A New Dimension in Photography: The Vibrancy of Color & Light

MARCH 29 – MAY 10, 2025

In contemporary photography, innovation is not just about the image—it’s also about how that image is brought to life. A New Dimension in Photography: The Vibrancy of Color and Light explores how ten distinguished photographers use dye-sublimation on aluminum to create images of exceptional brilliance and depth. This process—melding chemistry, heat, and precision—infuses photographs with unmatched vibrancy, offering a modern reinterpretation of photographic presentation.

Unlike traditional prints, where the image rests on the surface, dye-sublimation fuses pigment directly into a polymer-coated aluminum sheet, allowing color to radiate with an almost ethereal brilliance. The process begins with a high-resolution image, printed onto transfer paper with specialized dyes. When heat and pressure are applied, the dyes transform into gas, bonding seamlessly with the metal’s surface. The result is an image of extraordinary depth—shimmering, richly saturated, and seemingly alive with light. More than just visually striking, these works are built to last, resistant to the wear of time, moisture, and fading, ensuring that the image remains as vibrant as the moment it was captured.

Each artist in this exhibition embraces this technique in a way that expands their creative language. Some harness its ability to amplify the soft glow of natural light, while others use its precision to render even the most intricate textures in exquisite detail. Printed at Blazing Editions in East Greenwich, Rhode Island, on aluminum sourced from Universal Woods, these works exist in a space between photography and objecthood—imbued with both permanence and a dynamic, shifting quality that changes with the light and the viewer’s gaze.

Through this exhibition, we step into a new dimension of photography—one where images do more than reflect the world; they glow, they resonate, they endure.

The Art of Sublimation: Photographers Embrace Aluminum Printing

In contemporary photography, innovation is not just about the image—it’s also about how that image is brought to life. A New Dimension in Photography: The Vibrancy of Color and Light explores how ten distinguished photographers use dye-sublimation on aluminum to create images of exceptional brilliance and depth. This process—melding chemistry, heat, and precision—infuses photographs with unmatched vibrancy, offering a modern reinterpretation of photographic presentation.

Unlike traditional prints, where the image rests on the surface, dye-sublimation fuses pigment directly into a polymer-coated aluminum sheet, allowing color to radiate with an almost ethereal brilliance. The process begins with a high-resolution image, printed onto transfer paper with specialized dyes. When heat and pressure are applied, the dyes transform into gas, bonding seamlessly with the metal’s surface. The result is an image of extraordinary depth—shimmering, richly saturated, and seemingly alive with light. More than just visually striking, these works are built to last, resistant to the wear of time, moisture, and fading, ensuring that the image remains as vibrant as the moment it was captured.

Each artist in this exhibition embraces this technique in a way that expands their creative language. Some harness its ability to amplify the soft glow of natural light, while others use its precision to render even the most intricate textures in exquisite detail. Printed at Blazing Editions in East Greenwich, Rhode Island, on aluminum sourced from Universal Woods, these works exist in a space between photography and objecthood—imbued with both permanence and a dynamic, shifting quality that changes with the light and the viewer’s gaze.

Through this exhibition, we step into a new dimension of photography—one where images do more than reflect the world; they glow, they resonate, they endure.

Meet the Artists: Ten Photographers Redefining Light, Time, and Space

This exhibition brings together ten photographers who embrace the unique qualities of aluminum printing to expand their artistic vision. Each of these artists utilizes the medium in a distinct way—some enhancing the luminosity of color and light, others emphasizing intricate details and textures. From capturing the energy of urban life to the stillness of a seascape, their work transforms the way we experience photography, bridging the gap between image and object.

Harry Benson: The Chronicler of History
For more than six decades, Harry Benson has photographed some of the most defining moments in modern history. From his intimate portraits of the Beatles to documenting the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy, his images capture the rawness of life with striking immediacy.

Benson’s background in photojournalism shapes his approach, emphasizing authenticity and emotion. His black-and-white compositions are direct and unfiltered, yet they hold a deep sensitivity toward his subjects. Whether photographing world leaders, celebrities, or everyday people, his images don’t just document history—they make it feel personal and alive.

Michael Eastman: The Architect of Light and Space
Michael Eastman’s photography focuses on the interplay of architecture, time, and atmosphere. His images of aging interiors and forgotten buildings reveal both the grandeur and fragility of structures left behind.

Eastman’s attention to light and color turns these spaces into something more than remnants of the past. His photographs are studies in perspective and tone, evoking the lives that once filled these rooms and the histories etched into their walls.

