VISUAL ARTS + MUSEUMS

Houston Arts Alliance, in partnership with Houston Center for Photography, presents the exhibition Thrills and Chills, featuring the work of photographer Isa Leshko. The exhibition opens Thursday, October 14, with a reception from 6pm-8pm.

This body of work features black and white images taken at parks, county fairs and along boardwalks using a stripped down Holga toy camera. The exhibition will be on display at Houston Arts Alliance through December 31, 2010.

Award winner Leshko has shown at the Griffin Museum of Photography in Winchester, MA., the Rayko Photo Center in San Francisco, CA., Newspace Center for Photography in Portland, OR. and the SoHo Photo Gallery in New York City. Her work is currently part of the Photo Forum exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. Leshko is represented by John Cleary Gallery.

"Amusement park rides terrify me, which is why I began photographing them. I am fascinated by what compels people to surrender themselves to these mechanical beasts. The rides seem to challenge the very limitations of being human. We can't fly; yet these vertigo-inducing machines allow us to soar through the open air. The experience combines elation with fear; thrills with chills."
-- Artist Isa Leshko

Pictured: Coaster Cables, Gelatin-Silver Print, Copyright ©2008. (detail above, full image below).