The St. Johnsbury Athenaeum will host a photography exhibit titled "The Bellows Brothers" from July through September in the Hall Gallery. The show features work by Robert C. Jenks, a fourth-generation photographer from St. Johnsbury, and James A. Kipfer, a fine art photographer based in Alna, Maine.
Jenks's family studio, Jenks Studio, was founded in 1886 by his great-grandfather William H. Jenks. After graduating from culinary school in 1979, Jenks chose to work for his father and took over the studio in 1986. He believes the studio may be the oldest family-run photography business in the United States, noting that other studios may have operated longer but were eventually sold outside the family. The exhibit will include images by Jenks's great-grandfather, grandfather, and father, as well as his own work, including a recent portrait of Stevie Van Zandt of the E Street Band and a photo for the Malvado Maple Mezcal label produced by St. Johnsbury Distillery.
Kipfer describes himself as a photo-documentarian who focuses on places with distinct character at risk of disappearing through natural change or cultural homogenization. He uses large-format view cameras and gelatin silver film, producing contact prints that he says capture detail and depth beyond what modern digital images can achieve.
The exhibit is free, ADA accessible, and open to the public. An artists' reception will be held July 18 from 4 to 5 p.m., offering attendees a chance to meet the photographers.
Originally reported by The North Star Monthly.
Photo: Artaxerxes (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0). Photo is illustrative and not from the scene.
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