MATTHEW PAPA & SMITH GALTNEY

About the Exhibition

Matthew Papa & Smith Galtney showed work that offered a glimpse of their separate lives, which in their day-to-day routines could not be more different. Galtney has a settled life in Raymond and enjoys a rural lifestyle that involves a lot of staying home. Papa lives in New York City and has an active life that reflects the vibrancy of the city. In an era of marriage equality, Papa and Galtney share themes of desire, domesticity, identity, and family.

About the Artists

Matthew Papa (b. 1967 Detroit) is a New York-based artist working primarily in photography. He has an MFA in Advanced Photographic Studies from ICP/Bard College and a BA in Philosophy with High Honors from the University of Michigan. His undergraduate study of philosophy informs his artistic practice and he’s interested in photography’s ability to complicate meaning. He has shown in numerous group exhibitions in New York City, Los Angeles, Berlin, Mexico City, Washington, D.C., among others and his work has been featured in Der Greif, Wired Japan, The Fader and W Magazine.

Smith Galtney is a photographer and writer whose central themes are aging, marriage, and addiction, with rural Maine and New York City serving as common backdrops. His most recent show, My Principal Ghost, exhibited in the University of Southern Maine’s AREA Gallery earlier this year. Smith serves as Director of The Bakery Photo Collective, a darkroom and digital imaging facility located in Portland, Maine. He’s a recent graduate of the General Studies program at the International Center of Photography, and an alumnus of the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies. An entertainment journalist for over 20 years, Smith has written for The New York Times, GQ, Rolling Stone, Time Out New York, The Village Voice, Out and O: The Oprah Magazine, as well as NPR, VH1 and Fuse.