Focus: The Portrait

Theme: Portraiture

Black Box Gallery will host a juried group photography exhibition on contemporary portrait photography. Pose and Gesture, Image and Identity, Documentary and Street, Constructed Narrative, Self Portrait, Environmental, Vernacular and Snapshot, Fashion and Nude, all have visual arguments to make in the world of portraiture photography. What is the character, attitude and expression that binds this genre together?

Juror: Amy Arbus

Photographer Amy Arbus has published five books, including the award winning On the Street 1980-1990 and The Inconvenience of Being Born. The New Yorker called The Fourth Wall her masterpiece. Her most recent, After Images, is an homage to modernism's most iconic avant-garde paintings. Her advertising clients include Chiat/Day, Foote, Cone and Belding, American Express, Saatchi & Saatchi, SpotCo, New Line Cinema and Nickelodeon. Her photographs have appeared in over one hundred periodicals around the world, including New York Magazine, People, Aperture and The New York Times Magazine. She teaches portraiture at the International Center of Photography, NORDphotography, Anderson Ranch and The Fine Arts Work Center. Amy Arbus is represented by The Schoolhouse Gallery in Massachusetts. She has had twenty-five solo exhibitions worldwide, and her photographs are a part of the collection of The National Theater in Norway, The New York Public Library and The Museum of Modern Art in New York.

To view Amy's work please visit her website.

Deadline: February 10

Exhibition Dates: March 1-20, 2015
Opening Reception: Friday March 6, 6-8:00 pm

Each exhibition will have 24 photographs included by the juror for exhibiton at the gallery.

An additional 30 photographs will be selected for exhibition in our on-line gallery annex.

All 54 photographs from the show will be included in a catalog available for purchase on Blurb Books.

Rules/Guidelines: Black Box will provide Free printing, Free matting and Free framing for all of our exhibitions. The photographers who are selected into the exhibition by the juror will provide a high resolution Tiff or JPEG file for our gallery to print.

We have 18” x 24” black frames. Our white mats are pre cut for 12” x 18”, 12” x 12” and 12” x 16” prints (we also have a few other odd sized matts). We print on an Epson Stylus Pro archival ink jet printer, on Epson Premium Luster Photo paper, in a color-calibrated environment. This is a very accurate custom print, just like a custom lab would print, we have over 20 years of custom printing experience.

All exhibition prints will be kept in a flat file after the show for future sale and promotion for the photographer. This will allow the gallery to further promote our photographers and exhibitions to collectors, curators, critics and to the general public. Black Box will shread all gallery prints after 5 years of exhibition in the flat files.

File agreement for accepted photographers: Black Box will only print one exhibition print. If there is a sale inquiry, the photographer will be notified before a sale is confirmed, edition information will be discussed with photographer, the photographer will be sent a authentication document to be signed and go with the print to the collector. No sale or printing of file will happen without prior consent and agreement of photographer. All rights remain to the file and print with the photographer, to be used only with their prior consent. Exhibition print will not be sold, but used in our flatfile at Black Box Gallery only to promote the photographers work.

Black Box Gallery takes a 50% commission on all sales, 50% goes to the photographer. If artist prefers the print does not have to be for sale. Print will be for exhibition and promotion only.

Notification: All photographers will be notified 7-12 days after the deadline about juror selections.

Entry Fee: $35 per entry (an entry includes up to 5 photos). Use Pay Pal or send check to:

If sending a check: please indicate sending a check in the email submission.

Black Box Gallery, 811 East Burnside St. # 212, Portland Oregon 97214.

How to apply: Send in the entry fee and then send an email to: info.blackboxgallery@gmail.com

Title the email: Focus: The Portrait

In the body of the email please include the following info:

Your Name
Exhibition Name
Titles of Included Photos with corresponding file name
Attach up to 5 photos, as instructed below

File Set Up: Jpeg files, 1024 pixels on the longest side at 72 DPI, 3MB or less each (saved).

Name Files: firstname_lastname1.jpg, firstname_lastname2.jpg, firstname_lastname3.jpg, etc…

Eligibility: The exhibition is open to all photographers world wide, both amateur and professional.

Copyright: All rights to the photographs remain with the photographer.

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