Solo Exhibitions

  • 2020: North Portland Polaroids (outdoor exhibit) at St. Johns Plaza, Portland, Oregon

  • 2015: Celebrating St. Johns (social practice exhibit of North Portland Polaroids) St. Johns, Portland, Oregon

  • 2014: The West Behind Us, Buckley Center, University of Portland, Oregon

  • 2013: North Portland Polaroids at LightBox Photographic Gallery, Astoria, Oregon

  • 2012: North Portland Polaroids at Blue Sky, Ampersand and Proper Eats, Portland, Oregon

  • 2011: 45th Parallel at Newspace Center for Photography, Portland, Oregon

  • 2011: One Summer Across America at Johnson State College, Johnson, Vermont

  • 2008: Rabbit at Newspace Center for Photography, Portland, Oregon

  • 2007: Street Muggings at Camerawork Gallery, Portland, Oregon

  • 2006: Recent Composites at Pacific Northwest College of Art, Portland, Oregon

  • 2005: Shifting Perspectives at the Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia, Atlanta, Georgia

  • 2005: One Summer Across America at Photography Center of Atlanta, Atlanta, Georgia

  • 2004: Rabbit at Kopala Gallery, Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia

  • 2000: From My Car Window at The Upstairs Gallery, Atlanta, Ga. (exhibited in 2001 at New Media Institute, UGA in Athens, Ga.)

  • 1998: Silent Prayers at The West Hill Concept Union, Decatur, Georgia

  • 1996: Dreams, Despair and the Coca-Cola Olympic Circus at New.Vision.Space, Atlanta, Georgia

  • 1994: Homeless in Atlanta at The Roxy, Atlanta, Georgia

Selected Group Exhibitions & Collaborations

  • 2020: Reflections of Our Time: Acquisitions 1993-2019 at the Museum of Contemporary Art Belgrade, Serbia

  • 2020: Watch Your Step at Buckley Center, University of Portland, Oregon

  • 2019: The Pacific Northwest 40 at LightBox Photographic Gallery, Astoria, Oregon 

  • 2016: St. Johns Speaks, Portland, Oregon (collaboration with St. Johns Main Street and Roosevelt H.S.)

  • 2007-16: Pacific Northwest Photography Drawers at Blue Sky, Portland, Oregon (selected annually)

  • 2014-15: Place: Framing the Oregon Landscape at the Oregon History Museum, Portland, Oregon

  • 2014: INFOCUS Juried Exhibition of Self-Published Photobooks at the Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix, Arizona

  • 2013: LightLeak 101 at Camerawork Gallery, Portland, Oregon

  • 2012: Strangers in a Strange Land at the Streff Gallery at Marylhurst University, Portland, Oregon

  • 2011-12: Through the Looking Glass at Portland Art Museum, Portland, Oregon

  • 2011: Art Faculty Biennial at Archer Gallery of Clark College, Vancouver, Washington

  • 2010: Out of the Drawers: ArtBar Gallery and Portland Mayor’s office in City Hall, Portland, Oregon

  • 2010: The Shape of Time at The Oregon Jewish Museum, Portland, Oregon

  • 2010: LightLeak at Lightbox, Astoria, Oregon

  • 2009: MOCA GA Collects: The Photographic Image at Museum of Contemporary Art Georgia, Atlanta

  • 2009: Art Faculty Biennial at Archer Gallery of Clark College, Vancouver, Washington

  • 2008: LightLeak Group Show at Albina Press, Portland, Oregon

  • 2007: Northwest Film Center screening of New York at the Portland Museum of Art, Portland, Oregon

  • 2007: Inside Out at Buckley Center, University of Portland, Portland, Oregon

  • 2006: LightLeak at Newspace Center for Photography, Portland, Oregon

  • 2007: Neither Here Nor There: Perspectives on Homelessness at ATHICA, Athens, Georgia

  • 2005: As they see it at Museum of Contemporary Art Georgia, Atlanta, Georgia

  • 2004: Untitled as Yet: Yugoslav Biennial of Young Artists, Serbia and Montenegro

  • 2004: So Atlanta: Artists Respond to the Contemporary City at The Contemporary, Atlanta, Georgia

  • 2003: Kolonija Kalenic at Open Space Museum, Serbia (video projection)

