November 1-30, 2024

Salon Jane Celebrates Ten Years:

Photography Reimagined

collage janes salon for web page

 “I write entirely to find out what I’m thinking, what I’m looking at, what I see and what it means. What I want and what I fear.”
—- Joan Didion, Why I Write, 1966.

Joan Didion’s statement remains fitting to the photographic processes of Salon Jane, the current exhibit at the Carl Cherry Center for the Arts.  In Salon Jane Martha Casanave,  Susan Hyde Greene, Jane Olin, Anna Rheim, Robin V. Robinson and Robin Ward create photographs to learn what they are seeing and thinking –to apprehend what it means to them—and to us.

Salon Jane was established in 2014 by Jane Olin to provide “a sense of community for our members, supporting artistic growth and innovation.”  On the tenth anniversary of forming Salon Jane, the Carl Cherry Center for the Arts presents significant work by these six women photographers whose focus ranges from the personal to the public, from conscious landscape to the unconscious mind, and to the inexplicable uncanny in everyday life. 

In the current exhibition, Salon Jane contemplates the many tracks of photography that address Ms. Didion’s statement and how these contemporary photographers begin to study and understand the self. At the same time, the questions posed by Ms. Didion are not precisely answered in this exhibition. In fact, the photographs might only create more questions for the viewer –even for the photographers themselves. The questions raised in each of us can also be seen as invitations—invitations in the form of mysteries and dilemmas.

Conceivably, one of the more visible and daunting aspects of being a photographer is seeing some facet of oneself printed on silver gelatin paper and exhibited in a gallery.  Still, this process suggests an omission: the method behind the artwork, the experience and feelings of the photographer which form the “salon” aspect of Salon Jane.

Often the photographic process identifies some doubt or question and then resolves the inquiry through a give-and-take between the work and fresh perspectives.  Part of that process takes place in Salon Jane where the empathetic need to have authority over their own work and the necessity to sort things out through feedback and find balance in the response and support of peers. Photography salons can provide shape and focus to the process of the work, disturb habitual ways of seeing and offer the solace of a larger picture. Salon Jane provides the photographers a forum to articulate what they are seeing, what they are thinking, and what meaning the work may hold.

Robert Reese
Carl Cherry Center for the Arts

Salon Jane 

Martha Casanave
Susan Hyde Greene
Jane Olin
Anna Rheim
Robin V. Robinson
Robin Ward 

Salon Jane is a six-member artist collective formed in Monterey, California, in 2014. Over the past 10 years, the members of Salon Jane have created an intimate bond, facilitating a safe andinspiring environment for their artistic risk-taking and creative evolution. At their regular meetings, they share feedback about their work through hours of in-depth discussion and hold space for art-related life challenges.

The Monterey Peninsula has a long tradition of straight photography set forth by Edward Weston, Ansel Adams and others. However, the artists of Salon Jane inhabit an island of innovation that pushes against these strict boundaries. Each member artist nods to photography but expands on it in diverse and unexpected ways.

From aerial to underwater, abstract to representational, digital to darkroom, wall art to books, the work produced by these artists is wide ranging. In content and process, each artist’s work transcends the ordinary and taps into mystery. While they have evolved beyond formal straight photography, the members are equally concerned with artistic and photographic excellence and are grounded in historical processes.

Salon Jane quickly developed into a group of exhibiting artists. Their first exhibition was at Green Chalk Gallery in Monterey in 2015 and was followed by four unique exhibitions through 2022. In 2018, Salon Jane became a vital part of the Monterey Museum of Art’s Year of the Woman with their exhibition, The Ethereal Zone. In early 2021, the group exhibited work made during the pandemic at the Center for Photographic Art in Carmel, with a show titled Present Tense. Each exhibit has been fully supported by Salon member presentations, demonstrations, and discussions.

Salon Jane is honored to present its ten-year celebration exhibit at the Carl Cherry Center for the Arts, an important part of Carmel’s artistic history and culture, set in a vital region of photography.

Salon Jane, 2024
salonjane.com

Martha Casanave

Untitled 1
Martha Casanave
Digital pigment print from original cliché verre
33” x 31”
2016
NFS ($2200 limited ed. digital copy)

Untitled 2
Martha Casanave
Digital pigment print from original cliché verre
33” x 31”
2016
NFS ($2200 limited ed. digital copy)

Untitled 3
Martha Casanave
Digital pigment print from original cliché verre
33” x 31”
2016
NFS ($2200 limited ed. digital copy)

Untitled
Martha Casanave
Original Cynotype
28” x 22”
2007
NFS ($2200 limited ed. digital copy)

For my last ten teaching years, I taught Alternative Photographic Processes at both Cabrillo and Monterey Peninsula Colleges. I am fascinated with the unpredictable and intuitive nature of alternative, experimental photography. The historical processes shown in this exhibit are three clichés verre and one cyanotype. For the cliché verre I sooted thick pieces of glass with a candle flame, and then dripped alcohol. The piece of glass was then used as a negative in an enlarger.  The three black and white pieces in this show are digital enlargements of prints made in this way. The fourth (blue) print in this exhibit uses another 19th century process, the cyanotype, an ultraviolet contact printing process invented by the brilliant and charming Sir John Herschel in 1842.

Martha Casanave
marthacasanave.com

Susan Hyde Greene

She Might Have
Susan Hyde Greene
Mended Pigment Print
16” x 16”
2016
NFS

Doing What She Loved
Susan Hyde Greene
Mended Pigment Print
16” x 16”
2018
NFS

Watch Woman
Susan Hyde Greene
Mended Pigment Print
8” x 8”
2016
NFS

One Picture
Susan Hyde Greene
Mended Pigment Print
8” x 8”
2016
NFS

As I became aware that the history of art is the history of people, I saw the possibility of bringing people together through the language of art.

