REGARDING THE SYMBOLIC, CONCERNING THE REAL- MARY DONDERO > EXHIBITION #2
EXHIBITION #2
UNTITLED #16 by Zorica Purlija
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Zorica Purlija says of her series 'HOME',
From “The Meaning of Home” by John Berger
Quote:
1.Mircea Eliade (Romanian Historian of Religion) has demonstrated how home was the place from which the world could be founded. A home was established, as he says, "at the heart of the real." In traditional societies, everything that made sense of the world was real; the surrounding chaos existed and was threatening, but it was threatening because it was unreal. Without a home at the centre of the real, one was not only shelter less, but also lost in nonbeing, in unreality. Without a home everything was fragmentation."
Zorica Purlija migrated age 8 from Montenegro, to Australia: a country where she could not speak the language. As she learned to live in a different culture, she observed that the nuances of human interaction often were more revealing than the words.
Graduating in 1989 with an Associate Diploma in graphic design and photography at The University of Western Sydney, Zorica spent some years travelling through Europe, experiencing life and art. She returned to Australia, began a family and devoted herself to full time mothering.
Since 1999, Zorica has been pursuing her artistic vision, through the medium of photography.
Initially pursuing themes of beauty, longing and the human experience through photographic portraiture, Zorica developed a unique ability to capture the essence of her subjects, beginning (and continuing) with a series of portraits of her muse, Yumi.
More recently in addition to her portrait work, Zorica has been pursuing less figurative subjects, incorporating ethereal elements of landscape, and everyday objects seen in new ways.
She continues to exhibit widely, and her public profile continues to build, including internationally, exhibiting in Chelsea New York, and recently in Venice. She has been a finalist in the National Photographic Portrait Prize, Canberra, three years consecutively, twice in Sydney’s HeadOn Portrait Prize, a finalist in the William and Winifred Bowness Photography Prize Melbourne, Duo Magazine Percival Photographic Portrait Prize, The Kuala Lumpur Photographic Portrait Award., Mama Art Foundation Photography Prize in Albury, the Josephine Urlick Award in Queensland and the Olive Cotton Award for Portraiture in Murwilumbar NSW to name a few.
CV
1989 Associate Diploma of Visual Arts, Major in Photography with Distinction, University of Western Sydney.
2003 Portrait Summer Course, National Art School. Darlinghurst. NSW
2007 Represented by Sara Roney Gallery Sydney. www.sararoneygallery.com.au
2012 –Present Postgraduate Masters of Art in Digital Media at UNSW Art &Design Paddington Sydney
2016 Awarded Student Community and Development Grant for Exhibition The Mother ARC and UNSW Kensington.
2017 Awarded Early Curator Award ARC and UNSW School of Art and Design Paddington.
zoricapurlija@gmail.com
From “The Meaning of Home” by John Berger
Quote:
1.Mircea Eliade (Romanian Historian of Religion) has demonstrated how home was the place from which the world could be founded. A home was established, as he says, "at the heart of the real." In traditional societies, everything that made sense of the world was real; the surrounding chaos existed and was threatening, but it was threatening because it was unreal. Without a home at the centre of the real, one was not only shelter less, but also lost in nonbeing, in unreality. Without a home everything was fragmentation."
Zorica Purlija migrated age 8 from Montenegro, to Australia: a country where she could not speak the language. As she learned to live in a different culture, she observed that the nuances of human interaction often were more revealing than the words.
Graduating in 1989 with an Associate Diploma in graphic design and photography at The University of Western Sydney, Zorica spent some years travelling through Europe, experiencing life and art. She returned to Australia, began a family and devoted herself to full time mothering.
Since 1999, Zorica has been pursuing her artistic vision, through the medium of photography.
Initially pursuing themes of beauty, longing and the human experience through photographic portraiture, Zorica developed a unique ability to capture the essence of her subjects, beginning (and continuing) with a series of portraits of her muse, Yumi.
More recently in addition to her portrait work, Zorica has been pursuing less figurative subjects, incorporating ethereal elements of landscape, and everyday objects seen in new ways.
She continues to exhibit widely, and her public profile continues to build, including internationally, exhibiting in Chelsea New York, and recently in Venice. She has been a finalist in the National Photographic Portrait Prize, Canberra, three years consecutively, twice in Sydney’s HeadOn Portrait Prize, a finalist in the William and Winifred Bowness Photography Prize Melbourne, Duo Magazine Percival Photographic Portrait Prize, The Kuala Lumpur Photographic Portrait Award., Mama Art Foundation Photography Prize in Albury, the Josephine Urlick Award in Queensland and the Olive Cotton Award for Portraiture in Murwilumbar NSW to name a few.
CV
1989 Associate Diploma of Visual Arts, Major in Photography with Distinction, University of Western Sydney.
2003 Portrait Summer Course, National Art School. Darlinghurst. NSW
2007 Represented by Sara Roney Gallery Sydney. www.sararoneygallery.com.au
2012 –Present Postgraduate Masters of Art in Digital Media at UNSW Art &Design Paddington Sydney
2016 Awarded Student Community and Development Grant for Exhibition The Mother ARC and UNSW Kensington.
2017 Awarded Early Curator Award ARC and UNSW School of Art and Design Paddington.
zoricapurlija@gmail.com
UNTITLED #15 by Zorica Purlija
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UNTITLED #4 by Zorica Purlija
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BEGIN VOYAGE by Vincent Minor
SECOND PLACE
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SECOND PLACE
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Vincent Minor says, "In the photographs I create, images appear to derive more from dreams than reality.
Often using myself as the subjects of characters, these portraits are built into narratives exploring themes on death, obsession, anxiety, solitude and escapism. These themes are then constructed into archetypes.
Inspired by the golden age of Dutch painters like Vermeer and from surrealists like Magritte and Dali, I explore color and light to emulate a “painterly feel”. With a combination of photography and post-production manipulation, I strive to create worlds that are riddled with subconscious symbolism.
Expressing haunting parts of the human condition while blurring reality with imagination, metaphor and emotion.Likened to haunting yet beautiful films or dark fairytales, the work aims to pose questions on how synonymous the bridge between our reality and imagination really is."
When viewing Vincent’s photography some are often baffled if what they are looking at is either a painting or photograph. With the use of surreal environments and dark allegorical themes Vincent uses light and color to weave his story driven images into painterly portraits. His work is influenced from surrealists like Magritte and Dali with inspiration driven from the golden age of Dutch painters such as Rembrandt and Vermeer.
Originally from a musical background, Minor imagines each image much in the way he would craft his storytelling songs of the past. The image is conceived and drawn up into a rough blueprint sketch. Often using himself as the character in his self-portrait creations, Vincent is on a quest to examine the complexity of identity through character and story.
He says, “I got into photography not for documenting real life moments. I didn’t want to create biographical work, but to explore who I think I am and the possibilities of who I could be and create fiction as an extension of me. To discover what my worthwhile opinions were and to express the sides of me that I don’t normally show in life.”
www.vincentminorphoto.com
Often using myself as the subjects of characters, these portraits are built into narratives exploring themes on death, obsession, anxiety, solitude and escapism. These themes are then constructed into archetypes.
Inspired by the golden age of Dutch painters like Vermeer and from surrealists like Magritte and Dali, I explore color and light to emulate a “painterly feel”. With a combination of photography and post-production manipulation, I strive to create worlds that are riddled with subconscious symbolism.
Expressing haunting parts of the human condition while blurring reality with imagination, metaphor and emotion.Likened to haunting yet beautiful films or dark fairytales, the work aims to pose questions on how synonymous the bridge between our reality and imagination really is."
When viewing Vincent’s photography some are often baffled if what they are looking at is either a painting or photograph. With the use of surreal environments and dark allegorical themes Vincent uses light and color to weave his story driven images into painterly portraits. His work is influenced from surrealists like Magritte and Dali with inspiration driven from the golden age of Dutch painters such as Rembrandt and Vermeer.
