The Weight of Time: An exhibition of photographs by Darcy Padilla

I am pleased to report that on a recent visit to the Leica Store in San Francisco, my wallet remained firmly secured in my pocket. While resisting the temptation to part with my hard-earned cash on more Leica gear, I spent some time enjoying its Leica Gallery. A new exhibition had opened the day before, The Weight of Time, by a Bay Area-based artist, Darcy Padilla. Here is what I saw.

The Leica Store in San Francisco, the city where I lived at the time, is where I bought my first Leica camera. It was a Q2, which I still own. I have since moved, but whenever I visit San Francisco, I try to call in. The store, on Bush Street, is near Union Square, and just across the street from the famous gate to Chinatown.

Inside is a very large room featuring an impressive array of cabinets, stocked with Leica gear. Opposite, a spectacular bare brick wall, runs along the other side. The wall is a natural choice for displaying exhibitions.

One of the display cabinets contained an example of a raw Leica TL2 body, machined from a single block of aluminium. Besides it was an example of such an aluminium block. I was able to snag a photo of these two items next to my recently acquired silver TL2.

Brick and Beam

The store is an example of a ‘brick and beam’ building. This term describes the adaptive reuse of old industrial brick and heavy timber buildings. These were constructed in the late 1800s and early 1900s, and have since become unique work or living environments. They are to be found all over San Francisco. I used to live in a brick and timber loft, myself. People often refer to the style as ‘industrial chic’, especially when architects leave galvanized heating ducts exposed.

The photographer: Darcy Padilla

Darcy Padilla is an American documentary and photojournalist. She lives in San Francisco and is Associate Professor of Art at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and member photographer of Agence VU’ in Paris. The recipient of many awards for her photography, she focuses her work on struggle and trans-generational challenges.

According to the gallery’s description, her exhibition invites audiences to embark on a visual odyssey. She intends the photographs to take viewers from the heart of San Francisco to people and landscapes afar. Her work delves into the photographic fundamentals of context, emotion, and time.

The expansive brick display wall enables an entirely linear presentation of her photographs, many of which have not previously been seen.

Format choices for the Darcy Padilla exhibition

As someone who usually selects black frames when exhibiting photographs, I noted the use of white frames for this Darcy Padilla exhibition. All prints were landscape format, and apart from a handful at one end of the sequence, were black and white.

Spotlights, employing what looked to be low-voltage halogen bulbs, illuminated the prints. I know from personal experience how well-lit artwork dramatically improves the viewing experience at exhibitions.

The images were mostly of people. A few, such as the one featuring a torn ‘Stars and Stripes’ in front of what appears to be a run-down trailer, did not.

The exhibition runs until January 13th, 2024. If you happen to be in San Francisco and drop in to see it, good luck averting your eyes from the tempting display of Leica gear on the other side of the room.

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