Summer's Waning & Botanical Regenerations

Meg Birnbaum

So High

Meg Birnbaum has won a wide range of awards for her photographs. Works have been shown at The Somerville Museum, Willoughby & Baltic Gallery, The Newton Free Library, Holyoke Center at Harvard University and included in the fall 2005 issue of The Harvard Review. Birnbaum was the first place winner of a national juried all-media show at Fitton Center for Creative Arts, Hamilton OH. All of the photographs appearing in the Belmont Gallery show were hand printed using a traditional wet darkroom. Images of Birnbaum's work can be found here.

This show at the Belmont Gallery incorporates two different bodies of work. "Summer's Waning" is the newest series. Says Birnbaum: "In these photographs I hope to revive summer memories, the mysteries, the magic and wonder. July holds such promise and possibility but August brings the growing anxiety of summer half over, of goodbyes and endings. August is a state of mind warmly intertwined with nature's essential elements."

What Remains

Of the other series "Botanical Regenerations", Birnbaum says "It is about the biological process - a curious beauty won by stamina, resiliency and endurance in the service of a reproductive imperative. By removing these objects from their natural environments and presenting them center stage, I hope to grant even the most humble of subjects the quiet grandure it deserves. The scale of the prints provides the viewer a larger-than life intimate view of these commonly overlooked natural objects."

Exhibitions/Awards:

2006

"Body of Art" exhibition at Willoughby & Baltic Gallery, Somerville, MA. One photograph chosen for inclusion in exhibition, four photographs chosen for publication in show monograph.

Third prize awarded in the annual "Krappy Kamera" competition at SoHo Photo in NYC.

2005

One photograph chosen for inclusion in "Prospecting for Art: Found Objects and the Creative Process" exhibited at The Somerville Museum.

Third prize awarded in the photography category of the 50th Annual Art's Festival held at the South Shore Art Center, Cohasset, MA.

Five photographs chosen for inclusion in the national annual open competition at The Housatonic Museum of Art, Bridgeport, CT.

Photograph chosen for inclusion in the annual photography competition at The Stebbins Gallery, Cambridge, MA. June 2005

Photograph chosen for inclusion in the annual 'Members Only' competition of The Texas Photographic Society, February 2005

2004

Two works accepted into "Native Flora: Botanical Treasures" competition at The South Shore Art Center, Cohasset, MA.

Solo exhibition at the Newton Free Library, Newton, MA.

Solo exhibition at the exhibition space in Holyoke Center at Harvard University.

Juried photography competition at The Brush Gallery, Lowell, MA. Two works selected, one awarded third place prize. Juror: Ron Rosenstock of Clark University.

2003

National juried all-media show at Fitton Center for Creative Arts, Hamilton, Ohio. $1,000 first place prize awarded in the fine art category.

Annual juried "Art of the Northwest" competition, Nicolet College, Rhinelander, WI. The photograph was purchased by the college for their permanent collection.

National juried all-media show sponsored by The Cambridge Artist's Association. Juror: Marc Pachter, director of the National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian, in Washington, DC.

Shared show at the exhibition space in Holyoke Center at Harvard University.

2002

Open studios participation at the Boston Photo Collaborative, Jamaica Plains, MA.

Group exhibit at Radcliffe's Schlesinger Library at Harvard University.

Publications

2006

Camera Arts Magazine, May/June.

2005

Four photographs in the Fall issue of the Harvard Review.