John Rosenthal
Valle Crucis, North Carolina, 1980
LIVING IN THE ORDINARY WORLD, a retrospective exhibition of photographs by John Rosenthal organized by GreenHill Center for North Carolina Art, opens on July 22, 2023 and runs through November 4, 2023. Finding the luminous in ordinary things has been a pursuit for Rosenthal for five decades. GreenHill’s survey will be organized around the artist’s major series of New Yo rk City, his son as a child, the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans, and spectators gazing at art among others. It will include vintage silver prints as well as examples of newer color photographs of ocean waves crashing on shorelines, French facades, and American scenes.
“As we are entering our own 50th anniversary year here at GreenHill, we're especially pleased to be celebrating John Rosenthal's own distinguished five-decade career as a North Carolina photographer," said Leigh Dyer, GreenHill's executive director.
John Rosenthal’s works are in the collections of the Ackland Museum and North Carolina Museum of Art and he has held major exhibits at the National Humanities Center, Asheville Museum of Art, andNational Academy of Sciences, among others. As a commentator for All Things Considered on National Public Radio, he introduced a wide public to critical thinking about the art of photography. In addition tospeaking at the exhibition opening party on July 22 from 4:00 – 6:00 PM, Rosenthal will be giving a not-to-be-missed talk at GreenHill on September 23. A forty-page retrospective catalogue with an essay bythe artist will accompany the exhibition.
Ten North Carolina Photographers, guest-curated by Rosenthal, will also be on view. It presents photographs by Rob Amberg, Catharine Carter, Alan Dehmer, Carolyn DeMeritt, Tama Hochbaum, Gadisse Lee, Elizabeth Matheson, Holden Richards, Lori Vrba, and Wojtek Wojdynski.
This exhibition has partnership support from NPR stations WUNC and WFDD. The galleries are free andopen to the public during GreenHill’s operating hours. Special events, including First Friday
performances, a chef-inspired ArtTaste experience in the gallery, and more will be available throughout the exhibition at www.greenhillnc.org\events.