de Menil exhibit examines the breathtaking beauty of Antarctica

Photographer John Huet has shot award-winning campaigns for Nike and Coke, covered the Olympics, and been featured on the cover of magazines like Time, Newsweek, and National Geographic. But a recent trip to Antarctica might lead to his most ambitious project yet: saving the planet.

Mr. Huet’s journey south—part of an assignment for Polar Latitudes—navigated through the Drake Passage and along the Antarctic Peninsula with the ambitious goal of crossing the Antarctic Circle. He ultimately reached the coordinates of 66°33’S, an uninhabited region untouched by human presence, where wildlife remains undisturbed amidst icebergs and glaciers that redefine architectural wonder.

The resulting photography is sampled in “Crossing the Circle,” the most recent exhibit at Groton School’s de Menil Gallery. At a special reception on May 3, Mr. Huet spoke about his trip and the impact he hopes it has, before taking questions and then chatting informally with a gaggle of students. 

“It’s important for [the students] to see as broad a planet as they can, because it’s going to be theirs,” he said. “It’s a cliche, but if anyone is going to do anything, it’s going to be them.”

The photography is stunning, but the self-deprecating Mr. Huet pushes any attention toward his work to what he sees as the bigger matter at hand: appreciating the pristine Antarctic landscape and understanding the need to preserve this delicate continent. 

“You have a tendency to want to protect something after you’ve seen it,” he explained. “If you haven’t seen it, you probably don’t think about it too much. So if this sparks one person to decide to make a trip, then I’ll be happy. But if it also inspires them to go out and think more about it, or research more about it, I’ll be just as happy. Antarctica really does affect the world. I think that’s an important thing—at any age—to know.”

Mr. Huet worked closely with interim de Menil Gallery Director Blake Fitch to cull the collection from some 700 photographs down to the selection that appears at Groton. The images are full of intense shades of blues with white, gray, and black. He says the photographs, as amazing as they seem, pale in comparison to the real thing.

“I was excited about going, but nothing could prepare me for what I saw,” said Mr. Huet. “And, as beautiful as these photos might look, it’s nothing compared to when you’re on a Zodiak going past something like this. It’s just breathtaking.” 

Born in Tarentum, PA, in 1958, Mr. Huet discovered his passion for photography while studying at the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale, where he graduated with honors in 1979. His career has spanned editorial, advertising, sports, and artistic photography, and earned him numerous accolades, including being named Sports Photographer of the Year at the 2015 International Photography Awards. His images have been exhibited in galleries and museums worldwide, including the Musée Olympique in Lausanne, Switzerland, and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.

“Crossing the Circle” runs through June 28.