It moves forward, always

February 13–May 9, 2024

It moves forward, always explores photography’s ability to connect and reveal multiple timelines: geologic, social, imagined, or historical. The exhibition brings together nine artists including Laura Aguilar, Ilana Harris-Babou, Pao Houa Her, Sky Hopkina, Tom Jones, Hasabie Kidanu, Tarrah Krajnak, Dionne Lee, and Daniel Ramos whose lived experiences and critical perspectives engage themes surrounding land, place, and memory.

Whether excavating historical traces in the natural world, giving architectural shape to latent memory, or performing within the complexities of the landscape, this inter-generational group of artists offers ways for sensorial and embodied engagements with time. We invite you to view the artists’ work with an openness not limited by the lens of curatorial vision, but by the ability of the works to communicate visually and be expanded by other works throughout the exhibition. We encourage museum viewers to experience the unresolved, revel in the poetic, and arrive at multiple possible meanings.  

Organized by Paul Baker Prindle, Carolyn Campagna Kleefeld Contemporary Art Museum Director; Lacey Lennon, Assistant Professor of Photography; and Rebecca Sittler, Professor of Photography, California State University, Long Beach. 

Funding support for this exhibition is graciously provided by the Carolyn Kleefeld Endowment, The Constance W. Glenn Endowment, the Brooks Endowment, Arts Council for Long Beach, and Instructionally Related Activities funding from Associated Students, Inc.

Image features works by Tarrah Krajnak, Pao Houa Her, and Dionne Lee
Installation image by Tatiana Mata