Away Game

John Vettese sees what develops

by John Vettese

What's a showcase of Yale University's M.F.A. photography class doing 180 miles south of New Haven?

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When Gallery 339 hosted the exhibit last year, the answer was more obvious. One of the prestigious program's 2008 graduates was noted Philadelphia photographer Sarah Stolfa. Her portrait series of McGlinchey's patrons, "The Regulars," drew national acclaim and had its last major showing at 339 the previous autumn. It stood to reason that Stolfa would show her M.F.A. work at the gallery representing her — and bring along some of her colleagues.

The exhibition's return raises more questions. Will it become a regular part of 339's programming? Do other galleries take it in, making it a touring exhibit of contemporary up-and-comers?

Martin McNamara of 339 responds with a favorite phrase of his. "It's a lot more informal than that."

The connection, it turns out, is still Stolfa. McNamara says she advocated for the younger class of M.F.A. students she befriended while at Yale. The showcase will also pop up in other locales with ties to the artists — Capricious Space in Brooklyn, Eighth Vale gallery in Los Angeles — but is hardly a touring series, since those venues are presenting heavily scaled-down versions, with only one or two pieces per artist. Because of 339's size, and because it dedicated almost all its wall space, the exhibit here is the fullest showcase these artists have received outside of Yale.

McNamara is excited to host the newest crop of fine art photographers at his gallery, without the responsibilities that come with representing artists long-term. He also likes taking a step, albeit a brief one, so far beyond the boundaries of what a commercial art gallery exhibits.

"The tenor of the show is a little bit more ... aggressively contemporary than we could show all the time," he says. "The spectrum of collectors in Philadelphia is broader, so ... to make things work as a commercial gallery you need work that's a bit more accessible."

Which is not to say the Yale work is entirely conceptual, or inaccessible. The best of it deals in duals. Dru Donovan's series of large-scale black-and-whites depict people fretting over outward appearances as a means of finding inward comfort — in the show's most singularly compelling image we see the extended arms of identical twins, each holding a round cosmetic mirror. One's reflection gazes apprehensively back at her face, the other assertively stares down the camera lens; the sensation is provocative, yet majestic.

Caitlin Price's work looks at the travails of aging women, their attempted composure amid ennui and restless free time; they slowly carry shopping bags on city sidewalks and block their eyes from the sun. Her subjects (as in Zdenka, pictured) are dignified and tragic.

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Some deliver a less literal but equally effective narrative. Colin Smith's stated goal is to explore tension and unease; in an untitled piece (so many works from this M.F.A. class go title-free), one of his subjects sits on a country driveway, leaning forward on an incline, while an umbrella tossed to the side of the road appears to split his skull.

There is also, however, a fair share of perplexing work that, to the lay viewer, would come across as simply obtuse. David La Spina looks at the concept of home, but frames his subjects from across the street and down the block, through a lengthy zoom. It makes the homes the central focus, but seems almost voyeuristic. And Catherine Maloney's lively but somewhat superficial work purports to study "movement, gesture and having men who are skinny take off their shirts for me." Well then.

This exhibition also gets points for atypical presentation. A few artists free-hang their work, mounted to metal backings. Elaine Stocki's rich platinum prints of candidly shot social groups are actually nailed through the paper, to the wall. McNamara finds the imagery beautiful, but shudders at the thought of presenting fine-art photographs without the protection of glass."I'd hate to sound like after four years in business I know everything," he says. "But I think the presentation is reflective of the artists not having been operating in the gallery world for as long."

Not that he's knocking Yale's M.F.A. Photo '09 group. "I do feel like it connects us in some way to some of what's very current, what's happening and coming out of the art schools."

(j_vettese@citypaper.net)

We Belong Together | Yale M.F.A. Photography 2009, through Aug. 29, Gallery 339, 339 S. 21st St., 215-731-1530, gallery339.com