From Landscapes to Streets – a Weir Farm Artist’s Journey

For the past decade, Xiomaro has been creating photographic collections for the Connecticut Forest & Park Association, Weir Farm National Historical Park – where he has served as its Visiting Artist – and other organizations.  The work culminated in a photo/history book he authored with a foreword by Senator Joseph I. Lieberman.  Although the artist is still creating images of bucolic National Parks, his unusual and gritty urban images are gaining recognition and will be part of group exhibits in Connecticut and Scotland.

Xiomáro, like many commuters, maintains a physical presence in New York City for work.  Even Julian Alden Weir, who painted world-renown masterpieces on the property now preserved as Connecticut’s first national park, regularly took the train to the world’s art center.  But for Xiomáro, the city itself also provides a landscape that inspires creativity.

In Sixth Avenue, he presents a surreal view by photographing the street through the reflections of an all-glass bus shelter.  The image will be featured in the December 28, 2022 issue of Street Photography Magazine and a large print is part of a group exhibition at The Mayor’s Gallery in Stamford.

Newsstand is another photograph that is garnering attention and will be on view at Scotland’s Glasgow Gallery of Photography.  A sphinx-like figure, surrounded by the clutter, practically blends in with his inventory.

For Xiomáro, who was described in a recent PBS segment as “a historian through the lens,” Newsstand is a good example of its connection with his National Park photography of Weir Farm, George Washington’s headquarters, and other iconic sites. 

“Through my street photography, I am artistically documenting what I like to refer to as ‘future history,’” he explains.  “With more people getting their information online, today’s newsstands carry few papers and magazines and, as seen in the photograph, are selling mostly soft drinks, snacks, and candy.  As a result, only 276 newsstands remain in Manhattan from the 1,500 in their 1950s heyday.  These once-familiar sites are anachronisms that may eventually disappear altogether.”

More of Xiomáro’s photography can be seen at his website:  www.xiomaro.com.  Sixth Avenue is on view from November 8, 2022 to January 6, 2023 as part of A Look Back, a retrospective group exhibition curated by Lina Morielli at The Mayor’s Gallery, Government Center, 888 Washington Blvd., 10th floor, Stamford, Connecticut.  Parking on site is handicap accessible.  The exhibition is free of charge, but by appointment only on weekdays from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm.  The opening reception, on November 17, 2022 from 5:30 to 7:30 pm., is also free of charge.  Contact esgordon@optonline.net.