Gallery Opening - Elizabeth Opalenik: The 21st Century Handmade Print

Join us at Gallery 270 on Thursday, October 9, 2025, from 7:00pm–9:00pm for the opening of Elizabeth Opalenik: The 21st Century Handmade Print. This show features Mordançage, Platinum/Palladium, Carbon and Handprinted Gelatin Silver Prints.

At the opening, Elizabeth will present a live demonstration of Mordançage - offering a chance to witness this unique photographic process firsthand.

This free event is part of Bergen County Camera’s 45th Anniversary celebration.

Please join Elizabeth and all for an evening of wine, cheese, art and lively conversation.

All are welcome - we hope to see you there!

About the Artist: Elizabeth Opalenik

Elizabeth Opalenik is regarded as one of the most creative photographers of our time. She is celebrated for her sensual images, including explorations in the Mordançage process (taught to her by the master, Jean Pierre Sudre), hand-painted black and white, infrared films, Polaroid manipulations, and specialized toning. From carbon and platinum printing to digital printing on exquisite handmade papers, Elizabeth has always embraced experimentation - finding her unique voice as a photographic artist and proving that all good photographs are self-portraits that lie somewhere between imagination and dreams.

Over more than four decades, she has been a highly sought-after educator, teaching internationally on the figure, portraiture, and alternative processes. In addition to leading private workshops, she has been a longtime instructor with the Maine Media Workshops, Santa Fe Photographic Workshops, and National Geographic Expeditions, among others. Her images are held in museum, gallery, and private collections worldwide - including La Bibliothèque Nationale in France, The Portland Museum of Art, and The Milwaukee Art Museum. She has been shown in over sixty exhibitions internationally.

As Elizabeth says, “from portraits to landscapes, our images are stepping stones that trace where the mind has been and form the unique vision each of us carries through life.” Elizabeth teaches that by revealing ourselves, we discover new ways of seeing. Her desire is to respond to the light and to the essence of the subject of her images, creating a lasting yet momentous representation of a lifetime of moments and experience.

Her artistry also finds expression in her monograph, which will be featured at the gallery and available for purchase during the show.

Poetic Grace: Elizabeth Opalenik Photographs 1979-2007

Elizabeth Opalenik's first monograph, “Poetic Grace: Elizabeth Opalenik Photographs 1979-2007” is available in signed and limited editions at Gallery 270. We’re thrilled to represent Elizabeth and to access the full range of her one of a kind photographic works from her four decade plus career.

Book - $95.00

Limited Edition Set with Handmade Print - $1500

After the Opening...

Focus Session - Saturday, October 11, 2025 - 9:30am - Free Event - All welcome

After the opening on Thursday night, Elizabeth will be back in-store on Saturday morning for a Focus Session! In her Saturday lecture, Elizabeth will share her journey through the mordançage process, developing the possibility of saving the veils and discuss the work and inspiration of Jean Pierre Sudre, Denis Brihat and other artists that work in mordançage and similar processes including Man Ray solarizations (showing at the Met now), chemigrams and lumen prints. Incorporating the work of students and various practitioners in her lecture, she will offer the many possibilities into this process with toners, hand painting and photogram techniques.