The Rochester Museum of Fine Arts is pleased to announce “The Call of the Forest”, a digital art exhibition featuring works by Devin Swett in The Pixel Room, in Suite 135 of the James W. Foley Memorial Community Center, starting February 3, 2025.
Devin Swett (b. 1986, Hanover, NH) is a photographer based in Manchester, NH. His work explores the relationship between people and the natural world, documenting the ways individuals engage with their environment. Trained in fine art photography at the New Hampshire Institute of Art, he primarily works with analog black-and-white film negatives, printing with handmade alternative techniques such as cyanotype and Van Dyke brown. However, The Call of the Forest is a digital series he has been developing for over a decade, embracing color to capture years of shared experiences among friends escaping society and forming temporary communities in the woods.
“In a world of schedules, screens, and expectations, we disappear into the woods. Out here, the rules shift. Instead of deadlines, we chase daylight. Instead of transactions, we trade effort—splitting wood, pitching tents, sharing food. This series documents years spent with the same friends, building temporary shelters and temporary societies,” said Swett. “Each trip is a return—not just to nature, but to something older, something instinctual. Firelight replaces fluorescent glare, laughter carries without walls. Here, survival is simple: shelter, heat, each other. In these images, I capture the way we leave one world to create another, if only for a weekend.”
“The Call of the Forest” will be on display until May 2, 2025, with an informal gathering planned for March 1, 2025, from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm. The public is encouraged to attend. The James W. Foley Memorial Community Center is located at 150 Wakefield Street, Rochester, NH 03867. Follow @devinswett and visit www.rochestermfa.org to learn more.
The museum gratefully acknowledges the generous support of its corporate sponsors, community partners, and collaborators, including the City of Rochester, Meredith Village Savings Bank, Bernier Insurance, Back Hill Beer Co., Creative Guts Podcast, and the Greater Rochester Chamber of Commerce.
