Mariette Pathy Allen
Blue Sky is pleased to announce June 2025 exhibition: Breaking Boundaries: 50 Years of Images by Mariette Pathy Allen
First Thursday Opening: Jun 5, 5 – 9 PM
In-Person Artist Talk: Sat, Jun 7 at 3:30 PM
Mariette Pathy Allen’s exhibition Breaking Boundaries: 50 Years of Images showcases her career photographing transgender and gender-expansive communities with compassion and dignity. Beginning in 1978, Allen’s intimate portraits challenged harmful stereotypes and offered a humane view of gender diversity. As political threats to transgender rights persist, Allen’s work stands as both powerful art and vital historical record, capturing love and resilience across generations.
Mariette Pathy Allen (American, b. 1940, she/her) is a photographer of transgender, genderfluid, and gender variant communities, as well as other continuous series such as Birth and Families, The Face of New Jersey, People With Art, Flowers and Fantasy, Texas, and Scapes. In 1978, on the last day of Mardi Gras in New Orleans, Allen met Vicky West, a trans woman she befriended and through whom she was first invited to Fantasia Fair, a transgender conference where she would serve as official photographer. She traveled across the US to many other transgender conferences, participated in political activism, and worked for the Transgender Tapestry magazine. She continues to pursue the work of photographing, interviewing, and advocating on behalf of gender-nonconforming people. Allen is the author of five books that have brought visibility to transgender communities across the world, including Transformations: Crossdressers and Those Who Love Them (1989), The Gender Frontier (2004), TransCuba (2014), Transcendents: Spirit Mediums in Burma and Thailand (2017), and I Was The Girl: Art by Vicky West (2024). She has made dozens of slide presentations to various groups, participated in radio and television programs, and been a consultant and still photographer for films. Allen’s work is included in numerous public and private collections and has been exhibited internationally. Her work is being archived by Duke University’s Rare Book and Manuscripts Library and the Sallie Bingham Center for Women’s Studies. Allen is based in New York City and is represented by CLAMP, New York. You can find her online at http://www.mariettepathyallen.com and on Instagram at @Mariette_Pathy_Allen.
Organizer
Founded as the Oregon Center for the Photographic Arts by a group of five young photographers in 1975, Blue Sky quickly established itself as an important venue for local photography. In a short period of time, the organization expanded its offerings to include national and international artists, many of whom exhibited at Blue Sky early in their careers. Blue Sky’s special endeavor continues to be the exhibition of emerging and established artists that exemplify the finest in photographic vision and innovation. As such, Blue Sky has earned the accolade as having “the best record of discovering new photographers of any artists’ space in the country.” Today, from our 3,700-square-foot facility in Portland’s historic DeSoto Building, Blue Sky presents 20 – 25 exhibitions annually, maintains a public research library, showcases regional photographers in an annual juried exhibition of original works in its Pacific Northwest Drawers, and offers artist talks and programs — all free to the public.