Northampton in Time:
Photographs by Chester Michalik

July 11 - August 1, 2014

Opening Reception Friday, July 11th  5 - 8 pm

Look Park, 2014

Contemporary Art at Historic Northampton presents an exhibition of photographs of Northampton sites by Chester Michalik. In 1989, Michalik produced a series of large scale, color, 20" x 24" images of Northampton, depicting familiar sites such as Sheldon Field on Bridge Street and the 591 Food Stop on the corner of Conz and Pleasant streets. In 2014, he returned to Northampton's streets, 25 years later, to photograph some of the same locations and new scenes for this exhibition. Shown above is Look Park photographed in 2014. A selection of late 19th and early 20th century photographs in Historic Northampton's collection will also be displayed. Michalik observes, "The face of downtown Northampton with its characteristic small town Main Street, is evident in Historic Northampton's photograph collection: an 1872 stereoview depicts the First Congregational Church, a 1928 photograph of the First National Bank (now Silverscape Designs) and a 1955 view of Main Street show the storefronts lining the street."

Truck in the Meadows, 1989

Chester Michalik is Smith College Professor Emeritus of Art. He has exhibited widely, including the Fitchburg Museum of Art, Photographic Resource Center in Boston, the San Diego Museum of Art, the Rochester Institute of Technology, the Ernst Alexander Gallery in Washington, D.C. the Newport Art Museum and the Photographers Gallery in London. A recipient of a Fulbright Fellowship, he has also received fellowships from the Japan Foundation, the Asian Cultural Council, Massachusetts Arts and Humanities Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts.