Jennifer Schlesinger
Photography

Jennifer Schlesinger is an Artist, Curator, Gallerist, and Educator based out of Santa Fe, New Mexico. Schlesinger has approached her fine art photography with an interest in the historical development of photography as an artistic medium - having influences from the age old camera obscura, to 19th century albumen process, to 20th century gelatin silver printing. She is interested in how the evolution of photography can expand upon the development of photography as an art form. Her artistic mediums of choice have been the 19th Century albumen process and gelatin silver printing processes and her work mostly focuses on the landscape and how humans philosophically interact with the natural world around them. She uses photography as a tool to capture the world around her both poetically and metaphorically, and is highly influenced by the investigation of life through philosophy.

Jennifer graduated from the College of Santa Fe in 1998 with a B.A. in Photography and Journalism. Schlesinger has exhibited widely at Southwest regional institutions such as the Marion Center for Photographic Arts (SFUAD), Santa Fe Art Institute and the New Mexico Museum of Art, as well as national institutions such as the Center for Creative Photography, AZ; Southeast Museum of Photography; and the Chelsea Art Museum. Schlesinger is represented in many public collections, including the Center for Creative Photography, AZ; Southeast Museum of Photography, FL; The New Mexico Museum of Art, and the New Mexico History Museum / Palace of the Governors Photo Archives. She has received several honors in recognition of her work including a Golden Light Award in Landscape Photography from the Maine Photographic Workshops and the Center for Contemporary Arts Photography Award in Santa Fe, New Mexico, both in 2005. She has been awarded many distinctive nominations such as the Santa Fe Prize for Photography by the Center and the Eliot Porter Fellowship by the New Mexico Council for Photography. She served as the Assistant Director of Santa Fe Art Institute from 2003-2005 and was the Director of VERVE Gallery of Photography for over a decade, 2005-2017. She is now the Founder, Owner and Director at Obscura Gallery in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Schlesinger has taught Adjunct at the College of Santa Fe and through the Santa Fe Photographic Workshops, Art Intersection, and other venues. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for AIPAD (Association of International Photography Art Dealers) and is the Chair of the Communications Committee. In addition, Jennifer is Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) compliant through January 31, 2026.

​

Schlesinger's photographic work can be purchased at her represented galleries including Catherine Couturier Gallery, Houston, TX and Vision Neil Folberg Gallery, Jerusalem, Israel.

____________________________________________________________________________________

 

BORN: Connecticut 1974
EDUCATION: 1998, BA, Photography, College of Santa Fe, New Mexico

SELECT GROUP and SOLO EXHIBITS:
 

​

2022

-Women of Vision, Photographs by Dasha Pears, Wendi Schneider, Jennifer Schlesinger, Agnieszka Sosnowska and Beth Moon. Vision Gallery, Jerusalem, Israel

​

2020:

-Photo London, Virtual Edition, with Vision Gallery, Jerusalem
-The Qualities of LIGHT, Center for Creative Photography, University of Arizona

2019:
- Manofim - Contemporary Arts Festival, exhibiting with Vision Gallery, Jerusalem, Israel
-A Past Rediscovered: Highlights from the Palace of the Governors Collections, Albuquerque Museum, NM

2018:
-ZonaMaco Foto Fair, Mexico City, exhibiting with Camino Silvestre, Mexico
-The Photography Show presented by AIPAD in NYC, Catherine Couturier Gallery, Houston TX

​

2017:

- 5th International Photo IS: Festival, Tel Aviv, Israel, courtesy of Vision Neil Folberg Gallery

- Constellation: Fifteen Fine Art Photographers, Baldwin Gallery, Middle Tennessee State University, TN

- Summer Group Exhibition of Represented Artists @ Lionheart Gallery, Pound Ridge, NY

- Lenscratch States Project: New Mexico, Center for Contemporary Arts, Santa Fe, NM

- In With The New: Recent Works and Aquisitions, Catherine Couturier Gallery, Houston, TX

