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September 13, 2025 — October 4, 2025
COMBINES 11 — Robert Treat
(S)LIGHT OF HAND 2025 is a juried exhibition of alternative and historic photographic processes. The exhibition showcases a range of imaginative approaches and diverse photographic techniques that blend light, chemistry, and artistry.
Aline Smithson is an interdisciplinary artist, editor, filmmaker, and educator based in Los Angeles, California. Best known for her conceptual portraiture and a practice that uses humor and pathos to explore the performative potential of photography. She received a BA in Art from the University of California at Santa Barbara and was accepted into the College of Creative Studies, studying under artists such as William Wegman, Allen Rupersburg, and Charles Garabedian. After a career as a New York Fashion Editor working alongside some of the greats of fashion photography, Smithson returned to Los Angeles and her own artistic practice.
She has exhibited widely including over 50 solo shows at institutions such as the Griffin Museum of Photography, the Fort Collins Museum of Contemporary Art, the Shanghai, Lishui, and Pingyqo Festivals in China, The Rayko Photo Center in San Francisco, the Center of Fine Art Photography in Colorado, the Tagomago Gallery in Barcelona and Paris, and the Arnika Dawkins Gallery in Atlanta. Smithson is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Lenscratch, a daily journal on photography, and has been an educator at the Los Angeles Center of Photography since 2001. Her work is held in significant public collections including the Los Angeles County Art Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, the Crocker Art Museum, and the Santa Barbara Art Museum.
It was a complete privilege to juror the 2025 Alternative Processes Exhibition for the Photographer's Eye Collective and Gallery. I have spent the last week immersed in photographs, revisiting and reconsidering each image. It was an exciting and daunting process, and, in the end, I first selected almost 200 works…about 4 times the amount that fit on gallery walls. So, thank you for submitting excellent work and making my decisions so difficult! It was inspiring to see the range of imaginative approaches and the array of processes, such as Polymer Photogravure/Intaglio, Encaustic Photogravure, Photogram with lumen overprinting, and toned cyanotypes. Please know that this was not a cursory examination, but a long, hard look at your work.
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Over the last decade, we have witnessed a return to alternative and historic processes, particularly reinvigorated during the pandemic, as life afforded us time to slow down. But the tactile approach to creating photographic art has been growing steadily over the years, in response to digital photography that removed the artist's hand from the photographic experience. Using alternative and historical processes has allowed artists to celebrate the imperfect, to experience the physicality of photography, to embrace its unpredictability, and to create unique objects that are artful and meaningful.
The winning image by Robert Treat is a masterful combination of cyanotypes, using color and form to create something wholly new that is both art and photography. Special Mention winner Charlotte Hauksdottir continues to push the boundaries of what a photograph can be. The second Special Mention winner, Louise Russell, brings a level of excellence to her imagery and processes.
Congratulations to all the artists included in the 2025 Alternative and Historical Processes Exhibition.
Donna Cosentino
In a life dedicated to photography since 1971, Donna Cosentino has been a news photographer, museum docent, curator, educator, and leader in the photographic community. After thirty years of teaching photography, Donna retired and opened The Photographer’s Eye in Escondido, a gallery whose mission is to enlighten and educate the community on the history and art of photography through exhibitions and classes.
My passion for alternatively made photographic art has been an important part of my growth.
I have tried many processes and have taught several of them. Participating in the discovery, successes, and frustrations, and finally learning to embrace imperfections, is a wonderful experience for students and teachers alike.
This special affection has led me to create an annual juried exhibition of Alternative Processes hosted by our gallery. Artist and professor Suda House was the inspiration for the title, (S)Light of Hand, which references the magic that occurs when one embarks on this creative journey.
Donna Cosentino
