The Museum of Art & History (MOAH) in Lancaster, California presents Osceola Refetoff: Magic and Realism, January 25 – April 13.
Osceola Refetoff is a Canadian-American visual artist known for his innovative use of infrared and pinhole photography to document humanity’s ongoing relationship with the environment. Across parallel careers in photojournalism and fine art, his work is characterized by a hyper-realistic and nuanced vision, often yielding surreal, even dreamlike images.
Magic and Realism considers a diverse array of images across different bodies of work, showcasing a new form of alternative photographic processes. Images such as Duplexity (2023) from Refetoff’s Chromatopia series demonstrate his fusion of modern and historical photographic techniques. Analog lens filters are used in tandem with modified digital cameras and printing processes to create bright and vivid color combinations, expressing a reality that exists beyond what is seen by human eyes. Additionally, a pinhole apparatus is employed in many of his images to create a dreamlike aesthetic evoking Pictorialism, a photographic movement that originated in the late 19th Century, emphasizing aura and affect over straight documentation.
A graduate of New York University’s Master of Fine Arts Film Program, Osceola’s motion picture background informs a cinematic approach to constructing photographic narratives. His desert-focused photojournalism project High & Dry is a regular feature on PBS SoCal’s Artbound, earning two Los Angeles Press Club awards for Photojournalist of the Year.
For Refetoff’s second solo show at MOAH , the museum is publishing a mid-career monograph of his wide-ranging, experimental, alternative process photography.
The artist is represented by Von Lintel Gallery in Los Angeles.
Museum of Art and History Lancaster (MOAH)
665 W Lancaster Blvd, Lancaster, CA 93534, U.S.A.
January 25 – April 13, 2025
MOAH Lancaster: lancastermoah.org/
Artist website: ospix.com
High & Dry on PBS SoCal: pbssocal.org/high-dry/
Artist on Instagram: instagram.com/ospix/
Von Lintel Gallery: vonlintel.com/
