Filter Photo

Filter Photo Filter Photo is a gallery space and festival organization dedicated to promoting contemporary photography. www.filterphoto.org
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Filter Photo is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) committed to serving and strengthening the greater photographic community, and in particular that of Chicago and the Midwest. Filter Photo operates Filter Space, a permanent gallery and project space, and organizes the annual Filter Photo Festival, both in Chicago. The Festival attracts photographers and photography experts from across the country and int

ernationally for several days of programming that includes artist talks, lectures, workshops, portfolio reviews, exhibition receptions, and more.

Huge thanks to Susan Aurinko (Susan Aurinko) and Newcity Chicago for a thoughtful review of our current exhibition: Locu...
08/05/2026

Huge thanks to Susan Aurinko (Susan Aurinko) and Newcity Chicago for a thoughtful review of our current exhibition: Locus of a Gesture, curated by Kristie Kahns.

She writes, “Three artists, each working differently yet harmoniously, are cleverly joined by curator Kristie Kahns, showing processes that employ the substrate of coated paper to diverse ends.”

Follow the link in our bio to read the full review and be sure to stop by this week for your last chance to view the exhibition or join us this Saturday for the closing reception!

x Kristie Kahns This is Kristie Kahns, concluding my takeover of the feed!Cameraless photographs like the works on v...
08/04/2026

x Kristie Kahns

This is Kristie Kahns, concluding my takeover of the feed!

Cameraless photographs like the works on view in “Locus of a Gesture” are part of a surge in experimental photographic work in recent decades, pushing the boundaries and capabilities of photosensitive materials. But these works also belong to a long trajectory of cameraless photographs, dating back to the inception of photography.

Photo historians, theorists, and curators have been situating these works within remarkable new scholarship in recent years, and this is a sampling of some of those publications. In particular, the writing of Kaja Silverman was at the forefront of my mind as I worked on this exhibition with , Dakota Mace, and Daniel Hojnacki.

Please join me this Saturday, August 8th from 2–4 PM at for a closing reception and discussion of these works, with an opportunity to peruse these books and discuss relevant writings. RSVP at the link in bio for access to suggested readings to enrich our discussion!

x Kristie Kahns This is Kristie Kahns, continuing my takeover of the feed today to discuss the works in“Locus of a G...
08/04/2026

x Kristie Kahns

This is Kristie Kahns, continuing my takeover of the feed today to discuss the works in
“Locus of a Gesture.”

Using the historical printmaking technique of cliché-verre, Daniel Hojnacki translates the ephemeral and subconscious patterns of daily life to create works that suggest connections between the body and the cosmos. Hojnacki’s practice has always been rooted in the darkroom, but when he began utilizing the cliché-verre technique as a graduate student at the University of New Mexico, he was able to synthesize his interests in drawing, gestural mark-making, poetry, astronomy, and experimental printmaking.

Some of his cliché-verre works are akin to Surrealist automatism, relinquishing control over the process of drawing upon the soot-covered glass plates to the wind or the subconscious. In the examples seen here, Hojnacki illustrates the definition of drawing articulated by Paul Klee: “taking a line for a walk.”

Images: [1] Daniel Hojnacki, Moving Freely (After Paul Klee) I, 2024, gelatin silver print made from cliché-verre. [2] Daniel Hojnacki, Automatic Drawing (wind, plants, air), 2024, gelatin silver print made from cliché-verre. [3] Daniel Hojnacki, Moving Freely (After Paul Klee) III, 2024, gelatin silver print made from cliché-verre. [4] Daniel Hojnacki, Seeds of Change (breath, seeds, body), 2024, gelatin silver print made from cliché-verre.

x Kristie Kahns This is Kristie Kahns, continuing my takeover of the feed today.The first works by Dakota Mace that ...
08/04/2026

x Kristie Kahns

This is Kristie Kahns, continuing my takeover of the feed today.

The first works by Dakota Mace that I encountered in person, also in the aforementioned exhibition Direct Contact at the Eskenazi Museum of Art at Indiana University, were a pair of silver gelatin cameraless photographs, marked by painterly drips and splatters of photo chemistry punctured by delicate patterns of red glass beads.

This diptych of chemigrams, Náhooks Biko’ I, presents a field of information about Diné cosmology and the design motifs that carry stories through ancestral lines of cultural practices. On view in “Locus of a Gesture” is the second variation of this diptych, Náhookos Biko’ lI, signifying the “central fire” of the night sky: the North Star.

These beaded chemigrams are distinct yet related to other series of chemigrams by Mace: Béésh Ligaii (Silver) and So’ (Stars). In these grids of forty gelatin silver chemigrams, Mace foregrounds the influence of the land and the stars in Diné design, transformed through the stories of silversmithing.

Symbolic motifs such as the Spider Woman and the Whirling Log, along with the intentional materiality and playful seriality of these works, demonstrate Mace’s synthesis of Diné philosophy, ancestral memory, design, and ardent experimentation.

