Craislist-Toots#7
Artist Cynthia Karalla will present Negative / Positive, an exhibition of photographic and mixed-process projects born from accidents, disruption, and unexpected turns, at Tooker Gallery, 195 Front Street, Newburgh, New York, on Saturday, November 14, 2026, from 2 to 7 p.m.
Rooted in Karalla’s background in Hermetic philosophy and alchemy, Negative / Positive explores the transformative moment when something that appears broken, unsuccessful, or unwanted becomes the beginning of something new.
Rather than following a predetermined artistic plan, Karalla allows life to enter her studio. A damaged photographic negative, an accident, a period of forced inactivity, or even a disappointing purchase can become the starting point for an entirely unexpected work of art.
“I do not plan my work,” Karalla explains. “The mistake was the method.”
The exhibition brings together projects including Flash & Failure, Days of the Untitled, Bleached, Cracked Ribs, Age of Beauty, and It’s Craigslist, Toots! Each emerged from an unanticipated circumstance that redirected the artist’s process and opened new possibilities.
In Bleached, Karalla experiments with the destructive effects of unknown chemicals on photographic negatives, challenging the traditional impulse to protect and preserve the photographic image. Cracked Ribs originated during recovery from an accident, when boredom and breathing exercises became the unlikely conditions for a new photographic series. In It’s Craigslist, Toots!, an experience involving a Craigslist purchase that went wrong ultimately developed into one of her biggest Positives.
Across these projects, Karalla embraces uncertainty, allowing materials and circumstances to shape the outcome. Her work reflects a larger philosophy: that meaning is not always inherent in what happens to us, but can emerge through how we respond.
“For me, the movement between negative and positive is more than a method of making art. It is a way of looking at life,” Karalla says. “Not in perfection, but in transformation. Not in controlling the outcome, but in allowing life to participate.”
With Negative / Positive, Karalla invites viewers to reconsider the role of failure, damage, and disruption—not simply as obstacles, but as opportunities for discovery and new ways of seeing.
The exhibition offers a timely reminder that creativity does not always begin with a vision. Sometimes, it begins when things do not go as planned.