Originally from a musical background, Minor imagines each image much in the way he would craft his storytelling songs of the past. The image is conceived and drawn up into a rough blueprint sketch. Often using himself as the character in his self-portrait creations, Vincent is on a quest to examine the complexity of identity through character and story.
He says, “I got into photography not for documenting real life moments. I didn’t want to create biographical work, but to explore who I think I am and the possibilities of who I could be and create fiction as an extension of me. To discover what my worthwhile opinions were and to express the sides of me that I don’t normally show in life.”
www.vincentminorphoto.com
SECOND SKIN by Vincent Minor
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HUNT FOR TRUTH by Vincent Minor
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QUIET BUT NOT DESOLATE by Saro Calewarts
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Saro Calewarts says, "The Future Comes from Leftovers is an ongoing series of visual poems that distill themes of fragility and strength, of potential and temporal existence into simple arrangements. Inspired in part by 17th century Dutch vanitas still life paintings that symbolically depict the transience of life and the futility of pleasure and achievement - these are decidedly more modern, deconstructed and minimal, with roots in hope and optimism and an eye to the future.
Using odds and ends I've accumulated over the years, ubiquitous items and natural artifacts these simple compositions depict complex transitional states. The feelings we navigate while traversing challenge, assimilating change and the work of actualizing our potential. These are at once quite personal, with many of the themes and physical items holding specific associations in my life, but also intentionally oblique so that viewers can find their own interpretations.
The individual titles, many of which inspired specific images, come from excerpted blog posts by the deceased author Anne Herbert who was a keen observer of life and a writer with the ability to convey complexity with insightful brevity. The series title speaks to the idea that what remains - either physical, emotional or cultural - is fodder for future growth. These are mantras for potential, for finding our way through the dark."
Saro Calewarts is a fine art photographer based in Santa Fe, New Mexico with family roots in the Pacific Northwest. She has a background in film studies and graphic design and her photography practice focuses on visual language and creating symbolic meaning as it pertains to personal and collective growth and potential.
She works as a graphic designer and photographer for an arts non-profit organization and is active within the Santa Fe photography community.
Her work has been exhibited at David Richard Gallery in Santa Fe, featured in NOICE Magazine and online at Humble Arts Foundation, Lenscratch and F-Stop Magazine. Her life passion is to be always and deeply engaged with learning and creating.
www.saroxox.com
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Saro Calewarts says, "The Future Comes from Leftovers is an ongoing series of visual poems that distill themes of fragility and strength, of potential and temporal existence into simple arrangements. Inspired in part by 17th century Dutch vanitas still life paintings that symbolically depict the transience of life and the futility of pleasure and achievement - these are decidedly more modern, deconstructed and minimal, with roots in hope and optimism and an eye to the future.
Using odds and ends I've accumulated over the years, ubiquitous items and natural artifacts these simple compositions depict complex transitional states. The feelings we navigate while traversing challenge, assimilating change and the work of actualizing our potential. These are at once quite personal, with many of the themes and physical items holding specific associations in my life, but also intentionally oblique so that viewers can find their own interpretations.
The individual titles, many of which inspired specific images, come from excerpted blog posts by the deceased author Anne Herbert who was a keen observer of life and a writer with the ability to convey complexity with insightful brevity. The series title speaks to the idea that what remains - either physical, emotional or cultural - is fodder for future growth. These are mantras for potential, for finding our way through the dark."
Saro Calewarts is a fine art photographer based in Santa Fe, New Mexico with family roots in the Pacific Northwest. She has a background in film studies and graphic design and her photography practice focuses on visual language and creating symbolic meaning as it pertains to personal and collective growth and potential.
She works as a graphic designer and photographer for an arts non-profit organization and is active within the Santa Fe photography community.
Her work has been exhibited at David Richard Gallery in Santa Fe, featured in NOICE Magazine and online at Humble Arts Foundation, Lenscratch and F-Stop Magazine. Her life passion is to be always and deeply engaged with learning and creating.
www.saroxox.com
LET REALITY FIND ITS BEST SELF by Saro Calewarts
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HOW TO BE ALIVE WHILE ALIVE by Saro Calewarts
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TROPICANA DREAM by Paul Murray
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Paul Murray.says, "My photography remains a work in progress. I am very much a visual traveler who interacts with people, places, objects and ideas on a variety of levels through several planes of vision that intersect with time and space. At those intersections, I may capture a moment and portray it with my implied perspective. The journeys to those intersections afford the opportunity to see, and perhaps become intrigued by what I am experiencing.
Often the story telling aspects of the photographic art form capture my attention and motivate a series of related images. Although my perspective is predominantly reality-based, I acknowledge not only the subjective nature of what I portray in my images, but an interest in pursuing at times more abstract images.
To the extent that my images enrich the experience and vision of others, I feel that I have achieved a way of communicating that is unique to me as a photographer."
A Rhode Island native and extensive traveler, Paul is an internationally recognized color photographer and skilled journalistic writer. His expression in images, words and design reflect a blend of his lifelong interests in art, nature, technology, aviation, urban life and societal change. His approach to photography and life is to remain open, trust his instincts and discard labels that are divisive. He uses technology to increase his creative options and productivity but not to replace his vision and responsibility.
Paul is a firm believer in giving back to the community through his photography and writing. He has donated his skills to community efforts in several states including the Rhode Island National Guard.
After residing in Boston, Tokyo and Chicago, Paul returned to Jamestown, RI, several years ago. He exhibits extensively throughout the United States, has had three solo exhibits in Cuba, and has served on theboards of several art associations. As an artist, his skills have been recognized at the highest levels of achievement at the Providence Art Club, Art League Rhode Island, Mystic Museum of Art, Wickford Art Association, Plymouth Center for the Arts and the Cape Cod Art Center.
Selective Solo Exhibitions:
2018
“Extreme Latitudes”, Galleries in Camaguey, Santiago de Cuba and Holguin, Cuba
2017
“Community”, Women’s and Infant’s Hospital, Providence, RI
2016
“Extreme Latitudes”, International School of Yacht Restoration, Newport, RI
Major International Competitions:
2010-18
Annual International Color Awards – Professional Division. Four Honorable Mentions and 70 Nominations
2016
Annual International Black & White Spider Awards – Professional Division - One Nomination
Selective Juried Group Exhibitions With Awards Beyond Honorable Mention
2018
Falmouth Art Center (MA), 1st All New England Juried Photography Show – Best in Show
Bristol Art Museum - Rogers Free Library (MA), "All Creatures - Great and Small" Show – Best in Show
Bristol Art Museum - Rogers Free Library (MA), "Light and Dark" Show – First Place
Garrison Art Center (NY), PHOTOcenteric 2017, - Second Place - People
Overland Park (KS), Annual Art at the Center – Juror’s Choice
Wickford Art Association (RI), "Art of the Ocean State" Show - Juror's Award
2017
Bristol Art Museum - Rogers Free Library (MA), "Seascapes" Show - First Place
