Jacob Pesci: Divine Appointments

December 5, 2025–January 16, 2026

Opening reception Friday, December 5 | 6-8 pm


Jacob Pesci: Divine Appointments is as exhibition of Pittsburgh-based photographer Jacob Pesci, who in the Spring of 2025, spent six weeks on a solo, 10,000-mile road trip across the United States. Having spent his early adulthood based in California in the US Military, Pesci was immersed in a culture of hypervigilance, propaganda, and extremism. Since completing his service, he has used photography as a way to move through his fear, evoke curiosity for the other, and to dismantle the militaristic systems of aggression and rigidity embedded within. Pesci’s practice has allowed him to rebuild his psyche through an eternal seeking of understanding, grace, and kindness, giving face and voice to those who may have once sparked apprehension for the artist.

In keeping with the tradition of American road trip photography, this body of work highlights land, people, movements, ideologies, and banalities. Pesci’s visits to politically charged sites such as military bases, oil refineries, and the boarder wall in El Paso, TX sit adjacent to more serene scenes of highway overpasses, cemeteries, and friendships and families. Through his exploration of small towns, Native American reservations, and deserts, Pesci’s work is filled with “divine appointments”, spiritually significant encounters that, for the artist, signal a sincere hope for transformation. This trip, and resulting exhibition, serve a chance for Pesci to attempt to capture both the divisions and fears present in our contemporary culture, as well as the loving connections that are always present within communities and individuals.  

The exhibition is accompanied by a musical score by Nathan Cephas and a limited edition artist book.




Publication:
Divine Appointments gathers Pesci’s 10,000 mile roadtrip into a dynamic publication — tracing how place, belief, and belonging shape the human condition today. This thoughtfully designed, clothbound, hardcover photo book explores connection, knowing, and loving within the modern American landscape. Alongside striking photographs, the book includes a work print as well as notes and reflections Pesci recorded on the road, offering an intimate glimpse into his process and the journey behind the images. Presale for this limited edition publication will go live on Monday, Nov 17 at 12pm.

About the artist:
Jacob Pesci is a photographer, artist, and educator concerned with the human condition in the modern world. His work explores environment, culture, spirituality and the effect these elements have on human development, communal and social relationships, and systems of belief. His work has been shown at Space Gallery (Pittsburgh, PA), Silver Eye Center for Photography (Pittsburgh, PA), 937 Gallery (Pittsburgh, PA), The BLOC Chicago (Chicago, IL), and the Hokin at Columbia College (Chicago, IL). He received his BA in Photography from Columbia College in 2021. Pesci is the winner of the 2024 Tomayko Award.