Katy Grannan Explores ‘Collaborative Fiction’ in New Photo Series

SAN FRANCISCO – Fraenkel Gallery is set to present Mad River, a new exhibition featuring the work of photographer Katy Grannan. The show highlights a new series of portraits she created while living and working in Northern California’s Humboldt County. The photographs, on view for the first time, capture the independent spirit of an area known for its privacy and seclusion.

Mad River marks the gallery’s sixth exhibition of Grannan’s work since 2006. The series explores the relationship between self-presentation and place, as Grannan often builds relationships with her subjects to create what she describes as a “collaborative fiction.”

Capturing a Community

Humboldt County, with its dense forests and rural landscape, has long been a destination for those seeking to “disappear.” Grannan began her project in 2023, using methods she has employed for over two decades—posting fliers and Craigslist ads to find subjects. In this new work, her subjects were eager to be seen and to collaborate with her for a variety of reasons. The series includes portraits of an autistic teenager, a circus performer, a queer farmer, and a man with his goat.

Over time, Grannan’s network expanded through word-of-mouth referrals, offering a cross-section of a particular community. Many of the people she photographed are part of the area’s creative circles and identify as genderqueer, reflecting Humboldt County’s long-standing appeal to nonconformists.

A New Era of Portraiture

With the rise of social media and ubiquitous digital cameras, the experience of being photographed has changed dramatically. Grannan notes that her subjects today have an innate understanding of how they appear to her camera, allowing her to focus on “ambiguous gestures” and the spaces between poses.

Several of the new images were shot in a studio with bright red carpet, where subjects play with the language of fashion photography while subverting its rules. Other portraits are set against the natural backdrop of the beach, forest, and the shallow water of the Mad River. In a place known for its magnificent redwoods and dramatic coastline, the landscape in Grannan’s images is quiet, leaving the focus on the people while revealing the outlines of the place that shapes them.

A public reception with the artist will be held at the gallery on Saturday, 13 September, from 2-4pm, concurrent with the opening of Peter Hujar: The Gracie Mansion Show Revisited.

Exhibit: Mad River, Katy Grannan, Fraenkel Gallery, San Francisco, 4 September through 25 October 2025.