Plymouth Center for the Arts (MA), "Encounters" Show - Second Place
Hygienic Art Gallery (CT), 11th Annual Crossing Juried Exhibit - Second Place Award
Conanicut Island Art Association (RI), "Elements" Show – Third Place
New York Center for Photographic Art (NY), "Liquid 2017" Show – Juror’s Selection
2016
Bristol Art Museum - Rogers Free Library (MA), "New England's Best" Show - First Place
Bristol Art Museum - Rogers Free Library (MA), "Taking Flight" Show - First Place
311 Gallery (NC), Annual Photography Juried Show - First Place
Jacksonville Arts Center (VA), Annual Jax Juried Exhibit - First Place
Bristol Art Museum - Rogers Free Library (MA), "Close to Home" Show - Second Place
Plymouth Center for the Arts (MA), 48th Annual Juried Art Show - Second Place in Color Photography
Sohn Fine Art Gallery (MA), 5th Annual Exhibit - Third Place
IMAGO Gallery (RI), Annual Open - IFA Members Award
Attleboro Arts Museum (MA), Members' Exhibit - "8 Visions" Finalist
ACGOW (RI), Annual Regional Exhibit - Washington Trust Fine Arts Award
Warwick Museum of Art (RI), "Remember When" Show - Award of Excellence
Emerald Art Center (OR), Annual Fall Photography Show - People’s Choice
2015
Norwich Art Center (CT), Photo 10 Open Exhibit - Second Place Award
Duxbury Art Association (MA), Annual Juried Winter Show - Second Place in Photography
Providence Art Club (RI), Fall Members' Exhibit - Third Place
Wickford Art Association (RI), "Anything Goes!" Show - Judge's Award
Plymouth Center for the Arts (MA), 48th Annual Juried Art Show - Lambert Award of Excellence
IMAGO Gallery (RI), Annual Open Exhibit - Recognition Award
Attleboro Arts Museum (MA), Members' Exhibit - Merit Award and "8 Visions" Finalist
2014
Bristol Art Museum - Rogers Free Library (MA), "Joie de Vivre" Show - Best in Show
Conanicut Island Art Association (RI), Photography Juried Show - Second Prize
Cape Cod Art Association (MA), "All New England" Show – 2nd Place in Photography
Attleboro Arts Museum (MA), Members' Exhibit - Juror's Choice Award and "8 Visions" Finalist
Wickford Art Association (RI), "Ocean State" Show - Judge's Award
https://www.facebook.com/pmmurray
http://www.harmonicthreads.com/
Often the story telling aspects of the photographic art form capture my attention and motivate a series of related images. Although my perspective is predominantly reality-based, I acknowledge not only the subjective nature of what I portray in my images, but an interest in pursuing at times more abstract images.
To the extent that my images enrich the experience and vision of others, I feel that I have achieved a way of communicating that is unique to me as a photographer."
A Rhode Island native and extensive traveler, Paul is an internationally recognized color photographer and skilled journalistic writer. His expression in images, words and design reflect a blend of his lifelong interests in art, nature, technology, aviation, urban life and societal change. His approach to photography and life is to remain open, trust his instincts and discard labels that are divisive. He uses technology to increase his creative options and productivity but not to replace his vision and responsibility.
Paul is a firm believer in giving back to the community through his photography and writing. He has donated his skills to community efforts in several states including the Rhode Island National Guard.
After residing in Boston, Tokyo and Chicago, Paul returned to Jamestown, RI, several years ago. He exhibits extensively throughout the United States, has had three solo exhibits in Cuba, and has served on theboards of several art associations. As an artist, his skills have been recognized at the highest levels of achievement at the Providence Art Club, Art League Rhode Island, Mystic Museum of Art, Wickford Art Association, Plymouth Center for the Arts and the Cape Cod Art Center.
