Exhibition Duration: January 20, 2026 – March 21, 2026
In-Person Opening Reception: Friday, January 30th, 2026 @ 6:30 – 9:30 p.m.
Virtual Reception: Friday, February 6th, 2026 @ 6:30 p.m.
About the Exhibition
New Brunswick, NJ – Alfa Art Gallery is excited to present our photography exhibition, “Reflections of the Living World,” a collection of images that captures the beauty, vulnerability, and movement of the natural landscape around us. Each photograph invites viewers to pause and notice the quiet rhythms of everyday life. The exhibition brings together artists with diverse perspectives, yet all are united by a shared commitment to observing and honoring the world we inhabit.
About the New Brunswick Art Salon Initiative:
Alfa Art Gallery, since opening in 2008, later 2010 hosted New Brunswick Art Salons (NBAS) in an effort to support established and emerging artists. Alfa has made an effort to showcase pieces from all media, from watercolor, oil, photography, and mixed media. We believe that visual art is a universal form of expression that can bridge cultural gaps and provide a forum where diverse perspectives can be shared and appreciated. Within this non-profit organization, Alfa Art Gallery maintains its mission to uplift artists by providing an open and innovative environment that is dedicated to fostering a vibrant and diverse cultural community. Alfa Art Gallery has grown into New Brunswick’s Cultural Hub by exhibiting over five hundred artists and by hosting multidisciplinary community events in honor of the visual arts
2026 NBAS Featured Artists in Photography:
Alan Chimacoff is a photographer from Princeton, New Jersey. With his architectural degrees, which he received from Cornell and Harvard, Chimacoff has an expertise in finding abstract and pictorial spaces. He is able to capture the intricate depths in images of architecture, the city, and manufactured things. Through intricacy and intriguing compositions, Chimacoff’s view of the mundane and unusual in non-objective abstraction allows others to see the world from a different perspective through his works. Chimacoff is very proactive in the art world by being a member of Soho Photo Gallery in New York City. He has many collections in national galleries from Los Angeles to Dallas and local exhibitions in New Jersey, including several solo and group shows. With a strong connection to Cornell and Princeton through being a professor of architecture and even designing buildings for the campuses along with other schools nationwide. In 2019, he was a recipient of the New Jersey American Institute of Architects Michael Graves Lifetime Achievement Award, its highest honor. through his works.
Arik Gorban has been pursuing photography since he was 11 years old. Having had over 45 years of experience in the field, he now produces both fine art-based works and hosts a variety of photography workshops and services. Growing up, Gorban was surrounded by the art scene as he attended many museums and galleries with his family. His creative process consists of reflecting what he sees in his mind’s eye through pre-visualizing images. Over time, he was able to take advantage of newer tools and techniques to produce images that express his intentions in a stronger manner. Gorban is an active judge in photo contests, critiques, and often exhibits his own photography work. Working in a variety of photo mediums, such as darkroom photography, analog photography, and digital image,s has led him to numerous photography awards and national and international publications.
Barry Rosenthal is a fine arts photographer and sculptor based in Brooklyn, New York, with a focus on environmental impact and advocacy throughout his pieces. Starting his professional art career at the Dayton Art Institute in Dayton, Ohio, studying photography, which led him into street photography. While photographing the world around him, Rosenthal noticed more and more things left behind —old toys, gloves, and garbage found in natural forms —seeing the battle between the natural and the unnatural. He began collecting these ocean-borne objects, seeing them in a new light or shadow as pieces to be focused on. These unnatural objects allowed Rosenthal to see both their horror and their beauty, prompting him to create his series of found-object photographs, “Found in Nature.” By arranging these found objects by color or utility against dark backgrounds, making them feel both isolated and unified, as well as making the viewers feel comfortable with their own role in the fate of these objects and our environment as a whole. One of his most notable pieces from this series is Blue Ocean due to its vibrancy and draw, allowing this to be his first piece to receive national attention. This series gained Rosenthal a lot of notability; his images can be found in many prestigious museums, such as the MOMA, the Springfield Art Museum, as well as being featured in the New York Times, National Geographic, CBS News, and The Weather Channel, bringing national and international attention to his pieces and our environmental impact. Most recently, Rosenthal is working on his sculptural work, including Sea Goddess, a wall-mounted sculpture made from found straws, blue sea netting, and a large inflatable doll.
Brian Hallas is a photographer and digital artist from Shrewsbury Township, New Jersey. He employs his iPhone to craft colorful and hallucinogenic collages. He experiments with layering and blending techniques to create improvisations that evoke dreams and transcendence. He is inspired by his surroundings and is able synthesize technology and nature into eccentric compositions. Flowers are overlayed onto grand cathedrals and rollercoasters, and humans become lost in an array of color and texture. Hallas’ pursuit of photography is his most recent artistic development, as he comes from a background in sound design and performance. His experience within this field informs the stratified and spontaneous nature of his images. Hallas’ works have been shown in museums and galleries, hang in many private collections in the US, and have been featured in several online magazines. Hallas provides an escape through immersion in a psychedelic, yet familiar sublime.
