I view my practice as operating within a tradition of landscape photography — making photographs in the bits of wildness that bleed through the margins of the built environment — spaces in varying degrees of preservation and abandonment, ruin and remediation. I am interested in encountering the many transfigurations of the natural at play, in the uncanny landscapes of the anthropocene, or current geological age. In the studio, I set my film negatives on mounts and paint them with solutions of earth’s metals and mineral salts, sometimes letting them steep in the brine for days or weeks. These materials were central to the earliest photographic processes. They are also substances entangled in the diverse metabolisms of soil and sea, as well as agriculture and heavy industry. The commingling of these chemistries, the accretions and erosions that form their own miniature landscapes on and under the surface of the image, speak to the material and ecological history of photographs, and of the worlds they inhabit.
Artist Bios
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Samuel Partal
Samuel Partal makes photographs of the post-natural landscape. He lives and works in Staten Island, New York.
Organizations
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The Alice Austen House
The Alice Austen House occupies a singular position, both geographically and culturally—on the water’s edge of Staten Island’s North Shore. Once the home, studio, and muse of pioneering photographer Alice Austen, the house dates back to 1690 and is one of New York City’s historic homes. Yet it functions today not as a static historic site, but as a dynamic contemporary arts hub.
The museum celebrates queer and women’s history while breathing new life into Austen’s legacy by engaging with current artistic, social, and personal exploration. For Austen, this home, now a public park, was a radical retreat and safe haven for her and her largely queer circle of friends. That spirit of refuge and experimentation continues today. We activate the house and grounds through our Queer Ecologies Garden, deep community partnerships, and sustained support for artists, fostering the creation of new work that honors the past while speaking directly to the present.
The museum and public park have been a National LGBTQ+ landmark since 2017.
Etiolai
Featuring: Samuel Partal
Curated by: Victoria Munro
Locations
View Location Details Alice Austen House2 Hylan Blvd
Staten Island, NY 10305
- Monday -
- Tuesday 12:00 pm - 5:00 pm
- Wednesday 12:00 pm - 5:00 pm
- Thursday 12:00 pm - 5:00 pm
- Friday 12:00 pm - 5:00 pm
- Saturday -
- Sunday -
Related Events
Photoville at the Alice Austen House
Join the Staten Island Photoville photographers for a pannel discussion and exhibition walkthrough!
Featuring: David Lê, Gabrielle Bass, Thomas Giarraffa, Christine Kenworthy, Samuel Patel, Gillian Ricci, Jahtiek Long, and Jess Gianna.
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