Shaina Gates

Shaina Gates (b. 1983, New York) is an artist working in experimental and alternative photography. Using a variety of photographic surfaces, she combines geometric folding algorithms with the alchemical nature of photosensitive materials to produce 3-dimensional photograms and 2-dimensional prints on film and paper.

Her work has been exhibited throughout New England, as well as in New York, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia. A selection of her experimental film pieces were included in the Center for Maine Contemporary Art’s 2023 Biennial. Her film sculptures and large cyanotypes were also included in the New England Triennial in 2022, presented by the deCordova Museum and Fruitlands Museum. A solo exhibition of her work was also exhibited at 3SArtspace in Portsmouth NH in fall 2023.

Gates has recently been awarded the the Piscataqua Region Artist Advancement Grant for 2023, given by the NH Charitable Foundation. She earned an MFA from the University of Pennsylvania in 2016, an MAT in Art Education in 2008, and a BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design in 2005. She currently lives and works in Kittery, Maine, and teaches at the University of New Hampshire.

Shaina’s work was featured in ‘Solid Gold’ on view November 11-26, 2023.

“My transparent origami-like Figure sculptures are made from various types of black and white photographic sheet film. To make the work, the film is folded and exposed to the sun for a period of time before wet-processing it to stop the exposure. This experimental material technique produces a range of colors, depending on the film type, exposure time, temperature, and other environmental factors.

The Figure sculptures are then used to create the “lumen-printed” Artifact images, using different types of silver gelatin paper (i.e. black and white darkroom paper). Each piece represents a specific adaptation to the laws of planar geometry, along with the physical contingencies of light and incidental chemistry.”

Shaina Gates