Buster Levi Gallery is pleased to present Mutiples by Lucille Tortora at 121 Main Street in Cold Spring, New York. The exhibition will run from October 4  to October 26, 2025. There will be an opening reception for the artist on Saturday October 4 from 4-6 pm.

Multiples is a selection of Tortora’s photographs focused on her interest in juxtaposing both different and altered images to create triptychs or more intricate works. Tortora employs two different strategies this exhibition. The first one is to take images of different subjects, sometimes of the same scene and then assemble them into triptychs. Their focus may suggest a narrative such as Check Point Charlie, Berlin 1992 or Norbunka Opera Festival, Lhasa Tibet 1997. Both works combine images that present either details or fragments of each particular motif. The content is not specifically defined but rather is open to interpretation by each viewer. At other times, rather than focus on a potential story, Tortora is more interested in the relationship of formal qualities. In a work such as, Casa Batilo, Barcelona Spain 2005, Tortora assembles three images of objects that are based on organic forms.The first object appears to be a ceiling fixture characterized by thin linear elements emphasized through the contrast of the illuminated lamp. The center image is a bulbous form, perhaps the top of a lamp post sculpted by light and the third is a leaf shaped metallic form that stands out in sharp contrast to the background. The connection between the objects is their shared relationship to sharp contrasted light and their organic origins. 

The second strategy that Tortora employs is an interest in formal elements where her imagery is pushed toward abstraction. In contrast to other works included in the exhibition, she takes one image and turns it in different ways and then assembles them into basic shapes such as a cross or a diamond. For example, in He’s My Cross, 1997, Tortora transforms 10 images of what may be a section of a natural wood fence or roots turning it in different ways assembling the whole into a cross. The piece reads abstract and the object is hard to recognize. The idea is pushed further in a work titled, Black Cross, 1997, where the image is almost impossible to identify and the arrangement of the cross is not aligned. Highly contrasted areas of light flow into each other creating an energetic rhythm that vibrates. 

Tortora’s approach to photography is not traditional. Her interest and the strategy toward her subject matter is more abstract than narrative or realistic. Tortora has often compared her work to Cubism, especially the idea of viewing one subject from different angles. Combined with her rich use of contrast and tonal range, she has created a body of work that is dynamic and engaging.

The gallery will be open Saturday and Sunday from noon to five pm.

For more information: busterlevigallery.com

Artist Website: Lucille Tortora