Photography is just one medium used by the artists featured in the 2016 Summer Members’ Show. The clarity of landscape depiction and focus on dramatic lighting used by Julian Cherubini, Mark Hopkins, and Judith Monteferrante illuminate the walls of the Upper Gallery.

Judith Monteferrante, Good Harbor Beach, digital photography, 20 x 14 inches

Copley Artist Judith Monteferrante’s photograph, “Good Harbor Beach”, 20 x 14 inches, hangs on the left hand side of the Upper Gallery with a gold Third Place Award accolade. Monteferrante’s black and white digital photograph was bestowed recognition from the Show’s juror, Austen Bailley, curator of American Art at the Peabody Essex Museum. The stunning landscape features a striking house that sits upon a hillside, over looking Good Harbor Beach. In the foreground, dune grass highlights the darkness of the sand, which in return highlights the glimmering ocean water that is reflecting the sun’s rays. A large sheet of clouds dominates the horizon creating dramatic shadows in every crevice and opening intersection with the sky. Monteferrante captures the scene perfectly, highlighting this idealistic home on the harbor.

Julian Cherubini, Path and Bench, photography, 23 x 29 inches

Julian Cherubini’s black and white photograph “Path and Bench”, 23 x 29 inches, depicts a narrow sandy dirt path running through a marsh, viewed from what looks like a small wooden covered bridge. In addition to framing the photograph, the dark features of the bridge allow the natural skylight to cast over the marsh lands. The texture and clarity of the long grass and reeds contrast with the smoothness of the wood that makes up the bridge. The two constantly intersect with one another, giving the photograph plenty of surface. Cherubini’s piece immediately invites the viewer into the scene, making anyone feel as though he or she is standing on the bridge looking out into the marsh landscape.

Mark Hopkins, Out There, 17 x 27 inches

Alongside of Monteferrante, another Copley Artists’ photograph, Mark Hopkins’ “Out There”, 17 x 27 inches, focuses on the glistening ocean water. Hopkins’ electric seascape features a dense low saturated blue that lines the horizon, while also perfectly depicting the strength of the ocean current. The blissful current is emphasized by dramatic white features, reflective of the sun, that contrast with the strong blue that composes most of the photograph. A single diminutive boat sits slightly off to the left of the piece, providing context to Hopkins’ work. The boat is represented by a dark shadowed outline of two men sitting facing one another in harmony. Hopkins’ piece is strikingly simple and not to be missed.

Monteferrante, Cherubini, and Hopkins each allow gallery visitors to experience a significant moment that happened in these artists’ lives. The meaningful photographs shown in the 2016 Summer Members’ Show have been taken from moments in nature that were found to be beautiful and interesting. Each of these three photographs certainly speak to the emotions and reach the attention of anyone passing through the Upper Gallery.

By: Erin Shea