

Ellen Carey, Crush & Pull with Hands, Penlights & Spruce Needles, 2023, Unique Polaroid Positive Print, Contemporary World Art Fund.

Ellen Carey, Push Pins, 2002, C Print color photogram, Gift of artist.
September 1– December 20, 2026
Opening Reception: September 10, 5 - 7pm
FREE. Everyone is welcome.
Ellen Carey is a world-renowned experimental photographer. She is best known for her photograms (created without a camera) and her striking lens-based work using the rare 20 x 24 Polaroid cameras. She challenges our expectations of what a photograph is by exploring photographic process: this is photography that does not point a camera at a subject, but rather, explores the intrinsic process of photography itself.
This exhibition encompasses 39 years of Ellen Carey’s work, from early abstract Polaroid self-portraits from 1987 to her minimalist color “pulls” (1996-2024) and camera-less photograms (1988- present) which are represented by the magnificent wall grid of her “Dings and Shadows.” The majority of the work in this gallery was gifted to the Benton by the artist.
