I’ve had the privilege of working with professional photographers for all of my career in journalism and magazine writing, and I’ve always had high admiration for their craft. (Some of my most favorite art in our home was taken by Sanford Myers, a former colleague at the Stuart, Fla., News, whose landscape photography ranged from the Martin County High School sailing team—its crisp white sails framed by trees and water—to the Space Shuttle’s glow rising up over the Atlantic.)
That’s why I’m excited to see a new gallery in town whose singular focus is photography. Iason Demos arrived in DC recently from Athens, where he owned a photography gallery there for many years, but his country’s economic woes forced him to leave. A classmate of his from Dartmouth College convinced him to come here. His MacArthur Boulevard gallery is called Athens House of Photography; the subject matter of its art is global, but Iason’s career started in Greece with his Dad, photographer John Demos. “He is the reason I entered the photography world 20-plus years ago,” Iason says. Here’s some of John Demos’ work on display:
The gallery represents nearly two dozen artists, and many of them are of Greek heritage, who are photographing people and places all over the world. Here’s a rich sampling:
Marina Vernicos:
Nicolas Lotsos:
Emmanuel Coupe:
Constantine Manos: A Greek Portfolio
“A Greek Portfolio” p.114
© Costa Manos/Magnum Photos
“A Greek Portfolio” p.10
© Costa Manos/Magnum Photos
The Athens House of Photography is hosting a “Travel the World” exhibit and fundraiser Sep. 30 – Oct. 2. “The photographers we represent have traveled all over the world, capturing daily life, landscapes and portraits from the U.S. to Japan and from Iceland to Zanzibar,” Iason writes. You can get signed prints of most of the images pictured above. Part of the proceeds will support the nonprofit Reach the World, a foundation that funds programming to students in New York and online classes nationwide. The programs teach awareness of world cultures and being a responsible citizen in this ever-changing environment.
I can’t think of a better—or more beautiful—way to support this cause.