Exhibition Review: Joni Sternbach - Surfboards
Joni Sternbach
15.09.13 #4 Big Guns Alone
2015
Archival Pigment Print
Meticulous details and carefully made prints come to life in Joni Sternbach’s new show at the Von Lintel Gallery titled “Surfboards.”
Throughout her entire career, Sternbach has spent much of her time documenting the wonders of the earth we inhabit and focusing her work on the ocean and the community that surrounds it. Her previous work has highlighted the relationship between humans and water.
Joni Sternbach
15.09.13 #1 Lightning Bolts + a Brewer
2015
Archival Pigment Print
Her newest show “Surfboards” is a collection of twenty one silver gelatin prints of surfboards. Her images are like portraits, highlighting each board in its full form and capturing details too fine for the eye. They become an ode to the vessels that allow humans to experience the water and its waves.
Focusing on conservation and climate change has always been an important part of Sternbach’s work, and for this reason she has dedicated so much of her career to the oceans and water that make up over 71% of our planet. In her artist statement for the show, Sternbach states that she attempts “to discern how the individual navigates these waters that impact us, connect us, and also keep us apart” and that through her images she has become a both a storyteller and a historian who is capturing the history and meaning of the surfboard.
Joni Sternbach
20.09.24 #4 Sophie+Karma
2020
Tintype
Looking through the collection, the viewer can sense the feeling of respect and honor being reflected as each print focuses on the surfboard, which becomes a larger than life totem. In each image, the board stands there on its own. In some, the surfboard has been lodged into the sand and we see glimpses of beaches, shadows, and waves. In the other half of the photos, the boards appear within a studio setting; held up by a small piece of wood, each board is documented against the studio’s white backdrop. The works within the series are structured so similarly, and yet each tells a different story and offers us a piece of history.
Joni Sternbach
20.09.25 #6 Hobie with Hands
2020
Tintype
The very format of the images is historical: each photo is made of a silver gelatin print. Each photo is made of a silver gelatin print. This is a tedious, delicate, and old-fashioned process that involves a lot of practice and care. Each photograph is carefully taken and printed and becomes a reflection of the respect for these inanimate storytelling objects that Sternbach has. This process allows the prints to reflect details from the board that may not have otherwise been documented. Scratches, indents, and textures come to life in the black and white prints.
Additionally, her work continues to present her images as methods for storytelling. Each work is accompanied by a title that includes details about the surfboard, as if each work were a portrait and each title a biography. We learn the name of the board, the type, how old it is, and even its height and weight. We as viewers come to understand the history behind each piece and that history’s importance not only to Sternbach but also to the surfing community she loves.
