upstage / downstage: Photographs by Chase Brantley
July 1 – August 25, 2025
Reception: Monday, July 7, 2025, 6:00-8:00
ATHICA @ Ciné Gallery
234 W Hancock Ave.
Athens, GA 30601
For hours, see: www.athenscine.com
ATHICA@Ciné Gallery presents an exhibition featuring photographs by Chase Brantley, known locally for his work as a performer, comedian, and impresario. Brantley uses the camera to observe his fellow performers in their in-between moments, capturing their unguarded transitions between stage and backstage, upstage and down.
upstage / downstage is a black and white photo series that documents the moments before and after performance. Focused on artists working in fringe and alternative theater, the images capture performers in transition—preparing to step into or out of character. The series is less about the show itself and more about what surrounds it: the cool down, the preparation, the waiting. The title comes from common stage directions, used to help orient performers. In a similar way, these photos aim to locate the artist in a more personal space—outside the performance, but never far from it.
— Chase Brantley, 2025
This is Brantley’s first solo exhibition with ATHICA. He was selected by the ATHICA Exhibitions Committee to be featured in the Solo Duo Trio series, which provides opportunities for individual artists to exhibit their work at ATHICA and its partner location, ATHICA@Ciné.
About the Artist
Chase Brantley is a photographer and performer originally from Athens, Georgia. His photography journey began in 2016, when he left the U.S. to study clowning at the renowned École Philippe Gaulier in France. After several failed attempts to keep a journal, he picked up a $40 Nikon film camera and a few rolls of film to document his time overseas. Over two years at clown school, he fell in love with taking photos. Nearly a decade later, Chase tours internationally as an award-winning comedian and clown. Alongside his work onstage, he photographs fellow performers in the quiet, unguarded moments surrounding their time in the spotlight.Press Release: https://mailchi.mp/athica/brantley
Title Sheet: Image Sheet _ Name Plates
upstage / downstage: Photographs by Chase Brantley is sponsored in part by The James E. and Betty J. Huffer Foundation, The Georgia Council for the Arts, and The National Endowment for the Arts.