Following the tradition of women using stitches to mend and heal, I cut photos apart, fracturing the image, then I stitch the fragments back together. My intention is that my pieces offer hope of renewal. Would that I might cut the whole world apart and stitch it back together in order to assure that succeeding generations inherit a clean, peaceful, safe, and just world.

Susan Hyde Greene
susanhydegreene.com

Jane Olin

Greta 2
Jane Olin
Toned silver gelatin print
27” x 24” (framed)
2001
$3000

Greta 10
Jane Olin
Toned silver gelatin print
28” x 23” (framed)
2002
$3000

Greta 4
Jane Olin
Toned silver gelatin print
27” x 22” (framed)
2001
$3000

Greta 5
Jane Olin
Toned silver gelatin print
28” x 23” (framed)
2003
$3000

After my first darkroom class, I knew immediately that photography was what I wanted to spend the rest of my life exploring. Little did I know at the time, that this artistic adventure would take me on a journey of deeply probing my subconscious. The four Greta pieces presented in this exhibition are part of a larger body of work that embodies my passage to empowerment and to discovering my artistic voice.

As an artist who has always liked to experiment, I find that pushing the boundaries of what is possible with both camera and darkroom techniques motivates my best work.

Jane Olin
janeolin.com

Anna Rheim

Snooky
Anna Rheim
Artist book with Moab Entrada Rag Natural 190 lb. paper,
fabric covered book board, and ink jet prints
hand-tinted with watercolor pencils
Original poem: Anna Rheim
8.75” x 6” (12” fully open)
2018
NFS

Our Hero
Anna Rheim
Artist book with accordion fold paper,
fabric covered book board with military medals attached
Writing: Anna Rheim and siblings
11” x 8” (71” fully open)
2018
NFS

Marguriette
Anna Rheim
Artist book with concertina spine,
Moab Entrada Rag Natural 190 lb. paper,
BFK Rives printmaking paper, fabric covered book board
Writing: Anna Rheim
8.75” x 11.5” (26” fully open)
2018
NFS

Final Chapter
Anna Rheim
Artist book with Moab Entrada Rag Natural 190 lb. paper
and handmade rice paper, original journaling and drawings
9” x 9.75” (18.25” fully open)
2018
NFS

I am a storyteller. Handmade books are my favorite art form for my stories. Currently I am using members of my family of origin as my primary source material. Examining the humor and pathos of the human condition is my abiding interest. By creating handmade books, I invite viewers to hold my questions in their hand and reflect on their own experience. By combining writing, photographs, painting, and paper arts, I offer my stories with a variety of techniques to intrigue the viewer. The images may be straight photographs, but more often are manipulated. The writing is intended to provoke questions more than to simply describe the photos.

Anna Rheim
annarheimart.com

Robin V. Robinson

Living Room, McGowan House
Robin V. Robinson
Hand Dyed Gelatin Silver Print
22” x 32”
2014
NFS

Family Float, ver 2
Robin V. Robinson
Hand Dyed Gelatin Silver Print
22” x 33”
2007
$1200 (ver 1)

Jack Dream, ver 1
Robin V. Robinson
Hand Dyed Gelatin Silver Print
22” x 33”
2004
NFS

Beach Diorama
Robin V. Robinson
Hand Dyed Gelatin Silver Print
22” x 33”
2007
$1200

I am curious about the way we look at the planet and ourselves. I explore the Earth’s origins, our connection to the planet, and our physical and spiritual presence while we are here. Dream-like imagery opens us up to question time, dimensions and the reality of our existence.

Creating prints in my darkroom, I enjoy freedom of expression through experimentation, while honoring my training in traditional west coast photographic techniques. To make the work in this exhibit and to fully realize my vision, I used hand brushes in the darkroom, and later painted the prints with dyes. It all comes together in images which I hope resonate with the viewer in an unconscious way.

Robin V. Robinson
robinrobinson.com

Robin Ward

Hindsight (Echoes from a Future Past)
Edition 1 of 3
Robin Ward
Archival pigment print
22” x 27”
2020
$3000

Leopard Sharks, La Jolla (Above the Sea)
Edition 1 of 10
Robin Ward
Archival pigment print
22” x 27”
2020
$1500

Spontaneous Proliferation (Submerged)
Edition 1 of 25
Robin Ward
Archival pigment print
16” x 21”
2014
$1200

Surfacing III (Submerged)
Edition 1 of 25
Robin Ward
Archival pigment print
16” x 21”
2015
$1200

I practice art as a conduit for personal transformation and healing. My imagery is primarily sourced in nature and in particular water knowing its power to heal. My experimental process fuses original photography, digital compositing, videography and animation. The varied techniques and media offer fertile ground for inquiry into perspective driven by a longing for unity and wellbeing.

The work I present in this exhibit is representative of four distinct series spanning the past ten years. Submerged, featuring effervescent flowers, marks the beginning of my healing journey and radical introspection. Above the Sea is an expansive observation of the lively rhythm of the ocean’s perpetual motion. In Echoes from a Future Past, I composite photographs and video into atmospheric, alternative landscapes that invite playful curiosity into the flow of time. Symbiosis is composed of layered and blended photographs that celebrate the complexity, vitality, and beauty of our natural world.

Robin Ward
robinward.photography