Silver Water Collective - Sterling Presence Redux

July 2022 - We are so excited to announce our next SWC exhibition, Sterling Presence Redux, at Patch & Remington (@patchandremington) in Marcellus, MI.

August 5 - September 10, 2022

Opening Reception:

Friday, August 5, 5-8pm

History, memory, identity, time, decolonization, and perception are explored in the exhibition Sterling Presence Redux featured at Patch & Remington from Silver Water Collective. Each featured artist employs a particular process and technique that challenges the boundaries of traditional photography in her work.

While each artist comes from a unique experience and perspective, photography helps them to communicate their shared internal struggles as women in contemporary society and art.

Featured artists:

Stephanie Bauer (@stephanieb8273)

Cristina Casiano (@colorfulcristina)

Brianna Dowd (@_artsybmd)

Emma Hopson (@emma.hopson)

Megan Kelly (@megankelly_art)

Christina Leslie (@clphoto83)

Q Lin (@qianlinnnnnnn)

Mara Magyarosi-Laytner (@maramagyarosi)

Cat Simmons (@catmac_studios)

Link for SWC Website and SWC Instagram.

Bobby Lee Magyarosi - Scrambled Eggs Album Release

July 2022 - I’m really excited and proud to announce that I created the official album art for my brother Bobby Lee Magyarosi’s new solo album, Scrambled Eggs.

My inspiration was to truly show my brother and who he is, past and present. This artwork honors the artist, musician, and songwriter that he has been for his entire life. It was a true collaboration between us and there are many cool references that you can find on the inside spread and back cover.

A few fun facts: we shot the initial images at Brown’s Diner in Nashville. The images were shot using the mirror wands from the Lensbaby Omni Universal Expansion Pack, which caused the cool reflections. All of the handwriting on the artwork is Bobby’s own. Plus, all of it uses my favorite process - hand sanitizer transfers with the objects that were used in the making of the work placed on top.

He currently has a new website up along with handling album pre-sales. Contact him if you would like to order a copy! Additionally, there will be a set of limited edition prints available of two pieces from this work at his album release party on August 4th at the Roasting Room in Bluffton, SC!

www.bobbyleemagyarosi.com

SPE 10th Annual Combined Caucus Exhibition

June 2022 - Two images from The Untended Garden have been included as a part of the SPE 10th Annual Combined Caucus Exhibition this year! It’s such an honor to be included along with other photography educators across the country in this beautiful virtual exhibit.

For more information and to view the exhibit, click here.

The Untended Garden - MFA Thesis Exhibition

April 2022 - The Untended Garden MFA Thesis Exhibition at Cedar House Gallery in Savannah, Georgia was an incredible success! Here are some selected images from the exhibition opening on Friday, April 1st, 2022.

So incredibly grateful for all of the help, love, and support that I received throughout the entire process of this endeavor. This was an absolute labor of love.

The exhibition is now available to travel for selected dates in 2022 and 2023. Please contact for more information!

Alternative Narratives - Women's History Month

April 2022 - Alternative Processes selected images from The Untended Garden to be a part of their exhibit Alternative Narratives in celebration of Women’s History Month.

The group of exhibitors were narrowed down from 190 submissions, which raised and donated 2.440€ to Red Cross Ukraine.

View the exhibition here.

The Untended Garden - MFA Thesis Exhibition

March 2022 - The Untended Garden MFA Thesis Exhibition will be held at Cedar House Gallery in Savannah, Georgia!

The opening reception will be held on Friday, April 1st, 2022 from 6-9pm. This coincides with First Friday, so this is a wonderful opportunity to add Cedar House Gallery into the gallery explorations of the evening!

This is the first time that all three Acts of the work will be shown - the work will be available for future exhibitions after the show is completed. Hope to see you there!

Auto Focus. A Portrait of the Self - LoosenArt Gallery, Rome, Italy

March 2022 - “The Untended Garden - Gaze” and “The Untended Garden - Flutter” will be included in the LoosenArt Gallery exhibition Auto Focus. A Portrait of the Self at Millepiani in Rome, Italy. The exhibition runs June 8-16th!

Other notable artists included in the exhibition are Man (Jane) Zhu and Silver Water Collective artist Cristina Casiano!

More information for the exhibition can be found here.

Texas Photographic Society - #NewVisions2022 Banner

February 2022 - What a pleasant surprise to open up the new call for entry for the Texas Photographic Society #NewVisions2022 exhibition and to see “The Untended Garden - Intrinsic Maturation” as the banner!

#NewVisions2021 was one of the first shows last year to start off a great summer of exhibitions - excited to see what work is submitted for the show this year!

