November 17, 2008 - January 8, 2009
Ose Manheim hunts for beauty. The camera serves as her “gun” which she wields as she seeks out beauty in whatever environment she happens to be in. But rather than destroying what she finds, Manheim highlights it, brings it to light, calls your attention to it. “I want to inspire awe at the Creator and the natural world,” she says. “There is beauty all around us; you don’t have to go far to find it.”
In her new exhibit “Imaginings” at the MATV Gallery in Malden, Manheim entices the viewer to have fun with her images. A horse in a tree trunk, the "heart" of a tree, a dinosaur in a piece of driftwood, and a “mother and child” image formed by seaweed on the beach. Also on the beach appears a ghost house; swallows’ nests on beach drifts are bird condos with an ocean view; there are trees that are tickled by the wind and dancing. The viewer is treated to not just beautiful images in nature, but a playful game of visual imagination. The images come from her favorite places—Martha’s Vineyard, Plum Island, and places close to her home in Malden—Breakheart Reservation and the Middlesex Fells. “It’s has been my ongoing passion to draw people to nature and to art, to things that are beautiful. Beauty is a necessary antidote to many things we experience in the modern world.”
Manheim’s first camera was a gift from her scientist father back in Stockholm, Sweden where she was born in 1940. It was a 120mm Zeiss model and it helped inspire her love for photography, which became her hobby. Manheim arrived in the United States in 1962 with her husband and first child. In the 1970s, she held a children’s portrait exhibition on Cape Cod, and also won recognition for her black and white photographs. “There was always the need to express life’s experiences through the arts,” she says. While living on Cape Cod (1964-1994) Manheim danced, wrote poetry, played music, and made pottery. She also sketched and designed logos for art and music organizations.
In 1999, Manheim retired from her career in social work and returned to her camera with new zeal, hoping to share nature’s magic with many. “I had been a singing-in-the-bathroom photographer before, but I think of it as a profession now.” Her work has been featured in over a dozen local exhibits in the Boston area. She most recently participated in the Window Arts Malden exhibition. Slowly, Manheim has made the transition from 35mm film photography and darkroom work to digital cameras and editing software. “However, I don’t really like sitting in front of a computer, so I don’t do a great deal of editing,” she says. “Some cropping, but not much else.”
Manheim says, “As a photographer, I chase the light, and as the scene disappears, I notice that time is precious. A moment is lost—never to reappear—like our spiritual journey. We walk toward light hoping to reach it before time runs out.” You can catch the magic of Manheim’s photographs at the MATV Gallery, November 17 – January 8. A reception with the artist will be held on Friday, December 5, from 8:00 – 9:30m, featuring musicians Rebecca Harrold and Lois Lane. Regular exhibit hours are Mondays – Thursdays, 10am – 9pm; Fridays, 10am – 6pm; and Saturdays, 10am – 2pm. Handicapped accessible, the MATV Gallery is located at 145 Pleasant St. in Malden.
Gallery Spotlight: Imaginings - View the 10-minute video featuring an outdoor interview with the artist, and images of her artwork.