  • 2003: Product: Comments on Consumer Culture at ATHICA, Athens, Georgia

  • 2002: Telling It Like It Is, at Marietta/Cobb Museum of Art, Marietta, Georgia

  • 2002: Crossover at Salon of the Museum of Contemporary Art Belgrade, Serbia

  • 2000: 6 Characters in Search of an Author, Synchronicity Performance Group, Atlanta (set designer)

  • 2000: One People Connect at Hastings Seed Factory, Atlanta, Georgia

  • 1999: Five Photographers / Five Perspectives. ArtWalk at Lenox Square, Atlanta, Georgia

  • 1999: Nexus Biennial, Nexus Contemporary Art Center, Atlanta, Georgia (video installation piece)

  • 1999: Cuba, New York and Conyers at Atlanta Photography Group Gallery, Atlanta, Georgia

  • 1999: Hope, Atlanta, Georgia (documentary video about people affected by HIV, featuring more than 100 still images by Abrahamson)

  • 1998: Marisol, Synchronicity Performance Group, Atlanta, Georgia (still and film projections)

  • 1998: Cosmopolitan Concrete Chaos …experience the art of Fairlie Poplar, Atlanta, Georgia

  • 1998: Atlanta Film and Video Festival (screening of video Dreams & Despair), Atlanta, Georgia

  • 1997: I am the Matador, I am the Bull at The Backdrop Gallery, Atlanta, Georgia

Books & Catalogues

  • 2020: Rabbit, Portland, Oregon (self-published, limited edition monograph, with numerous hand-finished inserts and captions)

  • 2014: The West Behind Us, Portland, Oregon (photos by Abrahamson, text by Lisa Wells; self-pubished)

  • 2013: North Portland Polaroids, Portland, Oregon (limited edition monograph, self-published)

  • 2012: North Portland Polaroids, Portland, Oregon (limited edition monograph, published by Ampersand Vintage)

  • 2010: Pacific Northwest Postcards, Portland, Oregon (limited edition, handmade artist’s book)

  • 2009: North Cascades Walkabout, Portland, Oregon (limited edition, handmade artist’s book)

  • 2008: Rabbit, Portland, Oregon (self-published monograph)

  • 2005: One Summer Across America (monograph, with text by Robert Frank and Thomas Southall), Serbia and Montenegro

  • 2004: Untitled as Yet: Yugoslav Biennial of Young Artists (exhibition catalogue), Serbia and Montenegro

  • 2003: Kolonija Kalenic (exhibition catalogue), Serbia and Montenegro

  • 2002: Crossover (exhibition catalogue), Serbia and Montenegro

  • 2000: From my car window(exhibition catalogue, with essay by Donald Keyes), Atlanta, Georgia

  • 2000: One People Connect (exhibition catalogue), Atlanta, Georgia

Collections

 Photographic prints by Abrahamson are in the following collections:

  • The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas

  • Portland Art Museum, Portland, Oregon

  • Museum of Contemporary Art Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro

  • Harry Ransom Center, Austin, Texas

  • Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia, Atlanta, Georgia

  • Oregon Jewish Museum, Portland, Oregon

  • RACC Portable Works & Visual Chronicle Collections of Portland, Oregon

  • University of Michigan Museum of Art, Ann Arbor, Michigan

  • Paul R. Jones Collection, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama

  • Fort Scott Community College, Fort Scott, Kansas

  • Bunnen Collection, Atlanta, Georgia

  • Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP, Atlanta, Georgia

Abrahamson’s fine art photo books are in the following research library collections:

  • Museum of Modern Art, New York

  • The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

  • The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas

  • International Center of Photography, New York

  • Museum of Photographic Arts, San Diego, California

  • Amon Carter Museum, Fort Worth, Texas

  • Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University, Durham, North Carolina

  • Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut

  • High Museum of Art, Atlanta, Georgia

  • Atlanta College of Art, Atlanta, Georgia

  • University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado

  • Pacific Northwest College of Art, Portland, Oregon

  • Johnson State College, Johnson, Vermont

Articles & Reviews

  • On the Go with Joe with St. Johns Photographer Bobby Abrahamson, KPTV Fox 12, September 23, 2020

  • Local photographer documents historic St. Johns community, More Good Day Oregon, KPTV Fox 12, August 19, 2015

  • Humans of St. Johns, Street portraits of North Portlanders bring the neighborhood together, The Oregonian, August 16, 2015

