“Jill Freedman – Hello+Goodbye”

March 15 – April 17

“If it’s not good enough, don’t show it,” Freedman deadpanned to an audience in a 2016 lecture. With the utmost respect for Freedman, Chroma Fine Art Gallery’s curator, Rita Baunok, selected the highest-quality, signed, vintage gelatin silver prints for the exhibition, Hello + Goodbye. As a professional photographer and dark-room printer herself, Baunok also appreciates the technical craft of photography – from the click of the shutter to the final darkroom processes. In making the final selection, Baunok culled through scores of photographs with the help of Freedman’s cousins Nancy Schiffman-Sklar and Susan Hecht. “All of Jill’s work is incredible,” she explained. “I know Jill’s standards and her commitment to production value. I wouldn’t show anything other than the absolute finest quality prints.” The exhibition features some of Freedman’s most iconic images from well-known projects, with a few lesser-known pieces sprinkled in.

In her monographs, Freedman often included text alongside her images. These quotes, musings, stories, observations and memories served to contextualize the photograph and give voice to the subject. Freedman’s personal notes and markings were highlighted in the layout of this exhibition catalog, which reprinted the back and front of the original hand-printed photographs. In fact, the title of the show came from the words “hello + goodbye” scribbled by Freedman on the back of the photograph Baunok selected to characterize this exhibition: a presumed self-portrait of the photographer’s shadowed arm waving from a moving vehicle. The personal greeting presented Baunok with an opportunity to introduce this passionate, well-regarded photojournalist to her gallery visitors. Always in motion, with an unwavering empathy for humanity, the photograph is a fitting testament to Freedman creative spirit. “Go out and take pictures,” Freedman advised students, for “there’s a million stories.”

Opening Reception: March 26, 4PM – 8PM