Makers & Mentors is a new exhibition celebrating the artwork and influence of one of the region’s most well-known and accomplished artists, Carl Chiarenza. In addition to his successful career as an exhibiting artist, Chiarenza taught Art History and the History of Photography, and mentored many other artists. Joining Chiarenza in Makers & Mentors are three accomplished artists who have been influenced by Chiarenza in different ways: Lisa Bradley, Bruno Chalifour, and David W. Haas. The exhibition also premiers Chiarenza’s new series of one-of-a-kind collages.

RoCo's Makers & Mentors exhibition series highlights the importance of art education in the Western/Central New York Region and celebrates the artwork and influence of the region’s most accomplished artists. The exhibition series includes Mid/Late career artists exhibiting alongside their former students, many of whom are now educators themselves.

About the Artists

Carl Chiarenza (Rochester, NY) is an internationally renowned abstract photographer. As the first person in the US to receive a PhD in the History of Photography, Chiarenza has been an important figure in the Boston, New York, and Rochester art communities for over fifty years. His influence on the field of art photography has been significant, and Chiarenza’s photographs can be found in several monographs and many photographic history texts. Chiarenza’s idiosyncratic use of unlikely materials and his development of an unusual visual language have made his work uniquely recognizable. In a departure from his typical working methods, Makers & Mentors features a new, never-exhibited series of actual collages. Chiarenza’s work has been shown in many exhibitions around the world including solo exhibitions at the High Museum of Art, the Minneapolis Institute of Fine Arts, the George Eastman Museum, the Mead Museum of Art, the Tampa Museum of Art, the International Center of Photography, and the Cleveland Museum of Art. His work is represented in the collections of over 50 museums including the Getty Museum, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Bibliotheque Nationale (France), and the Kiyosato Museum of Photographic Arts (Japan). Makers & Mentors also features a new video interview with Chiarenza about his artwork, influences, and role as a mentor.

Lisa Bradley (New York, NY) is an established and celebrated abstract painter who has been actively working and exhibiting in New York City for many years. Bradley studied the History of Photography with Chiarenza during her time at Boston University. Bradley’s artwork has been exhibited in group and solo exhibitions in the US and internationally, including the Hollis Taggart Galleries, the E.M. Donahue Gallery, and the Kaj Forblom Gallery (Finland), as well as numerous museums across the US including the New Orleans Museum of Art, the Delaware Art Museum, the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art, the Weisman Art Museum, and the Brenau University Galleries. She is prominently featured in the film Herb & Dorothy 50x50, about the storied art collectors Herb and Dorothy Vogel. Bradley is currently represented by the Hollis Taggart Galleries. Makers & Mentors features a selection of her recent large-scale oil paintings and works on paper.

Bruno Chalifour (Rochester, NY) is a photographer, writer, and educator. Born in France, Bruno received an MFA from The University of Buffalo and now lives in Rochester. A significant figure in the Rochester art community, Chalifour has held various teaching positions, and is a tireless advocate for the thoughtful consideration of the photographic medium. Chalifour and Chiarenza have had a long-running, informal exchange about each other’s work and the field of photography. His work has been included in exhibitions at the George Eastman Museum, the Center at High Falls, and The Williams Gallery, among many others. Makers & Mentors includes selected images, diptychs, and triptychs from Chalifour’s major, ongoing project related to the landscape of Mendon Ponds Park in Rochester, NY.

David W. Haas (Allentown, PA) is a landscape and documentary photographer, educator, and master photographic printer. Haas received an MFA from The University of Delaware. His work has been exhibited at The University of the Arts in Philladelphia and the National Building Museum in Washington DC. Photos by Haas are included in the collections of The Philadelphia Museum of Art, The Library of Congress, and The Museum of Contemporary Photography, among others. His new work, exhibited in Makers & Mentors for the first time, explores abstraction in obvious and commonplace environments.