  • St Johns Photography Exhibit Showcases the Many Faces of the Neighborhood, Portland Monthly, Fiona McCann, July 30, 2015

  • Refletions on a Dirty Dog, The Portland Mercury, Jan 14-20, 2015

  • On the Bluff, Portland Magazine, Winter 2014

  • Creating Artist’s Books, Lenscratch, Rebecca Senf, December 9, 2014

  • Riding the Dirty Dog; A Love Song to the Greyhound Underworld, VICE magazine, December 2013

  • Bobby Abrahamson, Julia Dolan and Myles Haselhorst on Art Focus, KBOO radio interview, July 10, 2012

  • A Local Photographer’s Unique Project, More Good Day Oregon, KPTV Fox 12, July 3, 2012

  • St Johns photographer releases book, holds opening, The Oregonian, Casey Parks, June 26, 2012

  • On the Streets of St. Johns, The Oregonian, Casey Parks, December 30, 2011

  • The 45th Parallel, Oregon Public Broadcasting’s “Think Out Loud,” November 17, 2011

  • Q&A: Bobby Abrahamson, Willamette Week, TJ Norris, November 16, 2011

  • A Fresh Repository of Memories: Oregon Jewish Museum, The Oregonian, Bob Hicks, Jan. 1, 2010

  • Open Meadows Photos on Display, The Skanner, July 2, 2009

  • ”Rabbit” is Quest, The Oregonian, Brian Libby, March 7, 2008

  • Shows of Note, The Oregonian, D.K. Row, June 15, 2007

  • Artists Capture City’s Richness, The Atlanta Daily World, May 5-11, 2005

  • Heart of America seen with candid eye, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Jerry Cullum, April 14, 2005

  • When Worlds Collide, Creative Loafing, Felicia Feaster,April 7-13, 2005

  • From the Artists Studio, The Wave, Susan Hartenstein, April 8, 2005

  • Sharing His Passion: Bobby Abrahamson’s camera helps him blend teaching & art, Atlanta

  • Jewish Times, Suzi Brozman, April 1, 2005

  • Atlanta Photographer Teaches the Homeless, The Sunday Paper, Stephanie Ramage, Feb.13-19, 2005

  • Outsider Art, Creative Loafing, Andisheh Nouraee, December 16-22, 2004

  • Changes Afoot, Creative Loafing, Felicia Feaster, December 9-15, 2004

  • Americans are teaching us again, 24 Hours,Teona Gaparidze, June 8, 2004

  • American Messages in Kopala gallery, Morning Newspaper, Mai Zezadze, June 8, 2004

  • International Festival of Arts in Tbilisi: A diary of GIFT, The Messenger, Nino Gvalia, June 15

  • Product Placement: Product as art; art as product, Creative Loafing, Felicia Feaster, May 14-20, 2003

  • Chasing America, Spot, Fall 2001/Winter 2002

  • Blow Up: Frames from an obsessive photographer, Atlanta Press, Christina Kline, Feb. 11-17, 2000

  • Drive-by shooting, Creative Loafing, Felicia Feaster, February 5, 2000

  • View from a Car Window, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Steve Dollar, January 16, 2000

  • Drive By Shooting, Atlanta Jewish Times, Richard Lufrano, January 14, 2000

  • 1998: After the Circus: Bobby Abrahamson in Latin America, Creative Loafing, Cathy Byrd, June 27, 1998

  • Silent Moments of Magic, Poets, Artists & Madmen, Rebecca Poyner Burns, June 5-11, 1998

  • Silence Speaks Volumes, Atlanta Jewish Times, Susan Bernstein, June 5, 1998

  • Sucking up that Olympic feel, Phoenix, Shanna Shahid, October 23, 1996

  • Revisit Olympics in one artist’s extravaganza, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution., J. Cullum, Oct.18, 1996

  • Circus Circus, Creative Loafing, Cathy Byrd, October 12, 1996

  • Taking note of agony, ecstasy, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Bo Emerson, April 22, 1996

Photography & Media Instructor

  • 2016: St. Johns Main Street participatory photography project with Roosevelt High School’s Urban Griots, Portland, Oregon

  • 2013-present: Right Brain Initiative teaching artist in public schools, Portland, Oregon

  • 2008-present: Clark College, Portland, Oregon

  • 2006-17: Newspace Center for Photography, Portland, Oregon

  • 2006-17: Saturday Academy, Portland, Oregon

  • 2007-12: Mount Hood Community College, Portland, Oregon

  • 2006-12: Media, Arts & Technology Institute, partnering with local middle schools in Portland, Oregon

