Photographs by
Sally Brecher, Julian Brown and Helen Donis-Keller
November 29, 2018 – February 22, 2019
Artist Bios
Sally Brecher
Sally Brecher has been engaged in photography for 35 years. She attended the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and shows her photography locally. She is a former member of Galatea Fine Arts Gallery. While her work has moved from film to digital, her focus has remained on landscape. Whether natural or man-made, she is attracted to the graphic qualities and altered possibilities an image provides. The formal elements of many of her pictures invite the viewer to experience a sense of stillness and reflection. Sally is a clinical social worker and devotes time to both of her interests.
Julian Brown
Julian developed an interest in art and photography at an early age. Through the years he has studied, taught, worked and exhibited his photos in a variety of settings in the Boston area. His first real involvement with photography came in his job as a technical illustrator and photographer at an MIT Research Lab. While working at MIT, Julian took an on-campus course in creative photography and one in design. Soon after, he enrolled in courses in writing and photojournalism at Boston University’s School of Communication. The knowledge gained from those courses motivated Julian to seek a full-time job as a photographer, and he left MIT to take a staff position as a photographer at the Boston Globe.
In addition to a BA from Tufts University, Julian received an MFA from the Rhode Island School of Design. His experience at RISD solidified his commitment to creative photography, and this soon grew into a lifelong passion. While continuing with his personal work, Julian also maintained a career as a public affairs photographer, shooting assignments for the public affairs departments of several Boston area colleges and universities. Since his retirement from commercial work, Julian has devoted himself to photography as creative self- expression. In his search for inspiration and new subject matter, he has traveled to Cuba, several Southeast Asian countries, and locations in the northeast and southwest USA.
Helen Donis-Keller
An artist and scientist for her entire adult life, Dr. Helen Donis-Keller observes, investigates, and interprets the natural world. Most of her visual artwork is photo-based and encompasses a variety of subjects, often including the human constructed and natural landscape and the inherent tensions that arise between the two.
Initially she studied graphic design and photography for four years as an undergraduate at the University of Cincinnati’s School of Design, Architecture and Art and she worked professionally in the fields of graphic design and photography prior to discovering the excitement of biological research. She received a B.Sc. in natural science and an Honours B.Sc. in biology from Lakehead University in Ontario, Canada, a Ph.D. in biochemistry and molecular biology from Harvard University, and an MFA in studio art from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and Tufts University. She was also awarded a Doctor of Science Degree (Honoris Causa) from Lakehead University.
Dr. Donis-Keller has held leadership positions in the biotechnology industry and in academic science. As Director of the Human Genetics Department at Collaborative Research, Inc. in Waltham, Massachusetts, she led the research group that developed the first genetic linkage map of the human genome, work that she continued following a move to academia where she was Professor of Surgery and Director of the Division of Human Molecular Genetics at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. In 2001 she joined the Olin College of Engineering where she now teaches courses in biology and art that encourage active learning using a project-based approach. Her newest course at Olin, the Intersection of Biology, Art and Technology (IBAT) integrates biology, art and technology into a single comprehensive learning experience. Also see Dr. Donis-Keller’s website, HelenDonis-Keller.com.