​

2016

- God Bless The Child, Scheinbaum & Russek, Santa Fe, NM

- 20 New Mexico Photographers, Small Print Editions, Santa Fe, NM

- Past is Present: Alternative Process in Contemporary Photography, Santa Fe PhotoSummer 2016

@ David Richard Gallery

- Unbound5 @ Candela Books & Gallery, Richmond, VA

 

2015

- Depth of Field, Group Exhibition by Rfoto Folio at Art Intersection, Gilbert, AZ

- INFOCUS PhotoBid benefiting the Center for Creative Photography and the Phoenix Art Museum, AZ

- Jennifer Schlesinger, solo show, Catherine Couturier Gallery, Houston, TX

- Jennifer Schlesinger-Contemporary Explorations in the Albumen Process, solo show, Tilt Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ

- Group Summer Exhibition - Lionheart Gallery Artists, Lionheart Gallery, Pound Ridge, NY

- Along the Pecos, Sound and photographic installation by Jennifer Schlesinger and Steven M. Miller, New Mexico History Museum, permanent collection.
- Photo Lab, New Mexico Museum of Art, Santa Fe, NM

- Sky, Griffin Museum of Photography, Winchester, MA

2014
- Figments of Reality: An exhibition of Contemporary Landscape Images, VERVE Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
- Hunting + Gathering : New Additions to the Museum’s Collection, New Mexico Museum of Art
- Other Worlds - Dreamy Narratives by Three Visionary Photographers, Lionheart Gallery, Pound Ridge, NY
- Lucent, Cloud 5 Project, Santa Fe, NM
- Road to Nowhere: Southwest Sojourns, at the Marion Center presented by the CENTER, Santa Fe and SFUAD
- AIPAD Photography Show, Catherine Couturier Gallery, NYC

2013
- 2013 DC Fine Art Photography Fair, Catherine Couturier Gallery, Washington D.C.
- Collecting Is Curiosity/Inquiry, New Mexico Museum of Art, Santa Fe, NM
- Antiquarian and the New Alchemy, The Gallery at Serenbe Photography Center, GA
- Figures Studied, 10th Anniversary Group Exhibition, VERVE Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
- Cumulous Skies: The Enduring Modernist Aesthetic in New Mexico, Santa Fe Convention Center Gallery
- AfterLight, Basil Hallward Art Gallery at Powells City of Books, Portland, OR
- Photography from the Edge, Newspace Center for Photography, Portland, OR
- AIPAD Photography Show, Catherine Couturier Gallery, NYC

2012
- Anthology Biennial, Southeast Museum of Photography, Daytona Beach, FL
- A Legacy of Light, Photographs from the Bostick & Sullivan Collection, Bond House Museum, NM
- Deck the Walls, Catherine Couturier Gallery, Houston, TX
- Machine Wilderness: Re-envisioning Art, Technology and Nature., ISEA 2012, Marion Center for Photographic Arts, Santa Fe University of Art and Design
- AIPAD Photography Show, VERVE Gallery (#404), Park Avenue Armory, New York City, NY
- Do Process, VERVE Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
- Houston Center for Photography Print Auction Exhibition, Houston, TX

2011
- Sotheby's Benefit Auction for George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film, New York, NY
- Diffusion Volume III Group Exhibition, Jennifer Schwartz Gallery, Atlanta, GA
- Art Chicago, VERVE Gallery of Photography, The Merchantise Mart, IL
- Memory - Three Person Exhibition, DeSantos Gallery, Houston, TX
- Group Show of Work by New Artists, BMG Galerie, Woodstock, NY, 2010
- HOST @ Crane Kalman Brighton, Crane Kalman Brighton Gallery, Brighton, UK- Foto8 Summershow, 2010, Host Gallery, London, UK
- Sotheby's Benefit Auction for George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film, New York, NY
- RayKo Photo Center, San Francisco, CA
- 2010 Benefit Photography Auction and Exhibition, Silver Eye Center for Photography, Pittsburgh, PA
- Meander: Works Inspired By the Santa Fe River, Santa Fe Convention Center

 

