See ‘The Other Side Of Summer’ At 440 Gallery

Looking for a different view of summer? Check out the opening reception at 440 Gallery at 440 6th Avenue between 9th and 10th Streets tonight for Tom Bovo’s recent photographs, “The Other Side of Summer.” For his third solo show at the gallery, Bovo turns his attention away from cityscapes and still lifes, and focuses instead on the Santa Barbara Harbor in California.

During a recent visit to the West Coast, he worked by wandering the waterfront at dawn and again at dusk. The city was quite a change for Bovo, who was born and raised in Brooklyn, and he found the location fascinating.

“There is something that can be quite calming about the ocean, that seems to drain tensions away. In New York you have to seek out the times and places for that experience, but in Santa Barbara it seemed much more easily accessible–there was always a quiet place just a short walk down the beach,” Bovo told The Brooklyn Magazine.

Bovo says that Santa Barbara is like a summer playground all year round. “But there is another side to that playground, where that world is quieted, and slowed down, and that alternate view is what I am seeking with this work,” he says.

Bovo’s interest in photography started in childhood when his father, a photography enthusiast, gave him a camera. He later studied painting and printmaking at Columbia University and this training is deeply felt in his photography. For decades, Bovo worked in the commercial photo industry in New York City, but has focused on his own work in recent years.

The show opens Thursday, July 9th, and runs through Sunday, August 9th.