In the Galleries: Pinholio at Good Citizen Gallery

Pinholio This group exhibit of contemporary photography offers proof that the simplest and most timeworn of photographic devices — the pinhole camera — makes for a wonderfully weird, quixotic and thoroughly durable medium. Curated by Alison Ouellette-Kirby and Mark A. Fischer, the show unites three groups of work: a juried selection of local and national artists; a series by the duo of Nancy Spencer and Eric Renner; and a series of photos by celebrated pinhole master Pinky Bass. Given the contraption's primitive nature, theirs is an art of equal parts ingenuity and chance. And when those two aspects coincide, the result has the capacity to astonish. Khara Koffel uses a converted digital SLR to capture surreal bursts of fireworks; Hilary Hitchcock somehow manages to lasso the grinning neon blur of a "Lil' Pardner" cowboy at the Missouri State Fair. Bass approaches the entire process with relish, making cameras out of, among other improbable stuff, bras and Bibles. Her images have a sobering, elegiac feel, the swan songs of an inveterate luddite. Through December 17 at Good Citizen Gallery, 2247 Gravois Avenue; 314-348-4587 or www.goodcitizenstl.com. Hours: noon-5 p.m. Fri.-Sat. and by appointment.