Robert Calafiore employs a hand-built pinhole camera to create large scale one-of-a-kind c-prints. The subject matter, currently either select pieces from a family collection of ordinary glassware or the nude male figure, is placed within a larger construction, a constructed stage set. It is then transformed by the unique recording characteristics of the camera's wide angle, the extended exposure, and the light sensitive paper's recording abilities. Calafiore manipulates the still life to control the results; altering the saturation, color, density and translucency of specific areas. His interest in process, traditional materials, and the reaction between light and chemistry, as well as the personal and universal stories told through every day objects and intimate relationships, drives the work in his studio practice. Elevating the ordinary to the extraordinary...the every day to a magical place…the primary motivator. No digital tools are ever used. Reflecting on the endless flood and speed of changing technology, Calafiore steps back and invests in prolonged experimentation, investigation and hands-on making that begin to speak to a change in how we use our bodies in today’s digital world. Noting the change in the physical dexterity of younger generations and in the way that technology has altered the way we see and experience the physical world has been a fascinating influence. The manner in which we interpret and react to the world around us has shifted. His work is about a pause, a break in the pace and a longer look into, through and across our everyday lives. This look at the world in the negative reveals a view otherwise impossible to see, revealing a place that keeps him wanting. A merging of passions; one for his muses, (both the glassware that holds so much of his family history and the relationships which energize him) and the observation of a dramatically new understanding of what it means to be human going forward.
Calafiore was born in New Britain, Connecticut to Italian immigrants. Both his early childhood and young adult experiences have played a significant role in shaping his interests and practice. Raised in a traditional Roman Catholic home, and part of a large extended family, the religious influence and the strong ties to traditions and work ethic, contributed in molding the way he relates to the world. He was the first to attend college, noting he is a first-generation American. After attending art school for both BFA and MFA degrees, Calafiore has focused on his artistic practice while administrating, teaching and promoting the fine arts, internally and externally from a university staff and faculty position.
He received his MFA in Photography from the State University of New York at Buffalo and his BFA in Photography from Hartford Art School. Currently he lives and works in West Hartford, Connecticut, exhibiting his work nationally and internationally. Calafiore recently was awarded a Connecticut Artist Fellowship Grant for 2018, featured in a solo booth at PhotoFairs San Francisco by Gallery 1/1 from Seattle, named the Second Sight Award artist speaker for Medium Festival of Photography in October 2018, and is newly represented by ClampArt, New York City with his first solo show just closed on March 24, 2018. Find recent reviews and articles about his work in Photograph Magazine, Diffusion Annual IX, Lenscratch and Collector Daily.
Calafiore is represented by:
ClampArt, New York City, NY
Foto Relevance Gallery, Houston, TX
Selected Solo and Group Exhibitions
2020
”Spring Affair”, Center for Photography at Woodstock, curated by Ruben-Natal San Miguel, Woodstock, NY
2019
”Expanded Field”, New Britain Museum of American Art, McKernan Gallery, New Britain, CT
”Glass Relics”, curated by Geoffrey Koslov and Bryn Larsen, Foto Relevance Gallery, Houston, TX
