The Honolulu Museum of Art is presenting ‘Out of the Shadows,’ an exhibition of photography focused on the expressive possibilities of darkness. On view in Gallery 9 from May 22 through September 27, 2026, the exhibition brings together works by Ansel Adams, Manuel Álvarez Bravo, O. Winston Link, Richard Misrach, Sonya Noskowiak, and Edward Weston.
The exhibition takes its starting point from photography’s literal meaning as “drawing with light.” In the museum’s description, a camera’s aperture opens briefly to capture rays of light on a photosensitive surface. ‘Out of the Shadows’ sets that familiar account of the medium against photography’s longstanding fascination with darkness, directing attention toward what is only partially visible or concealed within an image.
The presentation emphasizes the relationship between light and dark in black-and-white film photography. Rather than treating shadows simply as areas without information, the works encourage viewers to look closely at the tonal shifts and obscured details that structure each image. The museum describes the experience as a movement into “the slow act of noticing what lies hidden within” shadows.
The six photographers represented span distinct approaches to the medium. Ansel Adams is included alongside Mexican photographer Manuel Álvarez Bravo, American photographer O. Winston Link, contemporary American photographer Richard Misrach, Sonya Noskowiak, and Edward Weston. The exhibition’s source material does not assign individual themes or sections to the artists, instead presenting their work collectively through the shared concern with images emerging from darkness.
A featured work identified by the museum is Manuel Álvarez Bravo’s ‘Justo Sueno (Well Earned Sleep),’ dated 1966. The gelatin silver print was given to the museum by Jane and Marc B. Nathanson in 2014. The exhibition listing also identifies a work by O. Winston Link, ‘Hot Shot Eastbound, Jaeger, West Virginia,’ from 1956, a gelatin silver print acquired by the museum in 1986.
‘Out of the Shadows’ is one of the Honolulu Museum of Art’s current exhibitions, alongside presentations in other galleries including ‘Imagined Flora: Ralph Iwamoto’s Surrealist Beginnings,’ which examines seven paintings from 1955 on loan from the Vilcek Foundation. The photography exhibition remains on view in Gallery 9 at the Honolulu Museum of Art through September 27, 2026.