2010

- Object Diaspora, Verve Gallery, Santa Fe, NM

2009
- Photo LA, Verve Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
- Galisteo Basin Photography Project, Photo Eye Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
- Collector's Day, Preston Contemporary Arts Center, Las Cruces, NM
- Photo Miami, Verve Gallery, Miami, FL

2008
- Along the Pecos, Installation with Steven Miller, Mov-In Gallery, College of Santa Fe
- Photo New Mexico, Underground Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
- Water Planet, Capital Rotunda Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
- & Light, Meter Gallery, Group Exhibition, NY
- Ouch! Scheinbaum & Russek Ltd., NM
- Hothouse, Meter Gallery, Group Exhibition, NY

2007
- The Seed Catalog, Bridge Art Fair, Chicago, IL
- Collect 8, Center for Contemporary Arts, Santa Fe

2006
- Aluminum, Silver and Chrome, Marion Center for Photographic Arts, College of Santa Fe

- Moon Series, Verve Gallery, Santa Fe, NM

2005
- Golden Light Awards, Chelsea Art Museum, NYC
- Bloc-Busta, ArtSantaFe 2005, NM
- Photoaustin VI: Lens Based Work By Women Photographers, IDEA-art, Austin, TX
- Friends of the Gallery Show, Verve Gallery, Santa Fe, NM

- Earth Series, Phil Space, Santa Fe, NM

2004
- Reverse, Traveling Exhibit, Philip Feldman Gallery, Pacific Northwest College of Art, Portland

2003
- H20, Traveling Exhibit, Santa Fe Art Institute; Santa Fe, NM
- Reverse, In Conjunction with PhotoArts 2003

2002
- Tradigital: Exhibit of Art & Science Laboratory Associates, Santa Fe Art Institute, Santa Fe
- Deus Ex Machina, Bradley University, Illinois
- Botanical Photography, La Quinta Cultural Center, Albuquerque, NM;
- Collect, Center For Contemporary Arts, Santa Fe, NM

- Earth Studies, Center for Contemporary Arts, Santa Fe

2001
- Evolutions of Narrative Photography, PhotoArts 2001; SFCC, Santa Fe, NM
- New Mexico Photographer Magazine Exhibit, ENMU Runnels Gallery; Portales, NM

AWARDS, ETC:

2017: Clarence John Laughlin Award Finalist, New Orleans Photo Alliance

2015: Julia Margaret Cameron Award Finalist
2011: International Photography Awards, Honorable Mention, Object Diaspora
2009: New Mexico Arts in Public Places Initiatives Grant
2008: 150 Top Talent, Artists in New Mexico, Santa Fean Magazine
2007: Nomination for Eliot Porter Fellowship
2007: Awarded Center for Contemporary Arts Photography Award, New Mexico
2007: Nomination for Santa Fe Prize for Photography, The Center, Santa Fe, NM
2005: Golden Light Award for Landscape Photography, Maine Photographic Workshops
2005: Finalist, Willard Van Dyke Memorial Grant, New Mexico Center for Photography
2005: New Mexico Arts in Public Places Initiatives Grant
2005: Nominated Member, ArTTable
2004: Review Santa Fe participant, Santa Fe Center for Photography
2000: Art & Science Laboratory Residency, Santa Fe, NM

TEACHING EXPERIENCE:
Workshop @ Middle Tennessee State University (2017); Workshop @ Art Intersection (2017);Workshop @ Santa Fe Photographic Workshops (2014-); Adjunct Professor, Marion Center for Photographic Arts, Santa Fe University of Art & Design (2005-2006); Instructor, Georgia O'Keeffe Museum (2003-2005); Instructor, Santa Fe Children's Museum; Instructor (2000-2002), SITE Santa Fe Contemporary Art Museum (1999-2001); Instructor, Warehouse 21 (Santa Fe) (1999-2001); Antidote Retreat, Taos, NM (2022)

SELECT PUBLICATIONS and INTERVIEWS:
- The Diffusion Tapes interview, S02, E03, 2023
- A Past Rediscovered: Highlights from the Palace of the Governors Collections, Book, Museum of New Mexico Press, book
- Catalyst Interviews with Jennifer Schlesinger, www.catalystinterviews.com, August 22, 2018