PGH Photo Fair at Carnegie Museum of Art, select works featured by ClampArt, Pittsburgh, PA
2018
"Seeing in the Dark | Robert Calafiore", Pictura Gallery, Bloomington, IN
AIPAD, The Photography Show, select works featured by ClampArt, NYC, NY
"Male Gaze", Gallery 1/1, Seattle, WA
"Muses | Robert Calafiore", ClampArt, NYC, NY
"HCP Annual", curated by juror Lisa Volpe, Houston Center for Photography, Houston, TX
"San Francisco PhotoFairs", solo booth with Gallery 1/1, curated by Dan Shepherd, Fort Mason Art Center, San Francisco, CA
"Techne", Silpe Gallery, Hartford Art School, West Hartford, CT
2017
"Hypermedia in Critical Mass", curated by Laura Moya, Lishui Photography Festival, Lishui, Zhejiang, China
"Color Darkroom Innovators, Robert Calafiore and Joseph Minek", curated by Dan Shepherd, Gallery 1/1, Seattle, WA
"Size Matters", curated by Katherine Ware, Helmuth Projects Gallery during Medium Festival of Photography, San Diego, CA
"Focus Photo LA Top 20", Elizabeth Houston Gallery, NYC, NY"
"Portals", curated by juror Aline Smithson, PhotoPlace Gallery, Middlebury, VT
"Ed Friedman Legacy Exhibition", curated by juror Hamidah Glasgow, Griffin Museum of Photography, Winchester, MA
2016
"Lost and Found", curated by David Borawski, Real Art Ways, Hartford, CT
"The Tide is High", a group show curated by Jeff Mueller, Michael Levinson and Christopher Joy at the Governor's Island Art Fair, Governor's Island, New York Harbor, NY
"Glass Invitational", a two person show curated by Ann Welles, Exhibit A Gallery, Corning, NY
"Selected Works", curated by Jeff Mueller, Elizabeth Harris Gallery, NYC, NY
"For the Love of Things; Still Life", curated by Godin-Spaulding, Albright Knox, Buffalo, NY
"Center Forward", curated by Aline Smithson and Hamidah Glasgow, Center for Fine Art Photography, Fort Collins, CO
"Thunder Umbrella" curated by Christopher Joy, Silvermine Galleries, New Canaan, CT
2015
"Relics and Glass", curated by Debra Klomp and Darren Ching, Klompching Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
"Art Today; 2000-Present", New Britain Museum of American Art, McKernan Gallery, New Britain, CT
"One, Unique Photographs", curated by Debra Klomp and Darren Ching, Klompching Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
"New Works", curated by Jeffrey Mueller, Silvermine Galleries, New Canaan, CT
"Objects and Ideas", Five Points Gallery, Torrington, CT
2014
"Art of the Northeast", curated by Andrew Russeth critic for New York Observer, 16 miles of String and Gallerist, Silvermine Galleries, New Canaan, CT
"New Works", Forre and Co. Gallery, Ft Lauderdale, FL
"Seeing Things, Seven Photogrpahers", Dehn Gallery, MCC on Main, Manchester, CT
2013
"Looking Through a Glass Darkly", Five Points Gallery, Torrington, CT
"New Works", George Billis Gallery, Art Basel week: Miami Beach, Miami, FL
2012
"In Focus: Recent Acquisitions in Photography", New Britain Museum of American Art, New Britain, CT
2011
"Plucking the Rainbow", curated by Ellen Carey, Nina Freudenheim Gallery, Buffalo, NY
"Revealed by Reflection", curated by Chotsani Dean, Three Rivers Gallery, Three Rivers Community College, Norwich, CT
2009-2010
"Swimming Upstream", ArtSpace Gallery, Willimantic, CT
"Going Forward, Looking Back", curated by Stephen Halpert,
traveling exhibition to the following galleries:
Simmons College, Boston, MA and University of New England, Portland, ME and Maine Photographic Workshops, Rockport, ME and University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth, Dartmouth, MA
Other Exhibitions
"Toward 2000", curated by Laura Cloud, RISD Galleries, Providence, RI
"New Artists: Photography Outside Tradition"
traveling exhibition to the following galleries:
Currier Art Gallery, Manchester, NH and
Thorne-Sagendorph Gallery, Keene State College, Keene, NH
