Press Release: Birdhouse Gallery Show Reflects on Impact of COVID-19

By Sunset Beacon on March 11, 2025 • ( 1 Comment )

Closing reception, book launch for fifth anniversary of COVID lockdown

Five years after the world shifted, Birdhouse Gallery invites the public to reflect on the enduring impact of the COVID-19 pandemic through Ari Salomon’s poignant photography exhibition, 6 Feet Apart, culminating in a closing reception and book launch on March 16.

Sunday, March 16, 2-6 p.m.
Birdhouse Gallery: 2548 Judah St.
Free and open to the public
At 4 p.m. Ari Salomon will give a brief Artist Talk about his photography series and present a soft launch of his new book 5 Years, 6 Feet Apart
followed by three more brief presentations:
- Renny Pritikin was chief curator of The Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco. He will read a short curatorial response written for 5 Years, 6 Feet Apart called “The Aesthetics of Peril and Panic”.
- Christopher Lee is a medical epidemiologist focused on global epidemic and pandemic preparedness, detection, and response. He will read a short essay written for 5 Years, 6 Feet Apart, a personal reflection of his COVID experience titled “Lines, Loss, and the Gravity of Time“
- Meg Shiffler served as the Arts Recovery Liaison at San Francisco’s COVID-19 Command Center. She will give a short talk detailing her work during the pandemic. She’ll share insights into how she bridged the gap between the arts community and the city’s emergency response.

Ari Salomon’s 6 Feet Apart photography exhibition
Feb. 1 – March 16, 2025
Birdhouse Gallery: 2548 Judah St.
Gallery Hours:

Thursday and Friday: 1-5 p.m.
Saturday: 2-6 p.m.
By Appointment: Call 415-359-5187.
Free and open to the public.

San Francisco-based artist Ari Salomon presents a solo exhibition of his 6 Feet Apart series at Birdhouse Gallery, located in the Sunset neighborhood. This thought-provoking collection draws from Salomon’s global archive of images capturing the ubiquitous pandemic-era marks that guided social distancing.

The exhibition showcases new installations, including concrete sculptures, murals, framed and unframed photographs, site-specific works on windows and floors, publications, and more.

Salomon’s 6 Feet Apart series delves into diverse metaphors and themes:

Transformation and the fragility of health
The rigorous yet uncertain nature of scientific inquiry
The visceral and overwhelming experience of emotional panic

Through these layered associations, Salomon’s work invites viewers to reflect on the collective and personal responses to upheaval and uncertainty. The visually compelling abstractions serve as stark reminders of the anxiety that shaped their creation, even as these once-urgent symbols now fade into routine.

Exhibition History:

Head On Photo Festival, Sydney, Australia (2023) (solo show)
6 Feet Apart, Transmission Gallery (2023) (solo show)
Memento Mori | Memento Vivere, Marin Art and Garden Center (2024)
Articulate Turns 13, Sydney, Australia (2024)
50|50, Sanchez Art Center (2023)
The New World, Minnesota Street Project (2023), Curated by Sandra Philips

This series has also been featured recently in Lenscratch and Fraction Magazine.

About the participants

About the Artist
Ari Salomon’s work reinterprets the tradition of street photography, blending candid moments with conceptual perspectives that challenge traditional narratives. His work explores the nature and limitations of human perception.

Born in Israel, raised in San Diego, and now based in San Francisco, Salomon earned his B.A. in Art History from U.C. Santa Cruz with a focus on contemporary art theory and studio photography. His art has been exhibited widely across the United States and internationally in Tokyo, Kyoto, Paris, and Poland. He is a member of the Bay Area Photographers Collective (bapc.photo) and a fellow at LABA BAY (lababay.org)