtime Bay Area resident, an area he refers to as “an inspiring place to call home after life as a professional nomad.” Gene earned a BA degree from San Jose State University, studying journalism and photography. After earning a law degree from UC Hastings College of the Law Gene practiced privately and with a large financial services firm where he specialized in insurance issues. In 2015 Gene completed a thirty year legal career and returned to his art practice full-time.
Gene's explorations in photography encompasses a deep dive into a variety of ideas including documentary, abstract, still-life and portraiture.
Since 2018 Gene has been working on a photo doc series featuring African American farmers from around the country. The series is called Still Here – African American Farmers in the 21st Century. The series is a long term exploration into the lives of black farmers illustrating their successes and challenges in the current economic, political and social era.
You can find a complete list of our SF 2019 Non-Profit and Community Partners on our Sponsors page.
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Feature by Content Curator Mica England