This new work combines my photography and ceramic practice to explore the interconnectedness of light and shadow; presence and absence. The series uses the language of black and white analog photography with its negative and positive, minimal palette and strong contrast.
The vertical wall pieces include an unglazed hand built geometric ceramic sculpture (the positive, light, presence) juxtaposed with a photograph of the sculpture’s shadow connecting with the lines of a minimal architectural space in my studio (the negative, dark, absence). The shadow in the photograph expands the form of the sculpture and holds as much presence as the sculpture itself. Presented as a single piece in a custom wood frame, the photograph and sculpture echo each other connecting form, light and time.
The table works are comprised of a geometric hand built ceramic sculpture placed on top of a photograph in a custom wood frame that sits horizontally on a table. The sculpture is positioned into conversation with the lines of light and shadow in the photograph; at times it almost feels as if the ceramic object is casting a shadow on the photographic paper. While the photograph is always a record of a past observation of light, the sculpture’s dimensional presence brings the experience into the present.
These abstract works dialog with my concrete experiences as a mother, satisfying a continuous yearning for balance and connection. As with the object’s relationship to light and shadow, an inseparable connection exists between my son and me. The photographs record and cement a carefully composed, fleeting moment of natural light and shadow. I can predict where the light will project but cannot control its duration. The ceramic sculptures are deliberately placed to align and connect, cementing a peaceful existence and clear dialog that I constantly strive for but often miss in my relationship with my son.
Archival pigment print, ceramic sculpture, custom wood frame, 20x20x5 inches overall.
Archival pigment print, ceramic sculpture, custom wood frame, 20x20x5 inches overall.
Archival pigment print, ceramic sculpture, custom wood frame, 20x16.5x5 inches overall.
Archival pigment print, ceramic sculpture, custom wood frame, 20x16.5x5 inches overall.
Archival pigment print, ceramic sculpture, custom wood frame, 20x16.5x5 inches overall.
Surface Tension exhibition view (with Christine Nguyen’s work on wall), Olson Art Gallery, St. Paul, MN, 2022.
In/Direct Alignment #1, Archival pigment print, ceramic sculpture, custom wood fame, 16 x 1 2 x 2 inches overall.
In/Direct Alignment #9, Archival pigment print, ceramic sculpture, custom wood fame, 12.5 9.5 x 4.75 inches overall.
In/Direct Alignment #5, Archival pigment print, ceramic sculpture, custom wood fame, 12.25 x 10.25 x 5.5 inches overall.
In/Direct Alignment #2, Archival pigment print, ceramic sculpture, custom wood fame, 11.5 x 11.5 x 2 inches overall.
In/Direct Alignment #4, Archival pigment print, ceramic sculpture, custom wood fame, 11 x 9.25 x 5.25 inches overall.
In/Direct Alignment #6, Archival pigment print, ceramic sculpture, custom wood fame, 12.25 x 12.25 x 2 inches overall.
In/Direct Alignment #7, Archival pigment print, ceramic sculpture, custom wood fame, 14 x 16.25 x 3.25 inches overall.
In/Direct Alignment #3, Archival pigment print, ceramic sculpture, custom wood fame, 9 x 9 x 5 inches overall.
In/Direct Alignment #8, Archival pigment print, ceramic sculpture, custom wood fame, 11.25 x 10 x 5.5 in overall.
Bird Watching combines varied natural settings with carefully placed craft store songbirds to create an enhanced landscape. This work explores how nature and fabricated elements can combine to create a scene that questions what is natural, and whether being so holds any intrinsic importance.
On walks in the woods, I would stop to look at the birds, but didn’t attempt to document them. They were always too far away, moving about too quickly and never landed in an appropriate composition. I decided to take control, buy my own birds, and create idealized scenes that I fantasized about, where songbirds perched patiently on trees as I moved through the woods and photographed them. The birds act as jewels, decorating the trees, making the landscapes more interesting than they are on their own. Rather than settling for what nature has to offer, I have taken control and adorned the trees.
Song Sparrow framed photograph with specimen label, 29x24”
Vermilion Flycatchers
Aqua Tanager
American Goldfinches
Northern Cardinal
Brewer's Blackbird
Baltimore Orioles
Orange Thrush
Winter Bluebirds
Orange-throated Phoebe
Song Sparrow
Long-tailed Waxbill
Olive-capped Flycatcher
Barn Swallows
Blue Jay
Summer Tanagers
Avifauna: Birds + Habitat, exhibition view, Wave Hill, Bronx, NY. Photo by Stefan Hagen
New Territory: Landscape Photography Today exhibition view, Denver Art Museum, Denver, CO
Searching for landscapes in New York City, I came upon the bird aviaries at the Bronx Zoo. These constructed landscapes combine living foliage and birds with appropriately painted backgrounds. What cannot exist naturally has simply been added by man. The result is a surprisingly exotic landscape, an oasis in the city. It is not immediately clear what is real and what is not, which I found appropriate to a New York City environment. I appreciated that parts of these environments were living and continuously changing as they might in the outside world, as opposed to being static like in a natural history museum diorama.