City meets Farm

The beautifully undulating hills of Washington State meet the lonely winter boardwalks of the Jersey Shore; misty mosaics of wheat fields touch the alleys of London and Paris; and abandoned barns team up with empty urban warehouses this month at Middle Street Gallery in Little Washington.

Veteran photographers Jo Levine and Gary Anthes join forces at a special gallery show, Town & Country, starting tomorrow, Sept. 13 through Oct. 6. Gallery artists will host a reception on Saturday, Sept. 14 from 3 to 5 p.m.

The show illustrates how photographers adapt their views and techniques to vastly different subjects. Levine's photographs of the beautiful Palouse countryside in southeast Washington State range from a dreamlike quality to abstractions created from patchwork farmland. Meanwhile, Anthes's photographs of mostly urban spaces, and the people in them, span three continents and hint at the mysteries he finds there.

“The farms of the Palouse are covered with fields in shades of green, gold, and brown that follow the land’s contours,” Levine explains. “They are reminiscent of Tuscany — with a little bit of Rappahannock County thrown in, and the area had been on my bucket list for several years.” This past June, from dawn to dusk over five days, Levine saw and recorded the pastoral beauty of that region. “I love to prowl city streets with my camera, not knowing what I will find around the next corner,” Anthes says. “I'm especially attracted to the lone figure — often ones that suggest mystery or sadness — in a visual context that says something about the city I'm in.”

Other members of the artists' cooperative will also show works during the period. The gallery is located at 325a Middle Street. Hours are Friday-Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.