Sonoma State University

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Join us for our upcoming exhibition.

September 3, 2026

Mere Seconds - Insight/Incite 20/20

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University Art Gallery
Thu, Sep 3, 11:00 am – 4:00 pm

CONCURRENT PHOTOGRAPHY EXHIBITIONS

Mere Seconds: Andrew Owen and Insight/Incite 20/20: PhotoAlliance 

Thursday, September 3, October 17, 2026 

 

The University Art Gallery at Sonoma State University is pleased to present two concurrent photography exhibitions: Mere Seconds: Andrew Owen and Insight/Incite 20/20: PhotoAlliance 20th Anniversary Portfolio. On view from September 3 through October 17, 2026, the exhibitions are guest-curated by Bay Area artist and Bass & Reiner Gallery co-founder Chris Grunder. Together, the exhibitions showcase the breadth of contemporary photographic practice, bringing distinct artistic voices into conversation through shared explorations of place, environment, and the human experience. 

 

Mere Seconds: Andrew Owen

Mere Seconds presents sixteen landscape photographs by Andrew Owen that examine ecological transformation across California during recent cycles of megafires and floods. Created between 2021 and 2025, the series grew from extensive travel documenting communities and environments shaped by extreme weather. Working primarily with a 4×5 view camera, Owen focuses on physical and conceptual boundaries where ecological change, human experience, and moments of the sublime converge.

 

On view at the University Art Gallery, Mere Seconds examines the climate crisis through an expansive visual lens. Photographs of burned terrain, fire-retardant-stained fields, and other transformed environments are juxtaposed with moments of unexpected beauty, revealing tensions between vulnerability and resilience, loss and renewal. Blending documentary observation with poetic sensibility, the exhibition reflects on California's changing landscapes and the broader ecological and cultural narratives that shape our relationship with the natural world.  (Mere Seconds narrative and images)

 

Insight/Incite 20/20: PhotoAlliance 20th Anniversary Portfolio

INSIGHT/INCITE 20/20: PhotoAlliance 20th Anniversary Portfolio celebrates two decades of PhotoAlliance’s contributions to the Bay Area photographic arts community. Curated by PhotoAlliance founder and Creative Director Linda Connor, the portfolio brings together twenty works by local, national, and international artists whose practices reflect the breadth and vitality of contemporary photography.

 

Presented at the University Art Gallery, the portfolio explores themes of resilience, identity, community, migration, environmental change, and social justice, demonstrating photography’s enduring capacity to foster dialogue and reflection. Collectively, the works showcase diverse artistic voices and approaches, underscoring the medium’s power to engage pressing contemporary issues while creating opportunities for connection and understanding. 

 

EXHIBITION PROGRAMMING:
OPENING RECEPTION - September 3, 4:00 PM-6:00 PM

The opening reception is free and open to the public and the SSU campus community. Visitors driving to the SSU campus must purchase an $9 parking pass from any automated parking kiosk. 

PANEL DISCUSSION: Saturday, October 3 (1-2pm). Curator, Chris Grunder in conversation with Andrew Owen and others.