“MX Shabazz Marching Band” by Chrystofer Davis; digital image; 13″ x 19″; 2023

(BRANCHBURG, NJ) -- Raritan Valley Community College’s Arts & Design department will present Here and There, an exhibition showcasing the work of New Jersey artists Chrystofer Davis and Kimberly Witham, September 26-October 24, 2023 in the Art Gallery at the College’s Branchburg campus.

The show is being curated by RVCC Associate Professor and Art Gallery Director Darren McManus. The reception and artists’ talk will be held Friday, October 6, from 5:00pm-7:00pm. The event is free of charge and open to the public. Refreshments will be served.

The exhibition will feature the work of two award-winning artists, Chrystofer Davis and Kimberly Witham. Although both artists primarily create within the photographic realm, their subject matter and approach to image-making is quite different, offering a compelling display of contemporary photography.

“The Devil is in the Details” by Kimberly Witham; dye sublimation print on matte aluminum; 36″  x 24″; 2016

Chrystofer Davis is a Newark native and a fine art photographer, professor, muralist, and filmmaker whose work is influenced by street/portrait photography and contemporary culture. During the course of his career, Davis has worked, collaborated, and showcased with world-renowned companies and celebrities, including: The New York Times, Disney, The Obama Foundation, New York Magazine, Leica Camera, Puma, and MTV. Additionally, Davis has hosted numerous seminars and lectures on his work.

Peerspace noted him as one of “The 5 Best Fine Art Photographers in Newark.” His works are currently archived in prominent institutions such as The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, The Newark Public Library, The Thomas J. Watson Library at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Tufts University, and The Bronx Museum. As a teaching artist, he is currently utilizing his expertise to facilitate workshops to show the importance of keeping the use of film and developing alive, as well as documenting the many faces and architecture of Newark.

“Aya” by Chrystofer Davis; digital image; 19″ x 13″; 2022

Kimberly Witham is an artist and educator who currently resides in Glen Gardner. Her lush and evocative photographs are strongly influenced by her studies in art history and her interest in the natural world. Since moving to New Jersey in 2006, she has focused her work on the relationship between humans and wildlife. Her still life images include road kill animals, yard sale items, and flowers and fruit (often grown in the artist’s own garden).

Her work has been featured in Color Magazine, PHOTO+, BLOW photo, The Photo Review, BLINK, Foto, Orion, The New Republic, and Wired (online) and has been used as cover illustration for books in the US and France. In 2016, National Geographic created a short film about Witham’s studio practice titled “Making Roadkill Into Art.” She has won awards and grants including the Feature Shoot Emerging Photography Award, a fellowship at the Center for Emerging Visual Artists, the Clarence John Laughlin Award, and the Lindback Distinguished teaching award. In 2023, Witham received a New Jersey State Council on the Arts Individual Artist Fellowship. Her work has been shown in solo and group exhibitions in the United States and abroad and is held in both museums and private collections. Witham is a Professor of Photography at Bucks County Community College.  She is represented by galleries in Brooklyn, New Orleans, Boston, Memphis, and Provincetown, MA. 

“Asleep in the Night Garden” by Kimberly Witham; archival pigment print with matte varnish; 21″ x 14″; 2020

Gallery hours for the exhibition are Mondays, 3:00pm-8:00pm; Tuesdays, 10:00am-3:00pm; Wednesdays, 3:00pm-8:00pm; Thursdays, 10:00am-6:00pm; and Fridays, 1:00pm-4:00pm. For further information, contact the  Arts & Design department, 908-218-8876.

Raritan Valley Community College (RVCC) is located at 118 Lamington Road in Branchburg, New Jersey.