NEW YORK, NY.- The Garment District Alliance unveiled the latest in its ongoing series of public art exhibits, showcasing a collection of photographs titled, Positively Overexposed, by Garment District-based artist Joanne Handler.

Located inside the Kaufman Arcade building on 133 West 36th Street, the free exhibit is accessible to the public through November 30th. Positively Overexposed is part of the Garment District Space for Public Art program, which showcases artists in unusual locations throughout the year, and has produced more than 200 installations, exhibits and performances.

“Joanne Handler’s work embodies the creative, artistic flair of the Garment District neighborhood,” said Barbara A. Blair, president of the Garment District Alliance. “We are proud to showcase Positively Overexposed as part of our Garment District Space for Public Art program, and we encourage all New Yorkers and visitors to visit this wonderful exhibition.”

An avid traveler, Handler was inspired to create fine art images during her trips to Europe, where she sought out public beaches with crowds that featured bursts of color from swimsuits, umbrellas, beach towels and floats. During these trips, Handler experimented with overexposing these photographs to more light to make them more visually powerful.

Further exploring the concept of overexposing in the more figurative sense, Handler began making photo collages by taking ordinary images and repeating them in one photograph to determine if exhaustive use of that image would change its impact. Using a photo she captured of a red sign on a building in Vienna, Handler made her first of many photo collages that feature various subjects, including windows, children’s alphabet blocks and people.

Handler’s art education began at the University of Pennsylvania in the 1980’s, and she also took various classes and workshops at the International Center for Photography, the School of Visual Arts and the Santa Fe Photography Workshops. She began her own portraiture business, specifically of children, in the late 90’s and eventually branched out into corporate and acting headshots. Handler also paints, and spends her time in her studio in the Garment District and the Arts Student League of New York.