Frederick Doerfler, Jr. is an American digital photographer based near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His work explores the dialogue between the natural and built environment, often through urban reflections, architectural abstraction, and travel landscapes. Doerfler describes being influenced by his work as a physician, dedicating a similar kind of attention to precision, pattern, and narrative to his photographic practice. His photographs of urban architecture defamiliarize everyday edifices through an appreciative lens of their architectural and geometric beauty, creating symphonic compositions of light, shape, and color. Doerfler currently serves as President of the Pittsburgh Photography Club (est. 1885) and Executive Vice President of the Photographic Society of America (PSA).
Gerald Slota is a New Jersey–based fine artist and photographer known for redefining the boundaries of photography through deconstruction and reinvention. Trained in traditional techniques, he became fascinated by what happens when images are altered—torn, burned, or drawn upon—to reveal new emotional and psychological depths. His fragmented compositions blur the line between memory and imagination, transforming photographs into intimate visual narratives. Slota’s work has been exhibited internationally at institutions such as the George Eastman House, Langhans Galerie in Prague, and Ricco/Maresca Gallery in New York City, and featured in The New Yorker, Aperture, and The New York Times Magazine. He has received numerous honors, including a Polaroid 20”x24” Grant and a MacDowell Artist Residency, and created a large-scale mural for the Norton Museum of Art in 2021. For Slota, art is an act of excavation—each mark uncovers hidden truths. His work finds beauty in fragmentation, inviting viewers to see how the past lingers within the reimagined image.
Jacki Dickert is a New Jersey–based fine art and nature photographer whose work celebrates the wonder, beauty, and quiet magic of the natural world. Growing up exploring the woods and climbing trees, Dickert developed an early fascination with nature’s rhythms and hidden details. The daughter of a nature photographer, she absorbed the art form from a young age, nurturing a lifelong passion for observing and capturing the world through her lens.A transformative trip to Iceland in 2006 inspired Dickert to pursue photography more seriously, seeking to share the sense of awe she experiences in wild places—whether in distant landscapes or the familiar woods near her home. Her work ranges from sweeping vistas to intricate studies of patterns, light, and texture, revealing the artistry inherent in nature itself. Through her photography, Dickert invites viewers to slow down and rediscover the beauty that exists all around them. Her images evoke peace, wonder, and gratitude, reflecting her belief that the natural world offers endless inspiration and healing. Now teaching photography and contributing her art to environmental causes, Dickert continues to blend creativity and conservation, using her camera as both a tool for expression and a means to celebrate life’s everyday magic.
Jeremy Dennis is a contemporary fine-art photographer who lives and works in Southampton, New York, on the Shinnecock Indian Reserve. He is an alumnus from both Stony Brook University (BA ‘13) and Pennsylvania State University (MFA ‘16). Dennis is able to use his camera to transport viewers to an otherworldly narrative of oral stories. These narratives include themes of Indigenous identity, culture, and colonial assimilation, and draw from other histories and contemporary experiences. Jeremy Dennis is able to use his photography in order to uplift BIPOC experiences and voices. He also does this through being the founder of Ma’s House & BIPOC Art Studio, Inc, whose mission is to uplift Indigenous and BIPOC voices. This non-profit art house is also located on the Shinnecock Indian Reserve. Dennis’ artwork draws on his own personal and communal histories, utilizing themes of identity, resilience, and visibility in his community. His most prominent projects for these themes are On This Site–Native Long Island (2016-ongoing), Rise (2018-ongoing), Nothing Happened Here, Stories–Indigenous Oral Stories, Dreams, and Myths (2013-ongoing). He is currently on the advisory boards of The Boys & Girls Club of the Shinnecock Nation, The Bridgehampton Museum, The Church of Sag Harbor, WNET Group’s THIRTEEN/WLIW Community Advisory Board, and Ma’s House & BIPOC Art Studio, Inc. Dennis’s most recent award is an Artist to Artist Fellowship from the Art Matters Foundation.
Joanne Ross is a visual artist based in the tri-state area. Originally growing up in Queens, NYC, she received an MFA in Photography from SUNY Buffalo/Visual Studies Workshop, an MS in Art Education from Syracuse University, and a BA in Art Education from Buffalo State College. She uses her photography to capture deeper meanings, telling stories with each photograph. Ross focuses on cultural commentary, from climate change to the impacts of war. With her photographs and archival work, she is able to piece together narratives of identity and the larger impact of the culture that we are enveloped in, even when we do not notice it. She edits and crops her photos to perfectly tell these stories, both through highlighting certain objects and obfuscating others. While photography is her main medium, she has worked with physical objects, such as old archival finds from the past, such as a child’s airplane toy from World War II. She has received many awards and participated in many different exhibitions, both solo and group. Along with this, Joanne continued to push forward her love of photography and art, becoming a teacher. She taught photography at the International Center of Photography, School of Visual Arts NYC, Rockland Community College, Ramapo College, New Jersey City University, and as a tenured educator in the New Jersey School System. Her art is able to encapsulate many large social commentaries, allowing for the audience to better understand the impact of these issues.