"New Worlds", Mattatuck Museum, Waterbury, CT
"In Western New York", Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, NY
"Unfettered Photographs: Stretching Definitions", curated by John Cusano, Carriage Barn Gallery, New Canaan, CT
"Self Portraits", curated by Sal Scalora, William Benton Museum of Art, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT
"Modern Icons", curated by Mary Frey, Zone Art Center, Springfield, MA
Publications and Interviews
2019
Ain’t Bad Magazine, April Feature, by J Houston
Keep the Channel Open Podcast, conversation with Mike Sakesegawa
The Hand Magazine, July Feature, interview by Adam Finkelston
Toh Magazine, Issue #33 Feature, interview by Alex Vaccani
2018
Strange Fire, interview by Hamidah Glasgow
At Length Magazine, interview by Debra Klomp
Lenscratch, States Project, March Issue, interview by Aline Smithson
2017
Foto Relevance, May Issue, Innovation from Photolucida
Fraction Magazine, Issue 100
Diffusion Annual, Issue IX
Lenscratch, September Feature, interview by Aline Smithson
Peripheral Vision Arts Salon 2017 Fellow with critical essay by Georgia Erger
Photograph Magazine, November/December Issue with story "In the Studio" by David Rosenberg
Speaking Engagements
2020
Visiting Artist, Rutgers University, Department of Visual, Media and Performing Arts, Camden, NJ
2018
Artist Talk, “What I Can’t See”, Pictura Gallery, Bloomington, IN
Artist Talk, Second Sight Speaker Series, Medium Festival of Photography, San Diego, CA
Visiting Artist Talk, San Francisco Art Institute, Guest of John Priola, San Francisco, CA
2017
Artist Talk "Robert Calafiore, Color Darkroom Innovator", Gallery 1/1, Seattle, WA
Master of Ceremonies, Art Heist, Five Points Gallery, Torrington, CT
Artist Talk "What Art Is...Not" part of the lecture series at Five Points Gallery, Torrington, CT
2016
Master of Ceremonies, Art Heist, Five Points Gallery, Torrington, CT
Moderator, Artist Conversation: Robert Gregson, David Holzman, and Becky Rosen, Five Points Gallery, Torrington, CT
2015
Artist Presentation, "New Work", hosted by SVA (School of Visual Arts, NYC) for NY Photo Salon
Artist Talk, "New", Silvermine Galleries, New Canaan, CT
Artist Conversation and Panel, "Objects and Ideas", moderated by Power Boothe, Five Points Gallery, Torrington, CT
2014
Artist Talk, "Art of the Northeast", Silvermine Galleries, New Canaan, CT
2013
Imagemaker Presentation, "Troubled by Beauty", Society for Photographic Education-Northeast Annual Conference, Maine College of Art, Portland, ME
Artist Talk, "Looking Through a Glass, Darkly", Five Points Gallery, Torrington, CT
2011
Artist Talk, "Revealed by Reflection" Three Rivers Gallery, Three Rivers Community College, Norwich, CT
Conferences , Portfolio Reviews, Awards
2017
Purchase Prize, Size Matters Exhibition, Helmuth Projects, San Diego, CA
Critical Mass Top 200
Medium, Festival of Photography, San Diego, CA
Photolucida, Portalnd, Oregon
Month of Photography, Denver, CO
2016
ACP: Atlanta Celebrates Photography, Atlanta, GA
Curatorial Projects
2018
"Eighth Annual of Photography", Art League of New Britain, curator, New Britain, CT
2015
"Images", an exhibition of contemporary photography in Connecticut, co-curator, Guilford, CT
"Objects and Ideas", curated by Robert Calafiore, including Emily Cappa, Nathan Carris Carnes, Rafael D'Alo, Chotsani Elaine Dean, Rose DeSiano, Lucy Helton, Alex Kozachek, Scot MacCluggage, Rachael Wren and Robert Calafiore, Five Points Gallery, Torrington, CT
Selected Collections
Transformer Station, Cleveland, OH
New Britain Museum of American Art, New Britain, CT
Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, NY
Museum of Photographic Arts, San Diego, CA
Private collections in FL, NY, MA, IL, CA, CT, OH
Education
MFA, State University of New York at Buffalo
BFA, Hartford Art School