Wynnewood Photographer's Work To Be Featured At Local College

WYNNEWOOD, PA – Wynnewood resident John A. Benigno's work in fine art photography has been featured in numerous galleries, including Magidson Gallery in New York City, the Print Center of Philadelphia, the Art Association of Harrisburg, and more. Now, a local college will host an exhibition of Benigno's "Adobe Church Project" starting later this month.

Rosemont College's Lawrence Gallery will feature an exhibit with photos from Benigno's "Adobe Church Project" from Nov. 30 through Jan. 12.

Nov. 30 will feature an opening reception with a talk from the artist himself.

The "Adobe Church Project" is a visual narrative in the great tradition of documentary/fine art photography exemplified in the work of Edward Weston, Edward Curtis, and William Christenberry, according to Rosemont College. Social, religious, economic, cultural, political, and natural forces all threaten these sacred buildings so deeply rooted in New Mexico’s past.

The opening reception is will be held from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. for Thursday, Nov. 30. Benigo will host a talk at 4:30 p.m. that night.

“My passion for place developed from my educational background in the social sciences, especially anthropology and history," Benigo said.

The antique look of the photographs refers to a time when communities upheld and honored the traditions and rituals crucial to maintaining their adobe churches. It suggests an age when the community church was the religious and social center for towns and villages throughout New Mexico.

Benigno’s work has been exhibited at the Magidson Gallery in New York City, the Print Center of Philadelphia, the Plastic Club of Philadelphia, the Art Association of Harrisburg, the Chestnut Hill Gallery, and Villanova University. His work has been collected by the Lancaster, Noyes, Berman, and Woodmere museums, and the State Museum of Pennsylvania, and featured in "Camera Arts" and "Antietam Review." He teaches at the Main Line Center for the Arts in Haverford, Pennsylvania.

Lawrence Hall Gallery is located on the Rosemont College Campus, 1400 Montgomery Ave., Rosemont.

The Gallery is open Monday through Friday between from 9 a.m. and 8 p.m., or by appointment.

For more information call (610) 527-0200, extension 2228.

Pictured above is Begino's "Santa Rosalia Church I, Moquino, New Mexico," © 2016, Used with permission