Nathan Kensinger Photography: 1/1/10

From February 4th to May 16th 2010, the Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts (MoCADA) exhibited a selection of 17 of my photographs as part of a group exhibit titled The Gentrification of Brooklyn. As described by MoCADA, "the exhibition brings together over 20 artists whose work investigates the controversial impact of gentrification on the great borough of Brooklyn.... Each artist presents their own personal critique via work that attempts to decipher and reconcile the sweeping changes taking place in their communities."

The Gentrification of Brooklyn presented an overview of my photographs from Brooklyn's endangered industrial waterfront. As reviewed in Urban Omnibus, these photos "inspire a nostalgic feeling for an old working class Brooklyn that’s being cleared away to create new canvasses for real estate developers." The Indypendent wrote that "the photographs and abstract pieces resonate the most. Many speak without their captions, like one of an abandoned couch by the Sunset Park waterfront." The exhibit was reviewed in numerous other publications, including the NY Times Local and Gothamist.

From January to March 2010, the BRIC Rotunda Gallery presented a selection of my photographs as part of a group exhibit titled The No Place. As described by BRIC, The No Place featured "the work of six contemporary artists who conjure utopian and dystopian environments in distinct ways to explore such issues as geo-political conflict, human rights, urban development, the environment, and most broadly, how we comprehend and utilize physical space."

The exhibit included several of my photographs from Brooklyn's off-limits waterfront, such as the image above - Dome Lights (2006) - from inside the Revere Sugar Refinery. These photographs were reviewed by ARTimesNY, which wrote "Nathan Kensinger’s photos document spaces in Brooklyn that haven’t been touched by humans in years.... What do the spaces we leave behind, never consider, or that are inaccessible tell us about ourselves? The work in this exhibition reminded me of the late-artist Gordon Matta Clark who, in the early 1970’s, investigated similar spaces..."