You Only Turn 40 Once!

Etherton Gallery kicks off its 40th Anniversary on the weekend of September 18-19, 2021, a celebration of the gallery’s rich history and recent move, with an exhibition featuring internationally renowned photographer, Joel-Peter Witkin (1939-) — Joel-Peter Witkin: Journeys of the Soul. The exhibition runs from September 14 to November 27. Terry Etherton has represented Joel-Peter Witkin since 1988, just a few years after he opened his gallery in Tucson.

“On this 40th Anniversary, inaugurating our new space at 340 South Convent Avenue with an exhibition of Joel-Peter Witkin’s work is a fitting tribute to both the gallery’s and Joel’s legacy, and our longstanding friendship,” said Etherton Gallery owner, Terry Etherton.

The festivities begin Saturday, September 18, 7:00-10:00 pm with the opening reception for Joel-Peter Witkin: Journeys of the Soul at Etherton Gallery’s new location – 340 South Convent Avenue. Joel-Peter Witkin will attend.

Joel-Peter Witkin: Journeys of the Soul is a career survey featuring rare and iconic photographs and drawings, made over the last four decades. As the photographer said in a 2010 interview, “The body is the armor of the soul.” Over the course of his career, Witkin has addressed the tensions between heaven and hell, sexuality and death and notions of beauty through the non-mainstream body. His models include the physically disabled, amputees, cadavers, and transexuals, and through them he points out social, religious and political contradictions in contemporary culture.

The weekend continues on Sunday, September 19th at 2:00 pm, with a screening of the film Witkin & Witkin at The Loft Cinema – 3233 East Speedway Boulevard. Terry Etherton will introduce the film. To watch a trailer of Witkin & Witkin, visit https://youtu.be/Xe5b5vPxxcY. For more information about the screening visit https://loftcinema.org/film/witkin-witkin/.

Witkin & Witkin tells the story of estranged identical twins, photographer Joel-Peter Witkin and his brother, figurative painter, Jerome Witkin. “Identical twins, yet for the most part strangers who remain despite their age, invested in maintaining their distance from each other. A film that explores their vast and important bodies of work, the impact that Joel-Peter Witkin’s work has had on popular culture from the Nine Inch Nails to Alexander McQueen, and in contrast how painter, Jerome’s work has been impacted by the events of his time. A painter who bears witness and a photographer who lives and creates from both the real world and the imaginary.”

You only turn 40 once – so don’t miss Etherton Gallery’s 40th Anniversary celebration, featuring a weekend of Joel-Peter Witkin.  Joel-Peter Witkin: Journeys of the Soul opens with a reception Saturday, September 18th, 7:00 -10:00 pm, and the film Witkin & Witkin will be screened on Sunday, September