Nothing captures a moment in time quite like photography. When photographers gather images over years, the work can become a kind of living history.
The University Art Gallery at Sonoma State University in Rohnert Park offers two perspectives on the power of photography with new exhibitions opening Sept. 3.
“Mere Seconds,” featuring 16 photographs by San Francisco photographer Andrew Owen, examines the ecological effects of recent cycles of megafires and floods across California, including burned terrain and fields stained by fire retardant.
“Burned Books” by Andrew Owen is part of the “Mere Seconds” photo exhibition opening Sept. 3 at the Sonoma State University Art Gallery. (Courtesy of the Sonoma State University Art Gallery)
“Dark Pools – Apuučen Aawmko” by Mercedes Dorame is part of the “Insight/Incite 20/20” photo exhibit opening Sept. 3 at the Sonoma State University Art Gallery. (Courtesy of the Sonoma State University Art Gallery)
The series grew out of Owen’s extensive travels documenting communities and environments shaped by extreme weather. Most of the photographs were made between 2020 and 2026, primarily with a 4-by-5-inch view camera.
One photograph shows a cobalt-blue Jeep buried in snow, with only its front end visible.
“After the epic snowfall in the early months of 2023, I asked a firefighter in Truckee where the heaviest snow had fallen,” Owen said. “He pointed me to Soda Springs, a residential area near Donner Summit.”
It was mid-April, he recalled, and snow covered the homes nearly to their roofs. Neighborhood streets had been carved into 15-foot-tall walls of snowpack.
“On Soda Springs Road, I came upon this Jeep in the morning poking through the edge of what looked like a glacier,” Owen said.
Owen began working on the series on Sept. 9, 2020, when wildfire smoke turned the San Francisco sky orange. The haze was caused by smoke from the North Complex Fire and more than 20 other wildfires burning across California.
Since then, he has documented episodes of ecological disruption and moments of striking natural beauty across the state, exploring what scholar Morton Paley called the “Apocalyptic Sublime” — an aesthetic sensibility rooted in awe, terror and vastness.
Owen’s work has been published online by The New York Times and exhibited at Small Works Projects, CULT Aimee Friberg and Book and Job Gallery in San Francisco. He is a former National Geographic Young Explorers grantee and a graduate of Georgetown University.
“Insight/Incite 20/20” celebrates PhotoAlliance of San Francisco’s 20th anniversary with a portfolio curated by its founder, Linda Connor. The exhibition features work by 20 local, national and international artists, exploring themes including identity, community, migration, environmental change, social justice and belonging.
Among the participating artists are Wesaam Al-Badry, Binh Danh, Linda Connor, Lewis Watts, Mercedes Dorame and North Bay resident Zack Schomp, who previously taught photography at SSU.
Together, the exhibitions reflect the range of contemporary photography, using the medium to examine both the changing landscape and the human experiences that shape it.
The two exhibitions were guest-curated by Bay Area artist and Bass & Reiner Gallery co-founder Chris Grunder, who also taught at SSU.
The Sonoma State University Art Gallery is in its 48th year of offering free exhibitions to the community.
“We are planning for our 50th anniversary already,” Malloy said. “We’re really excited that we’ve been able to remain admission-free.”
IF YOU GO
What: “Mere Seconds + Insight/Incite 20/20”
When: Sept. 3-Oct. 17; noon to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.
Where: Sonoma State University Art Gallery, Art Building 128, 1801 E. Cotati Ave., Rohnert Park.
Admission: Free. Daily parking permits are required and may be purchased at pay stations in each campus parking lot.
Information: artgallery.sonoma.edu, 707- 664-2295
Events
Sept. 3: Opening reception, 4-6 p.m.
Sept. 17: Sena Clara Creston, SSU associate professor of art, in conversation with artist Andrew Owen, noon-1 p.m.
Oct. 3: Panel discussion featuring artist Andrew Owen and guest artist Emma Reeves, 1-2 p.m.
RSVP by Aug. 31 by contacting Leigh McTaggart at mctaggle@sonoma.edu or 707-664-3049.