Woman’s Best friend celebrated in Lockhart Friday

Jennifer Lindberg Studio

In a powerful reimagining of the phrase “man’s best friend,” Jennifer Lindberg Studio captures an often-overlooked narrative: the profound bond between women and their dogs. Opening March 7, “Woman’s Best Friend” features 75 black-and-white portraits that illuminate how these women’s dogs became so much more than simply a pet; supporting them through life’s most challenging moments.

Friday’s showing will be during First Friday and International Women’s Day from 5-8:30 p.m.

“We kept hearing these moving stories from women about their dogs supporting them through life’s hardest challenges,” said Lindberg, whose documentation of Death Row inmates appeared in The New York Times and whose work with teen birth mothers was featured in Marie Claire. “Whether during depression, health scares, divorce, or starting over in a new city, their dogs were there loving them unconditionally. Too often, these women were behind the camera instead of in front of it. We decided to change that by creating powerful, authentic portraits of these extraordinary bonds.”

The exhibition features Texan women from diverse backgrounds, including:

* A cancer survivor and her dog who faced treatment, and together beat cancer;

* A tech lawyer whose “pro-bono dog partner” works by her side, easing the solitude of remote work;

* A woman who rebuilt her life after unexpected divorce with her loyal canine companion.

The exhibit takes place in Lindberg’s artfully restored studio, housed in one of Lockhart’s historic downtown buildings where century-old architecture has found new life as creative spaces. Fine art black-and-white prints, including some life-sized portraits, combine with digital presentations in this one-night celebration of women and their canine best friends.

Lindberg is a former photojournalist who has turned her lens to a pressing cultural issue: women’s invisibility in family photographs. Her destination portrait studio, working exclusively in black and white, draws clients from Austin, San Antonio, and across Texas, with a distinct mission — bringing women out from behind the camera.

Together with her team of eight accomplished photographers and assistants, Lindberg has created what clients describe as an oasis within an oasis, a serene creative space in the heart of Texas’s newest arts hub.