  • 2007-10: Oregon College of Art and Craft, Portland, Oregon

  • 2006-10: Pacific Northwest College or Art, Portland, Oregon

  • 2006-08: Portland Art Museum, Portland, Oregon

  • 2007-08: University of Portland, Portland, Oregon

  • 2007: Renaissance Arts Academy - Marshall High School, Portland, Oregon

  • 2006-07: Arbor School of Arts & Sciences (mentor for student’s yearlong senior project), Portland, Oregon

  • 2006: Caldera, Sisters & Portland, Oregon

  • 2005-06: P:EAR, Portland, Oregon

  • 2005-06: Our Voices - The Pangaea Project, Portland, Oregon

  • 2005-06: Northwest Academy, Portland, Oregon

  • 2005-06: Kellogg Middle School, Portland, Oregon

  • 2005: The Bridge, Atlanta, Georgia

  • 2004-05: Our Voices - Metro Atlanta Task Force for the Homeless, Atlanta, Georgia

  • 2004: The Alfred and Adele Davis Academy, Atlanta, Georgia

  • 2004: Studio Sepia, Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia

  • 2004: Education Alliance at School of the Future, New York

  • 2004: International Center of Photography, New York

  • 2003: Rockaway Artist Alliance, Rockaway, New York

  • 2002: The Showcase School of Photography, Atlanta, Georgia

  • 2002: Georgia Journalism Academy - Georgia Scholastic Press Association, Athens, Georgia

  • 2000-01: University of Georgia, Grady College of Journalism & Mass Communication, Athens, Georgia

  • 2000: Journalism Fall Workshop: Georgia Scholastic Press Association - Athens, Georgia

  • 1997-99: Camp Wannaklot: Hemophilia of Georgia, Camp Breathe Easy: American Lung Association - Rutledge, Georgia

  • 1995: Camp Isabella Freedman - Falls Village, Connecticut

Professional Photographer

  • 1988-present: Freelance photographer, clients include TIME, FORTUNE, US News & World Report, The New York Times, VICE, The Portland Mercury, The Atlanta Journal Constitution and the advertising firm Wieden & Kennedy

  • 2005: Personal assistant to photographer and filmmaker Robert Frank - New York

  • 1988-93: Staff photographer at The Dothan Eagle - Dothan, Alabama; Douglas County Sentinel - Douglasville, Georgia; The Athens Observer - Athens, Georgia; and The Red and Black - Athens, Georgia

Education & Internships

  • 2003-05: Master of Arts, Media Studies, New School University - New York

  • 2004: Literacy Through Photography workshop, Center for Documentary Studies, Duke University, (workshop held at the High Museum of Art, Atlanta)

  • 2002: Graduate course in media literacy education at Appalachian State University - Boone, North Carolina

  • 1994-95: International Center of Photography one-year certificate program in photojournalism; interned for photojournalists Eugene Richards & James Nachtwey at Magnum agency - New York

  • 1984-88: Bachelor of Arts, History, University of Georgia - Athens, Georgia

Grants, Awards, Panels & Residencies

  • 2005-present: Blue Sky Gallery exhibition committee member

  • 2013: Visiting Lecturer at Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee

  • 2011: Visiting Lecturer at Johnson State College, Johnson, Vermont

  • 2011: Regional Arts and Culture Council Project Grant, collaborating artist with writer Lisa Wells

  • 2010: The Best Books of 2009: North Cascades Walkabout selected by Photo-Eye Magazine

  • 2010: Society for Photographic Education Northwest Conference panelist, photo-educators panel

  • 2009: Regional Arts and Culture Council Project Grant panelist, reviewed project grants applications

  • 2008-09: Caldera Visiting Artist

  • 2007: Caldera Artist Residency Retreat

  • 2006: Puffin Foundation grant for Our Voices - Pangaea Project

  • 2004: Lubo Fund grant for Our Voices - Metro Atlanta Task Force project

  • 2004: US Department of State cultural affairs grant for teaching and exhibiting in the Republic of Georgia

  • 1999: Communicators Award for Hope documentary about HIV/AIDS

  • 1994: Gordon Parks Photography Competition, Third Place

  • 1993: Gordon Parks Photography Competition, Honorable Mention

References available upon request.