Beth Achenbach

Photographer

CURRENT

About Me

I started taking photographs while living in Chicago in the early 90s ​when I was working at a one-hour photo shop that also sold cameras; ​we were encouraged to bring one home from time to time to get ​familiar with the features. This sparked my interest in photography, ​and then my sister gave me an old manual Pentax and I started taking ​pictures all the time! Printing hundreds of images over the years has ​helped me develop my eye and creative vision. I have experimented ​with different equipment, subjects, mediums, and presentations. I am ​lucky to live in Jersey City,NJ, which has a big artist community. It has ​allowed me to grow and meet many other creative people to ​collaborate with and derive inspiration from. At some point along the ​way I experimented with the genre of still life photography and was ​drawn in. I believe it presents a unique challenge in transforming ​ordinary objects into captivating compositions. My objective is to ​breathe life into the images, trying to create "visual poetry” that ​evokes personal narratives and emotional connections for the ​viewers. Nostalgia and shared experiences are themes that run deep ​in my work. I want people to engage with the photographs and find ​their own stories within them. Connecting with others through my ​images is, for me, the best thing about being an artist.



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HOW IT STARTED

Back in 2009 my friend Kelly St. ​Patrick, was living in a hours on 4th ​Street. In the back of the house was ​a garage. Our friend Joanne ​Simmons was a budding ​photographer and was looking for ​opportunities to show her work and ​the idea came up to make the ​opportunity. So the garage was ​outfitted with long chains that hung ​from the ceiling to the floor and ​Joanne had her very first show, ​NYLON, during a JC Fridays. The ​images were pictures she had taken ​in London, where she was from, and ​in NYC, where she worked. The ​event was a smash and later that ​year I put on an exhibit in the garage ​for the Jersey City Art and Studio ​Tour (JCAST). It was called ​MISHMASH and was just that, a ​mishmash of photographs I had ​taken over the years. No one subject ​matter but whatever I had left over ​from previous exhibits. That is how ​we started Alley Cat Gallery and ​2024 marks the 15th year of us ​producing art events there for the ​community.

October 5 & 6 2024

The garage is located in an alley ​with entrances on Coles Street and ​Jersey Avenue right between 4th ​and 5th Street. We use the address ​76 Coles Street, even though it isn’t ​an official street address but the ​alley is right next to a house at 78 ​Coles Street. There will be signs ​posted at each entrance.

Showing this year is our co founder,​ Joanne Simmons who discovered ​her passion for making silver jewelry ​a few years back and recently has ​some of her collection in the ​Museum of Art & Design. We also ​have Miguel Cardenas, who shows ​with us often, and creates these ​beautiful, mesmerizing, hand made ​collage art pieces. Rounding out the ​line up is me, Beth Achenbach! I will ​be showing some of my canvas ​prints from my very successful solo ​exhibit, Crushed, that was featured ​at Art House Gallery in August. Other ​framed and canvas photos will be on ​display from birds, to flowers, to ​beach glass, to rubber bands, and ​other still life images! Stop by and ​see us! We are open from 12 to ​6pm, October 5 & 6.

What’s the subject?

I was sitting on three possible ideas for

this exhibit, one of which were these ​discarded, damaged aluminum cans ​that I had been collecting for at least ​three years now. I just didn’t know what ​I wanted to say with them? I just knew ​they reminded me of trauma, like

a person might look who was in pain. I ​have this big box filled with cans and ​bottles, and cups, and cigarette packs. ​The other two ideas, had to do with The ​Three Fates of mythology, and the third ​is something I’m calling “Project 8” ​which is a series I shot of 8 rubber ​bands tied together in different ​formations, each of the eight rubber ​bands signifying an aspect of life. I ​printed samples of each series and with ​some input from some trusted people ​in my life, I decided it was time to bring ​the cans out of the box!

As an LGBTQ+ Artist I am very proud to be ​kicking off Jersey City Pride Month with a solo ​exhibit of my new series, CRUSHED

at Art House Gallery. See more images

What’s it about?

It’s about the power of everyday ​objects to confront the hidden trauma ​that festers within us. These discarded ​cans and plastic bottles bear the scars ​of neglect and abuse, the photos ​capture these objects as silent ​witnesses to the pain, abandonment, ​and heartbreak that often remain ​unexpressed. They evoke the ​crumpled, deflated state of a person ​overwhelmed by adversity, their body ​and spirit bearing the weight of ​unspoken traumas. This art serves as a ​reminder that even the most ​unassuming objects can hold the ​weight of human suffering, a testament ​to the transformative power of ​acknowledging and addressing the pain ​that silently shapes our lives.

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Life Signs

Life Signs prints for sale

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In Search of Mother Nature

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