Images: [1] Dakota Mace, Nahookos Biko’ I, 2022. [2] Dakota Mace, So’ II, Forty chemigrams, 5 × 7 inches each, 2022. [3] Dakota Mace, Béésh Ligaii II, Forty chemigrams, 5 × 7 inches each, 2022.

x Kristie Kahns Hi, this is Kristie Kahns, curator of the current exhibition “Locus of a Gesture” at . Today I’ll be ...
08/04/2026

x Kristie Kahns

Hi, this is Kristie Kahns, curator of the current exhibition “Locus of a Gesture” at . Today I’ll be sharing some insights about the artists featured in the exhibition, and how I encountered their work.

A seed for this exhibition was planted when I saw an exhibition in 2023 at the Eskenazi Museum of Art at Indiana University at Indiana University titled Direct Contact: Cameraless Photography Now. Curated by Lauren Richman, this expansive exhibition included an international roster of contemporary artists working with experimental photographic processes—and it was this exhibition that introduced me to the work of .

His large, collaged chemigram work titled Thrust was a standout in the exhibition for me, and I began to learn more about his work. The vigorous traces of his hand and the enigmatic shapes formed through the collage are elements that continue in his series “Looks Like Nothing,” currently on view in “Locus of a Gesture.”

Images: [1] David Ondrik, Thrust, 2022, gelatin silver paper on wood panel, 40 × 60 inches. Courtesy of the artist. [2] Installation view, Direct Contact: Cameraless Photography Now, 2023. Courtesy of Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University. Photo by Shanti Knight. [3] Installation view of title wall, Direct Contact: Cameraless Photography Now, 2023. Courtesy of Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University. Photo by Shanti Knight.

ICYMI here are a few highlights from our August Newsletter:1. Our Professional Development Webinar Series kicks off tomo...
08/03/2026

ICYMI here are a few highlights from our August Newsletter:

1. Our Professional Development Webinar Series kicks off tomorrow 8/4. Follow the link in our bio to register for the full series now to receive a discounted rate!
2. “The Big Picture: Midwest Large Format Asylum: Large Format Photography” opens at Chicago Cultural Center on 8/4
3. Join us for a closing reception for Locus of a Gesture this Saturday, 8/8 with curator Kristie Kahns
4. Leica Gallery Chicago is hosting Kenn Cook Jr. for a Zine Release + Conversation with Michal Raz-Russo Raz-Russo on 8/15
5. Light Slip: Archive, Abstraction, and Phenomena, a two-person exhibition by Sonja Thomsen and Aaron Turner, opens for viewing at on 8/21

📨 If you’d like to receive our monthly round up of Chicagoland photo-related events directly to your inbox, follow the link in our bio to subscribe to our newsletter now!

07/31/2026

Join us at next Saturday, August 8th for a closing reception for Locus of a Gesture.

Curator Kristie Kahns will lead a guided discussion of the works on view by Daniel Hojnacki, Dakota Mace, and . She will also discuss the artistic and scholarly influences behind the exhibition.

If you’d like to receive suggested readings prior to the discussion, follow the link in our bio to RSVP!

The Filter Photo Library shelves are full and ready for perusing thanks to some generous donations from a few of our fav...
07/29/2026

The Filter Photo Library shelves are full and ready for perusing thanks to some generous donations from a few of our favorite publishers.

Huge thanks to Aperture, Fall Line Press, Radius Books, & TIS books for helping us grow this collection and make it available to our community.

Whether you’re looking for inspiration, doing research, or simply want to spend an afternoon surrounded by incredible photo books, stop by soon to browse the shelves!

🔔 Our Professional Development Webinar Series kicks off in just ONE WEEK!If you’ve ever struggled to put your photograph...
07/28/2026

🔔 Our Professional Development Webinar Series kicks off in just ONE WEEK!

If you’ve ever struggled to put your photographic practice into words, don’t miss the first session: Writing About Your Work with Liz Sales.

This practical, interactive webinar will help you write with greater clarity, confidence, and authenticity through guided exercises, examples, and discussion.

The series continues every Tuesday throughout August, and you’ll save when you register for all four sessions.

Follow the link in our bio to register now!

x Dakota Mace Náhookǫs Bikǫʼ II, 2022For the Diné (Navajo), our stories, identity, and kinship are told through the ...
07/23/2026

x Dakota Mace

Náhookǫs Bikǫʼ II, 2022

For the Diné (Navajo), our stories, identity, and kinship are told through the stars. As children, we were often told stories by the campfire, with only the stars to shape our imagination. Through those memories, I create photographs that honor those moments of quietness and finding Hózhó (balance) through alternative photography and beadwork.

Sǫʼ (Stars) began when I spoke with my grandfather about the importance of our traditional stories and how they are only told during specific times, especially during winter. These stories are carried on through the stars and can be seen in our designs and weavings. Sǫʼ is a translation of prevalent designs that have influenced not only individual weavers but also a younger generation to understand better what it means to be connected to our stories and how to carry those traditions on.

For my family, specific designs have been passed down from one generation to the next through silversmithing. Béésh Łigaii (Silver) focuses on the stories of silversmithing, the importance of design, and the influence of the land. The designs featured come from our ancestors before us.

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