Shots Abroad: International Photography by John Martino

June 18 - July 17, 2009

Weekend hours on Sunday, June 28: 6 - 8 p.m.

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When Boston area photographer John Martino made a trip to San Francisco in 1999, the coastal city inspired him to explore beyond the borders of the United States. Standing at the Pacific shore, he started to plan longer trips: west to Asia and east to Europe.

Shots Abroad: International Photography by John Martino, which is on view at the Brookline Arts Center from Thursday, June 18 to Friday, July 17, 2009, presents a selection of black and white photographs from Martino’s voyages across Asia and Europe. A free opening reception with Martino will be held on Thursday, June 18 from 6:00 – 8:00pm.

“When I am out in the streets photographing, I try to notice the details that imply a larger context,” says Martino. “With the camera, I transform my surroundings into an image that is also a work of fiction. The best photographs bring a magical perspective: they cast spells that charm the viewer into attention.”

“We have shown John Martino’s Boston-based photography in previous shows,” says exhibition curator Susan Navarre. "Now, it’s very exciting to see the connections he made with other cultures during his four-month immersion in the cultures of Asia. And always, John’s stunning black and white prints are filled with the rich hues and detail of traditional photography on film.”

Martino lives near the Brookline Arts Center, in the Fenway neighborhood. He is from the Pittsburgh area and has a Ph.D. in English from West Virginia University. Martino’s work has been collected by the Boston Public Library and the New England School of Photography, and was featured in one-person exhibitions at the Eclipse Gallery, Stairwell Gallery and the Massachusetts State House in Boston; and McQuade Art Gallery, Olin Gallery, Khaki Gallery and Village Art Gallery elsewhere in Massachusetts.

Shots Abroad is on view Monday through Friday from 9:00am – 4:30 pm. The Brookline Arts Center is located at 86 Monmouth St., at the corner of St. Mary’s Street, and is convenient to public transportation and wheelchair accessible. For more information, please call 617-566-5715 or visit www.brooklineartscenter.com

The programs of the Brookline Arts Center are sponsored in part by the Brookline Commission for the Arts, a local agency funded by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency. The Brookline Arts Center is funded in part by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency, and the Brookline Community Foundation.