- Animae, The invisible sources of the artwork: talks with today's artists, book, by Emma Coccioli, Vernon Press

- Turnaround for Santa Fe's Ugly Duckling, Albuquerque Journal, June 22, 2018

- Object Diaspora by Jennifer Schlesinger, Dohdo Magazine, January 2018

- Lenscratch, Jennifer Schlesinger and Obscura Gallery, 2017

- Blur Magazine, Issue 56, Croatia, 2017

- VASA Front Page Project #20, Austria 2016

- Shadow & Light Magazine, May/June 2016

- Fine Art Photo Magazine, Feature Article, Germany 2016

- Lenscratch New Mexico States Project , Interview by Aline Smithson, April 2016

- Bromide Drag Interviews Jennifer Schlesinger, By David Ondrik at Bromide Drag, January, 2014
- The Jennifer Schlesinger Mixtape | Lenscratch.com, August 2014
- F295.com Interview Schlesinger, Gallery Director at Verve July 10, 2014
- Camera 9, Autumn 2013 e-book, www.camera-9.com
- 30 by 30, Presented by Fotovisura Pavilion, September 2013
- Rfoto Folio, June, 2013
- Lenscratch, Tuesday, March 20, 2012
- Underexposed, by Susan Burnstine, August 2011
- Lenscratch, Wednesday, 12 May 2010
- The Pinhole Camera, February 2010
- FOTORITIM, Turkey, Issue: February 2009
- 1000 Words, 5 August 2009
- Lenscratch, Tuesday, 16 December, 2008
- Wallspace Flatfile, 20 September, 2008

SELECT PUBLIC COLLECTIONS:
Center for Creative Photography, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ

Middle Tennessee State University, Baldwin Gallery, TN
Southeast Museum of Photography, Daytona Beach, CA
New Mexico Museum of Art, Santa Fe, NM
New Mexico History Museum, Palace of the Governor's Photo Archives, Santa Fe, NM
Marion Center for Photographic Arts, Santa Fe University of Art & Design
New Mexico Arts Art In Public Places Program (San Juan Pueblo and Los Lunas)
Huntington Botanical Art Collections, CA

SELECT PANELS AND CONTRIBUTIONS:
-Reviewer, Medium San Diego, 2020
-Juror, 'Hybrid' Analog Forever Magazine, 2020

-Juror, 'Black and White', PhotoPlace Gallery, Middlebury, VT, 2017, 2019, 2022

-Juror, 'Light', A Smith Gallery, TX 2016, 2019

-Juror, The Fence, Photoville, United Industries, 2016, 2017, 2018

-Guest Curator, Lenscratch New Mexico States Project, 2016, 2017

-Guest Curator, The Daily Photograph, 2016

-Juror, Southeast Center for Photography, 2015

-Juror, Art Forward Contests, Photography Awards, 2015
-Juror, American Photographic Artists Award, 2014
-Juror, Medium, Mills Pond House Gallery, Smithtown Township Arts Council, NY, 2014
-Juror, Take Flight, Kiernan Gallery, Lexington, VA, 2014
-Juror, Backyard, Santa Fe Photo Workshops, 2013
-Juror, Georgia O'Keeffe Museum International Exhibition, 2013
-Origins, Guest Lecturer, Marion Center for Photographic Arts, SFUAD, NM, 2012
-Anthology 2012, Guest Lecturer, Southeast Museum of Photography, Daytona Beach, FL
-Year of the Remarkable Woman, Guest Lecturer, New Mexico Committee of National Museum of Women in the Arts, 2012
-Review Santa Fe (NM) Reviewer, 2005, 2008-2014, 2016-2018, 2019, 2021, 2022
-Critical Mass (OR) Reviewer, PhotoLucida, 2007, 2009-2011, 2013-2020
-Photo Arts Santa Fe Panel Discussion on Collecting Photography (NM), 2009