Featured Exhibition Highlight: In the Interest of Time

Posted on October 16, 2026

One of six Featured Exhibitions in the 2026 Biennial, In the Interest of Time is curated by Theresa Bembnister, Independent Curator, bringing together seven regional artists whose practices engage with the concept of time: Elijah Howe, Julie Renée Jones, Robyn Moore, Osamu James Nakagawa, Jordanne Renner, Joseph Vitone, Lynn Whitney. Together, the world of these artists demonstrates that taking a longer view gives us insights into our past, present, and possible futures. On view at the Contemporary Arts Center, admission to this exhibition is free during the month of October to anyone with the free Biennial Pass.

Meet the Artists

Hear from each of the artists about the central theme in their work. More audio clips are available on the Contemporary Art Center’s Bloomberg Connects digital guide.

Elijah Howe

CAC Interest 1 Howe Elijah PromoImage — Elijah Howe, *Chained Rock Liquor*, 2024. Archival inkjet print, 24 × 20 inches. Courtesy of the artist

Julie Renée Jones

CAC Interest 2 Jones Stirring — Julie Renée Jones, *Stirring*, 2021. Archival pigment print, 26 × 20 inches. Courtesy of the artist

Robyn Moore

CAC Interest 4 Moore BeingInTheLandVolcanic Field — Robyn Moore, *Being in the Land (Volcanic Field)*, 2024. Photopolymer gravure on Hahnemühle Etching paper, 12 x 16 inches. Courtesy of the artist

Osamu James Nakagawa

CAC Interest 5 Nakagawa Manzanar03WitnessTrees — Osamu James Nakagawa, *Manzanar 03, Manzanar, California*, from *Witness Trees*, 2022/23. Archival inkjet print, 37 x 37 inches. Courtesy of the artist

Jordanne Renner

CAC Interest 3 JRenner 1655IrelandRd 13 copy — Jordanne Renner, 1655 Ireland Rd (13), c. 2003. C-41 print from 6 × 6 inch color film with Post-it notes and pen, 23 × 23 inches. Courtesy of the artist

Joseph Vitone

CAC Interest 6 vitone joe 11 2009 45 063 20x24PO — Joseph Vitone, *Marjorie Angel in pink sweater with pink rose bush*, 2009. Archival inkjet print, 20 x 24 inches. Courtesy of the artist

Lynn Whitney

CAC Interest 7 Whitney Huron Boy — Lynn Whitney, *Huron Boy, Huron*, 2014. Gelatin silver print, 20 × 24 inches. Courtesy of the aritst

About In the Interest of Time

October 2, 2026–February 7, 2027

In the Interest of Time presents work by seven artists who investigate the relationship of their subject matter to time, moving beyond the conventional wisdom that a photograph captures a single moment of truth. They engage time through a variety of strategies, including embracing non-sequential narratives, collapsing the past and present, and creating new histories.

Joseph Vitone and Lynn Whitney document their subjects over extended periods of time. In 1998, Vitone began photographing relatives around his hometown of Akron, OH, which evolved into a series of intimate portraits recording nearly three decades of life transitions: birthdays, divorces, illnesses, children growing up to become parents themselves. Whitney photographed the shoreline of Lake Erie stretching between Cleveland and Toledo for more than a decade. Her work captures humanity’s complex relationship to this priceless natural resource.

For the series 1655 Ireland Rd., Jordanne Renner mailed prints of her family home to her father and stepmother, who added their observations to the photographs with markers and Post-its. Twenty-three years later, Renner revisits the work, inviting her brother and father to respond to the images following her stepmother’s passing, reflecting on the passing of time and loss.

Julie Renée Jones’ work in Hold Still marks a time of transition—a new mother’s psychological shift in identity—using visual characteristics of the horror genre, such as deep shadows and stark camera angles.

Robyn Moore’s Being in the Land functions as a visual metaphor for deep time, the temporal framework for slow-moving geological change. Spectral figures appear in her compositions, alluding to the ancient history of the surrounding landscapes.

Elijah Howe preserves a timeworn historical subject—the small town of Chained Rock, KY—through a trove of archival materials, handmade crafts, and contemporary photographs. A close look, however, may lead viewers to question their assumptions of photographic truth.

Through his series Witness Trees and Indelible Structures, Osamu James Nakagawa documents land once used as Japanese American incarceration camps during World War II. This work visually preserves physical histories at risk of being otherwise lost to time.

Related Events

In the Interest of Time Gallery Tour
October 2, 2026, 5–6pm

Opening Reception
October 2, 2026, 8–9pm

Thursday Art Play: Traces of Time
October 15, 2026, 10:30–11:30am

Thursday Art Play: FotoFocus Biennial Artists
November 12, 2026, 10:30–11:30am

Young Adult Lab: Portrait Photography
November 19, 2026, 4–6pm

Young Adult Lab: Observational Photography
January 21, 2027, 4–6pm

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