From Landscapes To Streets At The Mayor's Gallery - Nov. 8 to Jan. 6

For the past decade, Xiomaro has been creating photographic collections for the Connecticut Forest & Park Association, Weir Farm National Historical Park – where he has served as its Visiting Artist – and other organizations. The work culminated in a photo/history book he authored with a foreword by Senator Joseph I. Lieberman. Although the artist is still creating images of bucolic National Parks, his unusual and gritty urban images are gaining recognition and will be part of group exhibits in Connecticut and Scotland.

Xiomaro, like many commuters, maintains a physical presence in New York City for work. Even Julian Alden Weir, who painted world-renown masterpieces on the property now preserved as Connecticut’s first national park, regularly took the train to the world’s art center. But for Xiomaro, the city itself also provides a landscape that inspires creativity.

In Sixth Avenue, he presents a surreal view by photographing the street through the reflections of an all-glass bus shelter. The image will be featured in an upcoming issue of Street Photography Magazine and a large print of it will be part of a group exhibition at The Mayor’s Gallery in Stamford.

Newsstand is another photograph that is garnering attention and will be on view at Scotland’s Glasgow Gallery of Photography. A sphinx-like figure, surrounded by the clutter, practically blends in with his inventory.

For Xiomaro, who was described in a recent PBS segment as “a historian through the lens,” Newsstand is a good example of its connection with his National Park photography of Weir Farm, George Washington’s headquarters, and other iconic sites.

“Through my street photography, I am artistically documenting what I like to refer to as ‘future history,’” he explains. “With more people getting their information online, today’s newsstands carry few papers and magazines and, as seen in the photograph, are selling mostly soft drinks, snacks, and candy. As a result, only 276 newsstands remain in Manhattan from the 1,500 in their 1950s heyday. These once-familiar sites are anachronisms that may eventually disappear altogether.”

To See The Exhibition

More of Xiomaro’s photography can be seen at his website: www.xiomaro.com. Sixth Avenue is on view from November 8, 2022 to January 6, 2023 as part of A Look Back, a retrospective group exhibition curated by Lina Morielli at The Mayor’s Gallery, Government Center, 888 Washington Blvd., 10th floor, Stamford, Connecticut. Parking on site is handicap accessible. The exhibition is free of charge, but by appointment only on weekdays, 9:00 am to 4:00 pm. The opening reception, on November 17, 2022 from 5:30 to 7:30 pm., is also free of charge. Contact esgordon@optonline.net.

The Mayor’s Gallery of Stamford has been managed by local artist, arts activist and curator Lina Morielli since 2005 when Mayor Dannel Malloy wanted to create an on going community gallery for local artists. Morielli has now decided to devote her time to other arts projects and her studio practice, but wanted the opportunity before she left to take “A Look Back” at some of the wonderful art that has been exhibited through the years. She and the new gallery manager, Ellen Gordon, have assembled as many artists as they could find who have had solo shows.

“This is a powerful and eclectic display of artwork from a group of highly accomplished professional artists. I’ve been so lucky to have had the opportunity to work with them and to bring their art to the community,” explains Morielli.

The Mayor’s Gallery will now be curated by arts administrator and artist Ellen Gordon. She has already put together an exciting schedule of new work by local artists to grace the walls of the 10th floor. The Mayor’s Gallery is a not-for-profit art space, which gives area artists an opportunity to exhibit their work. There are six exhibitions annually featuring emerging and professional artists.

The artists who will be exhibiting in A Look Back: Claudio Altesor, Michael Callahan, Bob Callahan, Lynda James Carroll, Rosa Colon, Lisa Cuscuna, Margaret Cibulsky, Nat Connacher, Joe Dermody, Eugenie Diserio, Carol Dixon, Heide Follin, Maria Friscia, Ellen Gordon, Mari Gyorgey, Bruce Horan, Benice Horowitz, Yuko Ike, Kwame Henry Jones, Maureen Renahan Krinsley, Paul Larson, Cate M. Leach, Inna Linov, Mary Louse Long, Barbara Mathis, , Susan McCaslin ,Mark Macrides, Kathy Milligan, Karen V. Neems, Wendi Ohlson, Jay Petrow, Dana Scinto, Alissa Siegal, Julliette Tehrani, and Xiomaro.