Aperture Releases Kelli Connell: Pictures for Charis

New York, February 13, 2024—Aperture announces Pictures for Charis by Kelli Connell, an illuminating study of the collaboration between photographer Edward Weston (1886–1958) and his partner and muse Charis Wilson (1914–2009), presented through the contemporary lens of a queer woman artist. Her first project combining image and text as a mode of visual research and storytelling, this monograph features new photography and writing by Connell along with classic figure studies and landscapes by Weston. Offering new perspective on a well-known set of Weston’s photos, Pictures for Charis raises vital questions about photography, gender, and portraiture in the twenty-first century. The book is copublished by Aperture and the Center for Creative Photography, Tucson.

Pictures for Charis centers upon Connell’s fascination with Wilson, who collaborated with Weston as a writer, partner, and muse during the 1930s and ’40s, one of the most productive segments of Weston’s historic career. In her exploration of their shared legacy, Connell travels the western United States with her partner Betsy Odom to create images in the same locales where Wilson and Weston made now iconic photographs together. Finding a kinship with Wilson and Weston, Connell navigates a cultural landscape that has evolved from their era, and yet remains mired in many of the same thorny issues regarding the nature of desire and inspiration, and the relationship of artist, muse, and landscape. The monograph is accompanied by an exhibition at the High Museum of Art, Atlanta, from September 20, 2024, through January 5, 2025, followed by presentations at the Center for Creative Photography, Tucson, and Cleveland Museum of Art in 2025.

Kelli Connell: Pictures for Charis is edited by Lesley A. Martin, Editor at Large, Aperture, with text editing by Alexa Dilworth and support from Noa Lin, Assistant Editor, and is available at aperture.org/books.

Public Programs
In celebration of the release of Pictures for Charis, the Chicago Humanities Festival will host a conversation between Kelli Connell and artist Dawoud Bey, moderated by Executive Director at the Museum of Contemporary Photography, Natasha Egan, on April 27. The conversation will be followed by a book signing at the Chicago History Museum. Other scheduled book signings with Kelli Connell will take place at SPE, March 23, Expo Chicago, April 13, and AIPAD, April 25–28. Details on book signings and upcoming programs will be available at aperture.org/events.

Kelli Connell (born in Oklahoma City, 1974) is an artist whose work investigates sexuality, gender, identity, and photographer/sitter relationships. Her photography has been published as part of MP3: Midwest Photographers Publication Project (Aperture, 2006) and represented in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Los Angeles County Museum of Art; J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles; Philadelphia Museum of Art; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Columbus Museum of Art; Milwaukee Art Museum; High Museum of Art, Atlanta; and Dallas Museum of Art, among others. Connell has received fellowships from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, MacDowell, Illinois Arts Council Agency, and Center for Creative Photography, Tucson. Connell lives in Chicago, where she teaches at Columbia College Chicago.

Betsy Odom is an artist, curator, and educator based in Chicago. Odom received an MFA from Yale School of Art and a BFA from San Francisco Art Institute. They are the recipient of numerous grants and awards, including a City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events grant and a West Collection acquisition prize. Odom’s work has been reviewed in publications including Artforum, Fabrik magazine, and the Chicago Tribune.

Kelli Connell: Pictures for Charis was made possible, in part, with generous support from the Center for Creative Photography at the University of Arizona, Tucson; the Cleveland Museum of Art; and the High Museum of Art, Atlanta. Additional thanks to Julie and Will Hobert; Joe Williams and Tede Fleming; Suzette Bross; Max McCauslin and John Smith; and the Peter Salomon Endowment for the Advancement of Women Photographers for their support.

About Aperture
Aperture is a nonprofit publisher that leads conversations around photography worldwide. From its base in New York, Aperture connects global audiences and supports artists through its acclaimed quarterly magazine, books, exhibitions, digital platforms, public programs, limited-edition prints, and awards. Established in 1952 to advance “creative thinking, significantly expressed in words and photographs,” Aperture champions photography’s vital role in nurturing curiosity and encouraging a more just, tolerant society.

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Press Contact
Lauren Van Natten, + 1 212.946.7151, publicity@aperture.org