Robert Farber: The Sensualist of Form and Light
Blurring the line between photography and painting, Robert Farber’s images are dreamlike and evocative. Whether focusing on the human form, fashion, or soft landscapes, his work is marked by an ethereal quality that transforms reality into something almost surreal.

Farber draws inspiration from both classical and contemporary influences, creating compositions that feel timeless. His photographs are less about direct representation and more about atmosphere, inviting the viewer to experience the emotion within each frame.

William Helburn: The Poet of Fashion
William Helburn (1924–2020) brought a sharp, bold energy to fashion photography, breaking away from traditional studio compositions to capture movement, humor, and spontaneity. His work for Harper’s Bazaar, Vogue, and major advertising campaigns introduced a fresh, modern approach that still feels relevant today.

Helburn’s ability to conceptualize striking visuals on the spot, paired with his use of rich color and dynamic framing, set his work apart. His images combine elegance with an edge, juxtaposing high fashion with raw, urban backdrops to create something both glamorous and unexpected.

André Lichtenberg: The Explorer of Water, Sky, and Horizon
Brazilian-born photographer André Lichtenberg is known for his atmospheric seascapes that explore the boundary between land, water, and sky. His long-exposure techniques transform waves into smooth, mist-like surfaces, creating a sense of movement frozen in time.

Lichtenberg’s minimalist approach strips away distractions, leaving behind only essential forms. His muted color palettes and layered compositions add to the meditative quality of his work, evoking both stillness and the passage of time. Beneath their quiet beauty, his seascapes also serve as subtle reflections on the environmental changes affecting our coastlines.

Xan Padrón: The Chronicler of Urban Rhythm
Xan Padrón captures the pulse of city life in a way that makes time feel both continuous and fragmented. His Time Slice series, which layers multiple moments into a single frame, turns ordinary urban spaces into vibrant studies of movement.

A musician as well as a photographer, Padrón has an instinct for rhythm that carries into his visual compositions. His images reflect the patterns of daily life, highlighting the energy, repetition, and diversity of the people who inhabit these shared spaces.

Lawrence Schiller: Behind the Scenes of Cinema
Lawrence Schiller’s photography offers an insider’s view of Hollywood, capturing moments behind the scenes of some of the most iconic films of the 20th century. His work moves beyond the staged glamour of movie sets, revealing the interactions, tensions, and spontaneity that occur just outside the frame.

Schiller’s images provide a rare glimpse into the creative process, showing actors and directors at work in unguarded moments. His photographs are an extension of storytelling—offering not just a record of film history, but a deeper look at the personalities and dynamics that shaped it.

Paulette Tavormina: The Still Life Storyteller
Drawing from the opulent still-life paintings of the Dutch Golden Age, Paulette Tavormina carefully constructs her compositions with rich detail and dramatic lighting. Each image is layered with meaning, referencing historical themes of abundance, mortality, and the passage of time.

Her recent works expand on this tradition by incorporating living elements—cats, fish, and other symbols of movement—alongside classic Momento Mori motifs. Through her lens, objects become more than simple arrangements; they become narratives frozen in time, full of hidden stories and quiet emotion.

Joyce Tenneson: The Gold of Nature
Joyce Tenneson’s work blends the ethereal and the elemental, with landscapes and trees bathed in luminous gold tones that seem to radiate light from within. Her images have a quiet yet powerful presence, evoking a sense of transcendence and connection to nature.

Tenneson’s approach transforms natural forms into something almost spiritual, using light and color to create a sense of timelessness. Her golden trees and landscapes are not just representations of the environment but meditations on beauty, resilience, and impermanence.

Stephen Wilkes: The Master of Time and Space
Stephen Wilkes’s Day to Night series redefines photography, capturing an entire day’s passage in a single image. By seamlessly blending hundreds of photographs taken over hours, he transforms a single frame into a visual timeline.

Wilkes’s work challenges how we perceive time, offering a view that is both panoramic and deeply layered. Whether capturing the energy of a city street or the shifting light of a national park, his images offer an expanded sense of place—one that unfolds slowly, revealing more with each glance.

What unites these ten artists is not only their mastery of photography but their ability to push the medium beyond its traditional limits. Each brings a distinct vision, transforming moments into lasting impressions that challenge our perception of time, space, and memory. Whether capturing the fleeting rhythms of urban life, the grandeur of architectural decay, or the quiet poetry of stillness, their work compels us to look closer—to see not just the image, but the depth, light, and meaning within. In this exhibition, photography transcends documentation; it becomes an experience, an invitation to engage with the world in a richer, more resonant way.