It was upon his retirement that Belchertown artist Jim Gambaro found that the skills he knew from his photojournalism days could be a vehicle to bring himself delight.
He now plans to share this joy through his upcoming exhibit, “Painting with De-Light,” at the Salmon Falls Gallery, 1 Ashfield St. in Shelburne Falls, from July 2 through Aug. 29. Gambaro, 80, describes the title of his exhibit as “a knock-off, clearly, of the derivation of the word itself, as in ‘writing with light.’
“But, as I have no shame in my labeling — as well as the work itself — I am happy to abuse the term for my own amusement,” Gambaro said.
And he certainly does offer amusement through his work — along with depictions of color, light, form and his ever-irrepressible titles, all of which are filled with puns and word play.
According to a press release for the exhibit, Gambaro has held other showings at the Salmon Falls Gallery for about a decade. This is a new exhibit of 37 photographs, with a mix of new works and favorites from the years as he has moved further and further into abstract exploration.
“I have always looked for subjects and lighting that stimulate the child’s ‘wow’ factor in my mind’s eye, zeroing in on details small and large, on landscapes both natural and constructed, and on places far and close to home,” Gambaro said. “In other words, on anything and everything that catches my attention.”
When taking the photographs and while editing and abstracting the shots, he said he listens to his inner child’s voice as he explores image manipulation. Over time, while using his Mac laptop to edit his photos, he has found himself drifting more into abstract work.
He said his inclination has always been “to play with images, to have fun, initially employing minimal and, more recently, considerable computer-aided abstraction with a focus on eye- and mind-stimulating color and compositions.” In 2001, he discovered digital photography and with this technology he finally felt he had complete control of an image, from capture to display.
“The advent of the digital medium as I reached retirement age opened up whole new realms of exploration,” Gambaro said. “It provided the tools — digital cameras and computers and software — to better communicate what I saw in my mind. Besides appealing to my inner child in search of instant photographic gratification, digital capture has enabled me to work my images ever more freely and fully. I can also revisit earlier work in film through digital scans, getting a second byte of the Apple, so to speak, and discovering new images inside the old.”
When in art school, he said peers would entertain conversations asking whether they could put a piece in a closet and never see it again and be satisfied, or if they craved the connection with an audience. For Gambaro, he said he enjoys creating his artwork for self-enjoyment as much as for stirring a sense of curiosity or other response in others.
Over time, he has drifted from capturing realistic images to developing more painterly treatments by taking photos through one, two or 10 steps of abstraction to create an image with one foot in reality and one in another worldly realm.
He said he tries to treat every image depending on what it calls for, and sometimes this means less editing. For example, his photo “Reflections on Collegiality,” is not abstracted. Rather, this photo captures the different layers of light that Gambaro saw with his own eye, and then enhanced through some minor editing.
Gambaro has a bachelor’s degree in art education, and has worked as a junior high school art teacher, journalist, news photographer, commercial photographer and human service worker. Through various career changes, including a stint as a press photographer in New Jersey, he said “photography remained a wet, smelly, tedious black-and-white darkroom adventure, breaking into glorious color only through good old Ektachrome, midwived by various lab technicians.” In retirement, as a travel and fine art photographer, he said his intention has always been to pass along as much of the simple pleasures of seeing as he can.
“Painting with De-Light” can be seen July 2 through Aug. 29 at the Salmon Falls Gallery in Shelburne Falls. The brick-and-mortar gallery will be open five days a week, Thursday to Monday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The gallery exhibits can also be viewed virtually 24/7 through the Salmon Falls online store.
A reception for “Painting with De-Light” will be held Sunday, July 11, from 2 to 4 p.m. with music by saxophonist Loren Feinstein. For further information, go to SalmonFallsGallery.com or call the gallery at 413-625-9833.
For more information on Jim Gambaro, visit jimgambarophotography.com.
Zack DeLuca can be reached at zdeluca@recorder.com or 413-930-4579.