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Artist Cynthia Karalla will open Negative / Positive, an exhibition exploring transformation, chance, failure, and discovery, at Tooker Gallery, located at 195 Front Street in Newburgh, New York, on the Hudson River. Opening day is scheduled for November 14 from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Bringing together projects created across different periods and circumstances, the exhibition reveals a central idea that connects Karalla’s diverse body of work: what appears to be a mistake, a loss, or an unwanted interruption can become the starting point for something entirely unexpected.
Karalla does not work from a fixed visual formula. Each project develops its own language, appearance, and direction. What unites the work is the process of transformation, the moment when an experience or material moves from one state into another and reveals possibilities that were not apparent at the beginning.
With a background in Hermetic philosophy and alchemy, Karalla approaches art as an evolving exchange between the artist and the circumstances of life. Rather than controlling every outcome, she allows accidents, damaged materials, unexpected purchases, and personal experiences to influence what emerges in the studio.
“Life enters my studio,” Karalla says. “And then I play.”
That statement captures the spirit of Negative / Positive. The exhibition presents art not simply as the execution of a predetermined idea, but as a process of responding, experimenting, and discovering meaning in circumstances that might initially appear to offer none.
When Failure Becomes the Beginning of Discovery
For Karalla, transformation is more than an artistic technique. It is a way of understanding the world.
The distinction between a positive and negative experience is not always permanent. An event that initially feels damaging or disappointing can eventually open a path toward a new perspective. Meaning may emerge not only from what happens, but also from how a person responds to it.
This philosophy informs the works presented in the exhibition, including Flash & Failure, Days of the Untitled, Bleached, Cracked Ribs, The Age of Beauty, and It’s Craigslist, Toots!. Although each project originated under different circumstances, they share an openness to the unexpected.
Karalla describes her approach as a willingness to enter difficult or unfamiliar situations rather than immediately rejecting them or forcing them toward a planned conclusion. By examining what is already present, she looks for possibilities that could not have been imagined beforehand.
The exhibition invites visitors to consider a similar question: what if an unwanted experience contains the beginnings of something valuable?
The Stories Behind the Work
The projects featured in Negative / Positive illustrate how different circumstances can shape artistic discovery.
Flash & Failure
Created in Italy and the United States in 2004, Flash & Failure emerged when an idea did not work as intended. Instead of treating the unsuccessful result as an endpoint, Karalla used the experience to explore new ways of working with light and the camera.
The project demonstrates how a failed approach can become a productive experiment, allowing an unexpected result to influence the direction of the work.
Days of the Untitled
Associated with Sassi di Matera, Italy, in 2003, Days of the Untitled examines transformation as an internal process as well as an artistic one. Karalla describes it as a beginning in which change starts within.
The project reflects the exhibition’s broader interest in how perception develops and how a shift in understanding can alter the meaning of an experience.
Bleached
Created in New York City in 2014, Bleached grew from Karalla’s experimentation with destructive chemical processes applied directly to photographic negatives.
Rather than treating the negative as a delicate object that must remain untouched, she allowed it to encounter uncertainty and material change. The resulting process challenged conventional ideas about preserving photographic materials and created room for unexpected outcomes.
The work reflects Karalla’s willingness to let the material participate in its own transformation.
Cracked Ribs
Cracked Ribs, associated with Sassi di Matera, Italy, in 2016, originated in an unfortunate accident that left Karalla with cracked ribs. During a period shaped by physical limitations, boredom, and breathing exercises, the circumstances became the starting point for a new photographic series.
The project illustrates how an experience that interrupts ordinary life can create an unexpected opening for artistic work.
It’s Craigslist, Toots!
Created in New York City in 2019, It’s Craigslist, Toots! began with a Craigslist transaction that turned into a robbery. What could have remained an entirely negative experience ultimately transformed into one of Karalla’s biggest sellers, according to the artist.
The project’s unusual origin makes it a particularly direct expression of the exhibition’s central theme. An unwanted circumstance became the foundation for a work that developed a life of its own.
The title also became the name of Karalla’s book.
The Age of Beauty
Created in New York City in 2025, The Age of Beauty considers changing perceptions of age and visibility. The work approaches aging as a celebration of time lived, challenging the idea that older people should become invisible within contemporary culture.
Its inclusion adds another dimension to the exhibition’s exploration of transformation. Here, the shift is not necessarily caused by an accident or failure, but by changing social attitudes and a willingness to recognize value from a different perspective.
An Exhibition About the Possibilities Within Uncertainty
Although the works in Negative / Positive differ in subject, material, and origin, they share an approach that resists the demand for perfect conditions and predictable outcomes.
Karalla’s practice begins with what happens rather than with an expectation that every situation must follow a predetermined plan. Mistakes become methods of exploration, damage becomes material, and disruption creates opportunities to think differently.
Her perspective also challenges the assumption that an experience must be immediately understood to have value. Sometimes, its meaning only becomes visible through experimentation, reflection, and time.
The exhibition brings these ideas together at Tooker Gallery, offering visitors an opportunity to encounter the works while considering their own relationships with uncertainty and change.
At its core, Negative / Positive is an invitation to reconsider the labels placed on life’s experiences. What appears negative in one moment may eventually lead toward a different understanding. What seems like an ending may become the beginning of an unexpected creative direction.
As Karalla’s work suggests, transformation does not always begin with a clear vision of what comes next. Sometimes, it begins by allowing the unexpected to become part of the process.
Exhibition Opening Details
Exhibition: Cynthia Karalla: Negative / Positive
Opening date: November 14, 2026
Opening hours: 1 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Venue: Tooker Gallery
Address: 195 Front Street, Newburgh, NY 12550
Setting: On the Hudson River
Contact: 718-704-6954 or 718-614-1935
Through Negative / Positive, Cynthia Karalla presents a body of work shaped by experimentation, circumstance, and the possibility of discovering something meaningful in the unexpected. At Tooker Gallery, the exhibition brings together distinct artistic projects under one guiding idea: failure can become discovery, negative circumstances can lead to positive transformation, and life itself can become the material from which art emerges.
Visitors can explore the project through Karalla’s online portfolio: https://karalla.com
The post Cynthia Karalla’s Negative / Positive Explores Transformation, Chance, and the Art of Discovery at Tooker Gallery appeared first on The Hype Magazine.
