Artist Statement
My work springs from process, from curiosity, and from the experimental “what-if” where one investigation leads into another. Photography is a medium that requires the external—an external subject, object, or light sensitive material. I bridge photography with the internal through the philosophy that drives my image-making—the camera becomes a conduit and my practice is receptive. I’m interested in how photography functions to express an internal state or the essence of the externally-derived, prioritizing process over specific content—or rather, the process is the content. Working in a performative collaboration with both the optical device and digital systems, I investigate the act of looking—at nothing / something / or infinite space—while also considering the individual image versus the collective whole.
Bio
Beth D’Elia is an experimental photographer and multidisciplinary artist based on Cape Cod. She uses film and silver gelatin photo papers with innovative lens-based, pinhole, and camera-less techniques as well as the pastel medium to explore the notion of landscape, both internal and external. She has also been exploring digital photography and system-based collaboration. Conceptually, her work leans toward the abstract and painterly which conveys the essence of the landscapes she studies and creates. She holds an MFA in Photography & Integrated Media from Lesley University and is working toward her MFA in Visual Arts from Clark University. Her work is in private collections throughout the United States and abroad in the UK, Ireland, Argentina and Canada.
CV
Education:
Clark University, Worcester, MA — MFA Visual Arts — anticipated 2027
Lesley University, Cambridge, MA — MFA Photography and Integrated Media — 2024
Instituto Allende, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico — Photography course — 1998
Photography study with Jo Brenzo — San Miguel de Allende, Mexico — 1998
Pastel study with Clarence Hagins — San Miguel de Allende, Mexico — 1998
School of the Art Institute, Chicago, IL — Drawing & Figure Drawing workshops — 1997
Northeastern University, Boston, MA — MS Human Resource Counseling — 1995
Saint Mary’s College, Notre Dame, IN — BA History — 1990
Exhibition History:
2026 — Huret and Spector Gallery at Emerson College “Gather” Group Exhibition, Boston, MA
2025 — Gallery Rag “Trace Light: The Archive in Motion” Group Exhibition, Gloucester, MA
2024 — MFA Exhibition Online – University of Montana “Anything That Moves”
2024 — Roberts Gallery “The Last Picture Show” Group Exhibition, Cambridge, MA
2022 — Float Magazine “Instant Gratification” Online Exhibition
Publications and Media:
Anthotype Emulsions, Volume 2, Malin Fabbri, September 11, 2023
The Hand Magazine, Issue 40, April 2023
“A Conversation with Beth D’Elia”, The Root Cellar/Substack, March 22, 2023
“30 minutes”, Safelight Paper, January 11, 2023
Mina Art Magazine, July 15 2022
Juried Art Fairs:
2023 — Old Town Art Fair, Chicago IL
Scholarships & Awards:
Merit Scholarship, Clark University, Worcester, MA, 2025-2027
Summer Workshop Scholarship, Fine Arts Work Center, Provincetown, MA, 2023
President’s Scholarship, Lesley University, Cambridge, MA, 2022-2024
Beth D'Elia . Studio 