THE EXHIBITION:
“There are Bridges over Rivers” is a new series of work by artist and curator John Gross. Through a mixed-media, textile installation that presents photographs taken while wandering through both Italy and Croatia, they interrogate the idea of memory and unravel invisible traces of lives both past and present.
An experimental photographer by nature, Gross presents the images in this exhibit with several distortions. They “soup” their rolls of 35mm film by submerging exposed rolls in hot water, salt, baking soda, and other household chemicals for roughly 24hours, before developing as normal. The final
negatives are then scanned and printed on light muslin, with introduced rough, stitched elements. This process upends the traditional idea of a photograph. What is generally regarded as a hard depiction of truth becomes fractured, textured, layered, distorted, and left as a memory that may not even be real, or
yours to begin with.
“There are Bridges over Rivers” is about wandering; About migrations and journeys; About beginnings and endings, and beginning again. It is about memories, and memories of lives inherited but never lived. But most of all, it is about walking and feeling the flows of the world – the progression of life, left behind in traces.
Per natura fotografə sperimentale, Gross presenta le immagini in questa mostra con svariate distorsioni: come un alchimista del passato immerge i propri rullini in acqua calda, sale, bicarbonato and altri prodotti chimici casalinghi per circa 24 ore, prima di svilupparli nella maniera tradizionale. Successivamente i negativi vengono scannerizzati e stampati su teletta leggera, con l’aggiunta di
elementi non rifiniti cuciti a mano. Distorcendo, fratturando, dividendo in strati e testurizzando la realta’ elevandola a sbiadito ricordo, il processo si oppone ai dettami della fotografia tradizionale, generalmente relegata a fedele testimone della verita’.
“There are Bridges over Rivers/Ci sono Ponti sopra ai Fiumi” parla del girovagare; parla di migrazioni e pellegrinaggi; parla di inizi e fini, ed ancora inizi. Parla di ricordi e di ricordi di vite ereditate ma mai vissute, ma soprattutto, parla di camminare e di sentire i flussi del mondo – il progredire della vita attraverso le traccie lasciate dietro di se.
THE ARTIST:
John Gross is an artist and curator from Providence, Rhode Island. Their experimental photography exists in a mixed-media sphere that combines elements of textile arts, printmaking, and installation with an emphasis on layers and textures. Always interested in poetics, their work explores diverse themes including migration, memory, mortality, and queer expression.
Gross has a BA in Studio Arts and Biology from Macalester College. They have been an artist-in-residence at SRISA for the past two years and are the cofounder and photographer of the Florence-based fashion photography and cultural collective, Noir Lens Studios.
John Gross è un artista e curatorə di Providence, Rhode Island, negli Stati Uniti. La sua fotografia sperimentale trova espressione attraverso tecniche miste con cui combina elementi di arte tessile, stampa ed installazioni d’arte, con particolare enfasi su strati e texture. Nella sua poetica esplora diversi temi che includono la migrazione, la memoria, la mortalità e l’espressione queer.
L’artista ha una Laurea in Discipline Umanistiche (Studio Arts e Biologia) conseguita al Macalaster College nel Minnesota. Gross ha passato gli ultimi due anni in una residenza d’artista presso la SRISA, ed è cofondatorə e fotografə del collettivo culturale locale Noir Lens Studios che si occupa principalemente di fotografia di moda.
EXHIBITION OPENING:
EXHIBITION DETAILS:
OPENING:
September 4th 2025, 6:30 pm
DATES:
September 4th-September 11th, 2025
Opening hours:
MondayーFriday: 10 am ー 7 pm
Saturday: 1 pm ー 7 pm
Sunday: 1 pm ー 4 pm
Free entrance
SPACE:
ADDRESS:
SRISA Gallery - Santa Reparata International School of Art
Via San Gallo 53/R, 50129 Firenze