Novado Gallery in Jersey City is presenting Transference – Torridon & Wester Ross, a solo photography exhibition by Scottish-born, Jersey City–based artist Susan MacDonald. The exhibition is on view from December 18, 2025, through January 31, 2026, and is free and open to the public. This exhibition is MacDonald’s second solo show at Novado Gallery.
The exhibition is curated by Anne Novado and Eleazar Sanchez and centers on MacDonald’s recent body of work created in Scotland’s northwest Highlands, specifically in the regions of Torridon and Wester Ross.
- “Transference – Torridon & Wester Ross” is a solo photography exhibition by Susan MacDonald, presented at Novado Gallery from December 18, 2025, to January 31, 2026.
- The exhibition uses intentional camera movement photography to translate the atmosphere, memory, and geological history of Torridon and Wester Ross in Scotland’s northwest Highlands.
- The opening reception on Thursday, December 18, featured a live bagpipe procession and performance by Jerry Dixon, “The NYC Piper,” and was free and open to the public.
Susan MacDonald’s Approach to Landscape Photography
In Transference, Susan MacDonald presents photographs that focus on land and light through the use of intentional camera movement. Her work explores transitional spaces where loch meets hill, weather meets memory, and motion meets stillness. The images focus on duration and sensation, capturing elements such as wind moving across water, the fading afterglow of dusk, and gradual changes in weather.
The photographs are abstract in nature and encourage close viewing. The pacing of the images aligns with memory, inviting viewers to slow down and experience subtle shifts in color, tone, and movement across each composition.
Torridon and Wester Ross as Source Landscapes
Torridon and Wester Ross carry long geological and cultural histories. The regions contain some of the oldest rock formations in Europe and were shaped by ancient glaciation. They are also connected to centuries of Gaelic heritage and crofting traditions, which contribute layers of history, myth, and human presence to the land.
MacDonald’s work engages with these landscapes by focusing on what the land holds over time, translating geological age, cultural continuity, and environmental change into visual form.
Artist Statement and Concept of Transference
In her artist statement, Susan MacDonald explains that her work explores the boundaries between perception and memory through intentional camera movement photography. Each image is created in-camera and functions as a translation of fleeting emotion and atmosphere, described as an act of transference from the external world to an internal, felt experience.
MacDonald uses deliberate, painterly camera movements to allow landscapes to dissolve into abstraction. The images invite viewers to step closer and become immersed in the interplay of color, light, and motion. Her work focuses on releasing a moment and allowing familiar forms to blur, shift, and change.
Within the context of Transference, MacDonald poses questions about what people carry with them from the places they pass through and how memory transforms perception. Each piece invites viewers to pause and engage with transformation through quiet observation.
Curatorial Context
Curators Anne Novado and Eleazar Sanchez describe the work as a contemplative reimagining of place. “Susan’s work offers a contemplative reimagining of place,” they said. “Her images allow us to experience the Highlands through movement, atmosphere, and emotional depth rather than through mere representation.”
Their curatorial approach supports the exhibition’s focus on movement, atmosphere, and emotional experience as central elements of MacDonald’s photographic process.
Exhibition Catalog and Featured Works
The exhibition includes limited-edition intentional camera movement photographs printed on aluminum. One featured work is Light Sleeps on the Loch, measuring 40″ x 30″ and produced in an edition of five. The image was created at Loch Maree, a freshwater loch shaped by glaciers that stretches about 12 miles and sits beneath peaks such as Slioch. Loch Maree contains more than sixty islands, some of which preserve rare remnants of ancient Caledonian pinewoods with trees that have stood for centuries. The loch provides habitat for wildlife, including the black-throated diver, a rare breeding bird in the United Kingdom. Nearby Isle Maree includes a chapel, a holy well linked to Saint Mael Ruba, and a wishing tree decorated with coins. The image captures a moment when softened light and weather simplified the scene into gentle tones, reflections, and haze.
Another featured work is Where Light Meets Water, also measuring 40″ x 30″ and produced in an edition of five. This photograph was captured at Loch Coulin on the Coulin Estate in Wester Ross. The area is formed from ancient rock and shaped by changing Highland weather. The image conveys a sense of peace, isolation, and constant change within the landscape.
Opening Reception and Public Events
The exhibition opened on Thursday, December 18, with a reception held from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm. The event began with a bagpipe procession led by Jerry Dixon, known as “The NYC Piper,” who led guests from the corner of Warren and Morgan Streets to the gallery. The performance introduced Scottish cultural tradition into the evening and set the tone for the exhibition experience. The reception also included brief remarks from Susan MacDonald and a Scottish-themed warm drink.
Novado Gallery Location and Background
Novado Gallery LLC opened in December 2016 and is located at 110 Morgan Street in Jersey City, New Jersey, within the Modera Lofts between Washington and Warren Streets. The gallery is two blocks from the downtown waterfront and minutes by train from the World Trade Center to Grove Street. Ferry service is available from Manhattan to Harborside or Exchange Place.
The gallery maintains an inventory of artworks on paper and canvas and provides services including art installation, art commissions for specific projects, and museum-quality custom framing for corporate and private clients throughout the East Coast. Novado Gallery’s programming includes exhibitions and events such as artist talks, panel discussions, and gallery tours designed to encourage dialogue and meaningful interaction between art and its audience.