Artist to Artist Interview with Curator Anita Bates

February 2022 - As a part of the Detroit Artists Market exhibition Into the Open, curator Dr. Anita Bates interviewed Mara about her previous work and current explorations. Check out this interview to learn more about Hyperstimulation, A Lack of Control, and The Siren Collection!

Feminine / Masculine - PH21 Gallery, Budapest, Hungary

February 2022 - “The Untended Garden - Failure of Purpose” and “The Untended Garden - To Pluck” were chosen to be a part of the Feminine / Masculine international exhibition at the PH21 Gallery in Budapest, Hungary!

Additionally, “The Untended Garden - Failure of Purpose” was also chosen to be one of three honorable mentions for the exhibit!

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The exhibition runs from February 10 – March 5, 2022!

For more information and to view the virtual exhibition: PH21 Gallery

Aeonian Magazine - Issue 6

January 2022 - The Untended Garden is featured in Issue 6 of Aeonian Magazine!

Aeonian Magazine is a publication dedicated to celebrating experimental photography. Through Instagram, they have created a community of photographers interested in all things experimental-- polaroids, cyanotypes, tintypes, film, and so much more.

Mara’s work is featured in the first of four artist interviews for the issue. Read more here!

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Lensbaby Shoot Extraordinary Conference

December 2021 - The 2021 Lensbaby Shoot Extraordinary Photography Virtual Conference was December 7th-9th and there is still a ton of great programming available. Mara, as both an educator and a Lensbaby Ambassador, spoke about Evolving Your Portfolio Creatively and featured work from Mistrusting My Nature, A Lack of Control, and The Untended Garden.

Floresta Magazine Issue 001 - Balance

November 2021 - Images from The Untended Garden are featured in Floresta Magazine Issue 001 - Balance!

The magazine, started in Manchester, UK, explores the notion of balance in existing micro- and macro- environments through a fusion of poetry, chemigrams, photography, words, illustration, design from waste, and VR. According to Floresta, “Balance is ambiguous, delicate, and interconnected.”

The work can be found at this link.

Developed Work - Midwest Center for Photography, Wichita, KS

November 2021 - Very proud to announce that selections from The Untended Garden have been selected by Midwest Center for Photography @mwcponline for their exhibit “Developed Work” in November.

“Developed Work exhibition featuring current and relevant work of worldwide photographers that are helping define the pulse of contemporary photography around the globe. Developed Work has become established as the premiere exhibition at MWCP for featuring some of the most important creative work of the year.”

November 5 - November 26, 2021
Opening Reception - Friday, November 5, 7-9pm
Midwest Center for Photography
Wichita, Kansas

Find out more about the exhibition here!

Silver Water Collective Announcement

October 2021 - Silver Water Collective, a group of ten women photographers from across the United States and Canada, announced their presence this week with a brand new website! (SWC Website) The group met at Savannah College of Art and Design during their time in the MFA Photography program. Mara, the founder of the group and one of the collective curators, initially reached out to each artist in December of 2020 based on their talent, work ethic, and goals as artists to band together and produce content as a group. Silver Water Collective produces exhibitions, live critiques, and will soon have the SWC Podcast!

The group’s first exhibition will be in Toronto, Canada in May. Stay turned for more details!

Lensbaby Featured Artist Article - Experimenting with Abstract Photography

September 2021 - Images from The Untended Garden and A Lack of Control were featured in an article on Lensbaby.com along with a great interview about Mara’s background, work, and motivations as an artist.

A link to the article can be found here.

A Siren’s Call - Patch and Remington, Marcellus, MI

August 2021 - A Siren’s Call is a solo exhibition of abstract, experimental images by Mara Magyarosi-Laytner created during her residency at The Siren, Detroit in August 2020. The large scale, experimental transfer pigment process images are the largest images that Mara has ever created.

“I have spent my entire life trying to control every single little thing around me - often successfully, but at a great detraction to my own personal health and happiness. The only space in my life that I let go and allow “things to be” as they are is photography. In fact, I am often going in the opposite direction - I am actively chasing a lack of control in myself through my work.

Any photography that is too perfect, too particular, too measured, is completely uninteresting to me. I want to find the spaces where photography is mysterious, unpredictable, and filled with change. I view my work as a continuous set of experiments - because of that, when I “perfect” a method within the craft, I find ways to either pivot or abandon completely for fresh space. I have lived in that experimental space through creating abstractions by shooting through glass or replicating through double exposure, creating images that feel both familiar and otherworldly, a space of light and texture that cannot be easily replicated by the natural eye. I have chosen to work within abstraction due to wanting to chase a world less mundane than the one that I occupy, one where there is curiosity in any space that is observed for a little more time.”

More information about Patch and Remington found here.