The G2 Gallery premieres “100 Years of National Parks: The North East.” The first in a four-part special exhibit series celebrating the 100-year anniversary of the National Park Service opened January 12, 2016. The inaugural show includes the complete Portfolio II from Ansel Adams.

See image: “Gull in Mist” by Kevin Ebi, taken from Niagara Falls National Heritage Area

The National Park Service (NPS) was founded in 1916 and oversees hundreds of parks, historic sites, landmarks, museums, trails and more. In The North East, images of NPS-maintained areas from Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Vermont will be on display.

“Someone once called our National Parks, ‘America’s Best Idea,’ and we wanted to spend an entire year of photo exhibits celebrating that sentiment,” says G2 Curator Jolene Hanson.

Artists from all over the country submitted their photographs, and after a selection process that gave anonymity to the images, ten were chosen:  Timothy S. Allen, Peter Baumgartner, Kevin Connolly, Michael Darough, Kevin Ebi, Rich Greene, Rick Kattelmann, Vidya Narasimhan, Rusty Nelson and Scott Tansey.

Alongside the images of Acadia National Park, Great Egg Harbor and other northeastern sites will be Ansel Adams’s Portfolio II: The National Parks and Monuments. The collection, acquired by G2 in 2009, is one of only 100 editions in the world; one of even fewer where the entire portfolio is intact. Printed in 1950, the striking collection includes images of national parks from the arid sands of Death Valley to the icy grasses of Glacier Bay.

See image: “Lingering Red Leaves” by Rick Kattelmann, taken in Acadia National Park

On view: January 12 – April 3

What: Opening reception
Where: The G2 Gallery, 1503 Abbot Kinney Blvd., Venice, 90291
Phone: 310 452-2842
Website: http://www.theg2gallery.com