The National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. is currently featuring work by UNM faculty, emeritus faculty, and an alum in “Beneath the Surface: Mining and American Photography”. The exhibition explores the relationship between resource extraction and American photography throughout nearly 200 years and features 150 photographs by more than 100 artists.
The exhibition includes three photographs by New Mexico-based artist and MFA Photography alum Will Wilson (Diné); one photograph by late Professor of Photography Patrick Nagatani; and one large-scale photograph by art faculty member Subhankar Banerjee.
Banerjee recently visited the exhibition and met Dr. Diane Waggoner, acting head and curator of photographs at the National Gallery of Art. The exhibition was conceived by Waggoner six years ago and co-curated by her.
“I found the exhibition to be very expansive and significant, thoughtfully developed, and beautifully presented,” Banerjee said.
In the “Environmental Concerns” gallery, visitors will find Nagatani’s Golden Eagle, United Nuclear Corporation, Uranium Mill, New Mexico (1990), alongside Wilson’s Shiprock Disposal Site, Shiprock, Navajo Nation (2020) and Church Rock Mill Spill Remediation Ponds AUM, Coyote Canyon, Navajo Nation (2019). In the next gallery, “Now” visitors will find Banerjee’s Caribou Tracks on Coal Seams II (2006), alongside Richard Misrach’s monumental Swamp and Pipeline, Geismar, Louisiana (1998). Nearby are Mitch Epstein’s Chalmette Oil Refinery, New Orleans, Louisiana II (2007) and Wilson’s Auto Immune Response 2 (2004).
“Beneath the Surface: Mining and American Photography” is on view at the National Gallery of Art through August 23, 2026, before traveling to the Milwaukee Art Museum and the Amon Carter Museum of American Art.
Banerjee’s work is also included in the current exhibition “Mapping Spaces” at the University Museum at New Mexico State University and the upcoming “Abundance” exhibition at the UNM Art Museum alongside emeriti faculty Basia Irland. Additionally, the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago has opened From the Center: Looking at Lucy Lippard. Banerjee has had the honor of collaborating with the influential art critic, writer, and curator Lucy Lippard on a number of projects over the past two decades, including inviting her to UNM and hosting her. Lastly, the MCA Chicago recently acquired five of Banerjee’s large-scale Arctic photographs.
We are so proud of the many accomplishments within our department and excited to share more as the Fall semester begins.
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