Danny Barbato and Ryan Holmes have worked together for over five years. Not in an office building or through the same employer, but collaborating on photography jobs that eventually turned into their own (side) business, Sixteenth & Broadway. Years ago, they taught each other photography by going around town and shooting together—playing with different still and video cameras. Now, they do photography and video for local businesses, weddings and musicians. They both also make art and, for the first time ever, are having an exhibition of their work together.
Estate by Holmes and Turkish Delight by Barbato’s feature photography and mixed media work by both artists. The exhibitions open on Dec. 15 at Ole Bridge Pub, with additional artwork next door at Campo.
Turkish Delight, Barbato’s contribution, consists of large-scale (24 inches by 24 inches) photographic prints that were taken on a 2010 trip to Turkey. It was his first time out of the country, when he accompanied his dad and brother on a business trip to Istanbul.
“They would work all day, and I would head out on foot and explore the city,” Barbato says. “My goal was to explore the culture and learn about the people through my photography.”
The images are in the style of street photography—mostly candid photographs that capture people in their day-to-day lives—showing them throughout the city, in the mosques, shops and bazaars.
“The people were amazing even though there was a huge language barrier,” says Barbato. “People were friendly.” He met people on the ferries and would have conversations with them in broken English or sit down to tea with someone he met on the street and communicate through gestures.
For Holmes’ Estate, he has created new mixed media works on canvas. The idea for this work came from the very first thing that inspired Holmes to create when he was a little kid, that first time using art to express himself, that feeling of feeling good about making something.
“Over the years, I’d write stuff or try painting stuff, or try photography and I tried incorporating all of that,” says Holmes. “So I took all of my old stuff and ripped it up and combined and freshened it up.”
The result is a somewhat collaged appearance. The image from the announcement combines a photograph with colored squares, reminiscent of pixels or paint sample cards, and numbers layered in varying opacities. It avoids looking nostalgic and gives off a more contemporary designed look.
“It’s kind of like pulling that old shoebox full of old stuff out,” says Holmes.
The night of the opening, there will be live entertainment that includes Thom Biondi playing guitar and Pete Barnato spinning records. The work will be split between the two locations—next-door neighbors along the river—and 10 percent of sales will go to charity.
Since neither venue has a lot of open wall space, it will be an unconventional art viewing experience, with pieces hanging from the pipes in Campo.
The two artists jumped at the chance to show their work together, although visually and thematically, their work is anything but similar.
“I wouldn’t say they necessarily go together,” says Holmes in reference to the relationship of each artist’s pieces. “But we work together.”
“The reason we’re doing our own thing is that we work together so much so we thought it would be nice to have our own separate deal that we are doing for this,” Barbato.