Lisa Saltzman is a NYC-based fine art photographer who draws her inspiration from Impressionist painting, abstraction, cubism, and figurative photography. Saltzman studied and graduated from New York University with a bachelor’s degree in Psychology. Her fascination with the human psyche is an inspiration that shines throughout her art as well. Through these inspirations, Saltzman uses the medium of street photography. She studied this medium at Christie’s and the International Center of Photography. Her street photography is a style that Saltzman has become known for in the art world. When viewers look at her black and white photographs, they view human emotion and the daily life of NYC. Her work has been exhibited both nationally and internationally, while receiving several awards as well. These galleries include: First Street Gallery, Brick Lane Gallery, Darkroom Gallery, and LemoArt Gallery. In terms of recognition, Saltzman has been featured in publications such as Gelatin Magazine, Art of the Times, L’Oeil de la Photographie, and Bellus Magazine. by.
Mark Aizenberg is an award-winning photographer based in Wynnewood, PA, whose work merges artistic vision with scientific curiosity. Trained as a neuroscientist, Aizenberg explores how the human mind perceives and organizes visual information—a fascination that deeply informs his fine art and aerial photography. His compositions transform everyday landscapes into abstract studies of line, curve, and contrast, inviting viewers to experience familiar spaces with renewed wonder. Aizenberg’s minimalist approach emphasizes simplicity and structure, using black and white imagery to reveal the hidden rhythms of natural and urban environments.
An active member of the Main Line Art Center and the Main Line Camera Club, Aizenberg’s work has been featured in exhibitions and publications both nationally and internationally. His photographs—recognized by institutions such as the Philadelphia Sketch Club, Pennsylvania Center for Photography, and Wayne Art Center—reveal an enduring commitment to capturing the beauty, order, and emotion that arise when art and science converge.
Patricia Worley is a New Jersey–based photographer whose passion for photography began in high school and continued to grow throughout her college years, during which she earned a degree in film and television. After pausing her career to raise her children, she returned to photography with renewed focus, studying landscape photography with master photographers around the world. She has traveled to more than 35 countries and most of the United States, refining her skills and developing a deep appreciation for the ways light shapes the natural world. In addition to her creative work, she teaches photography, from camera basics to advanced editing, helping students cultivate both technical skill and creative vision.
Worley’s photography reflects her lifelong curiosity about nature and her sensitivity to light and atmosphere. While her early work explored global landscapes, her more recent focus has been on wildlife and the night sky. Her Nightscapes series captures the quiet beauty of starlit skies while drawing attention to the growing effects of light pollution. Through her images, Worley encourages viewers to pause, look upward, and reconnect with the wonder of the night, a reminder of how much of the world’s natural beauty is worth preserving.
Steven Kushner is a photographer based in New Jersey who focuses his work on the various aspects of observational photography. Working as a congregational rabbi, he has always explored his interest in storytelling and continuously strives to better understand the world around him. In doing so, he seeks beauty and meaning in the mundane, a theme that runs through his street photography. In his works, Kushner is drawn to photographing people interacting with their surroundings as if they were subjects within a scene, using their passive roles as individuals as part of his methodology to contextualize their importance to a larger narrative. He also highlights his keen interest in structure, design, light, and order, noting that they have been central to his practice since 2017. Throughout his photography career, he has also participated in various juried shows and won many prestigious awards, including being selected by the editorial staff of Leica Fotographie International for the prestigious “Leica Master Shots” collection. Also, in 2023, Kushner had two images selected into the annual Photography Exhibition of the Ocean County Artists Guild, one of which even received the award for “Best in Category: Still Life Photography. A year later, in 2024, his photography was accepted into the New Jersey Council on the Arts Annual, hosted at the Montclair Art Museum, further elevating Kushner’s work to a larger audience and continuing to promote his photography in an institutional setting. Steven Kushner’s photography catalog has been widely celebrated throughout New Jersey and continues to spark new discussions of contemporary street photography through his lens.
Tuyet Van Truster Born in Paris, of Vietnamese descent, Tuyet Van Truster is an instant film photographer currently based in Jersey City, USA. Her photographic practice first began as a fun family activity and casual pass time, a hobby which eventually evolved into a burning artistic passion and a love for the tactile qualities and experimental possibilities present in film photography. She describes developing a yearning for the sound of the shutter button, the rolling out of the image, and for the mystery, anticipation, and excitement of the photo development process. Having a scientific background, Truster likes to test the boundaries between control and unpredictability. Some images are corroded with different chemicals, altered by time in order to explore the notions of reverie, identity, memory and wonder. Her practice demonstrates the malleability of the photographic medium and the boundless opportunities and meanings that can be expounded from film’s physical manipulation.
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