Justin Carney

Biography

Justin A. Carney received his MFA in Photography from Indiana University Bloomington and his BFA in Photography from Pennsylvania College of Art & Design. He currently teaches and serves as the 2D Studios Coordinator at Montclair State University, where he manages the Painting, Printmaking, and Photography studios. 

Carney believes that creative studios play an important role in the creation and sustainability of community for art departments. He aims to take a collaborative approach to create art studios where students can take creative risks, where professors can teach what they love, and where everyone feels welcome. 

He also approaches teaching in the same vein, creating classrooms where students feel seen, heard, and comfortable enough to be themselves and make work they believe in. 

 

 

Research

Carney's art practice uses autobiographical photography to question how death and grief affect familial connections - the bonds that keep a family together and cause them to separate, and how grief shapes an individual. Much of Carney's artistic practice deals with confronting and exposing grief surrounding death to create an avenue for not only himself but for others to find healing and cope with the deaths in their lives. 

His work has been exhibited in venues both nationally and internationally, including Aurora PhotoCenter, Indianapolis, IN; Candela Gallery, Richmond, VA; Colorado Photographic Arts Center, Denver, CO; Manifest Gallery, Cincinnati, OH; Photo London, London, UK; Open Doors Gallery, London, UK; Incadaqués Festival, Catalonia, Spain; and Exposure Photo Festival, Alberta, Canada. He is also the recipient of the Beckmann Emerging Artist Fellowship (2024) from the Indy Arts Council, Indianapolis, IN; First Place Single Image Award from LensCulture Art Photography Awards 2023; and the 2022 Emerging Artist Grant from the Bloomington Arts Commission, Bloomington, IN.