Selective Solo Exhibitions:
2018
“Extreme Latitudes”, Galleries in Camaguey, Santiago de Cuba and Holguin, Cuba
2017
“Community”, Women’s and Infant’s Hospital, Providence, RI
2016
“Extreme Latitudes”, International School of Yacht Restoration, Newport, RI
Major International Competitions:
2010-18
Annual International Color Awards – Professional Division. Four Honorable Mentions and 70 Nominations
2016
Annual International Black & White Spider Awards – Professional Division - One Nomination
Selective Juried Group Exhibitions With Awards Beyond Honorable Mention
2018
Falmouth Art Center (MA), 1st All New England Juried Photography Show – Best in Show
Bristol Art Museum - Rogers Free Library (MA), "All Creatures - Great and Small" Show – Best in Show
Bristol Art Museum - Rogers Free Library (MA), "Light and Dark" Show – First Place
Garrison Art Center (NY), PHOTOcenteric 2017, - Second Place - People
Overland Park (KS), Annual Art at the Center – Juror’s Choice
Wickford Art Association (RI), "Art of the Ocean State" Show - Juror's Award
2017
Bristol Art Museum - Rogers Free Library (MA), "Seascapes" Show - First Place
Plymouth Center for the Arts (MA), "Encounters" Show - Second Place
Hygienic Art Gallery (CT), 11th Annual Crossing Juried Exhibit - Second Place Award
Conanicut Island Art Association (RI), "Elements" Show – Third Place
New York Center for Photographic Art (NY), "Liquid 2017" Show – Juror’s Selection
2016
Bristol Art Museum - Rogers Free Library (MA), "New England's Best" Show - First Place
Bristol Art Museum - Rogers Free Library (MA), "Taking Flight" Show - First Place
311 Gallery (NC), Annual Photography Juried Show - First Place
Jacksonville Arts Center (VA), Annual Jax Juried Exhibit - First Place
Bristol Art Museum - Rogers Free Library (MA), "Close to Home" Show - Second Place
Plymouth Center for the Arts (MA), 48th Annual Juried Art Show - Second Place in Color Photography
Sohn Fine Art Gallery (MA), 5th Annual Exhibit - Third Place
IMAGO Gallery (RI), Annual Open - IFA Members Award
Attleboro Arts Museum (MA), Members' Exhibit - "8 Visions" Finalist
ACGOW (RI), Annual Regional Exhibit - Washington Trust Fine Arts Award
Warwick Museum of Art (RI), "Remember When" Show - Award of Excellence
Emerald Art Center (OR), Annual Fall Photography Show - People’s Choice
2015
Norwich Art Center (CT), Photo 10 Open Exhibit - Second Place Award
Duxbury Art Association (MA), Annual Juried Winter Show - Second Place in Photography
Providence Art Club (RI), Fall Members' Exhibit - Third Place
Wickford Art Association (RI), "Anything Goes!" Show - Judge's Award
Plymouth Center for the Arts (MA), 48th Annual Juried Art Show - Lambert Award of Excellence
IMAGO Gallery (RI), Annual Open Exhibit - Recognition Award
Attleboro Arts Museum (MA), Members' Exhibit - Merit Award and "8 Visions" Finalist
2014
Bristol Art Museum - Rogers Free Library (MA), "Joie de Vivre" Show - Best in Show
Conanicut Island Art Association (RI), Photography Juried Show - Second Prize
Cape Cod Art Association (MA), "All New England" Show – 2nd Place in Photography
Attleboro Arts Museum (MA), Members' Exhibit - Juror's Choice Award and "8 Visions" Finalist
Wickford Art Association (RI), "Ocean State" Show - Judge's Award
https://www.facebook.com/pmmurray
http://www.harmonicthreads.com/
LUCKY by Paul Murray
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A STAIRWAY TO... by Paul Murray
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SUNFLOWERS BRING PLEASANT THOUGHTS by Olivia Hunter
BEST SERIES
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BEST SERIES
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Olivia Hunter.says, "In my early teens, I was diagnosed with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.
By completing rituals, following specific rules, and counting; I thought I could save people’s lives or destroy them. I pretended to feel a sense of importance, as if I were some sort of hero, while always feeling a deep misery, frustration, and anger.
My work focuses on using visual metaphors to represent struggles with mental illness. The images in this series represent the specific fears of finality and death, the idea of regret, and the fear of passing on one’s illness through children through personal symbolic actions.
My goal is to frustrate the viewer and have them feel a sense of nervousness through calm black and white images. I attempt to do this by creating imagery that is fragmented where the full action of the frame is never fully visible.
I often show the female body only partially and in the act of reaching towards an unattainable goal. I choose to fragment my own body and by doing so I attempt to reclaim the power from the audience. The images act as stills from a film that has never been made.
My work uses symbolic imagery to represent the darkness that haunts everyone. They are the fractured memories that we have forgotten how to piece together.
Everyone has certain rituals that gives them power over this fear of mortality, fear of illness, or fear of disability. In my world, it could be anything… even simply touching the light switch once more…. And then my friend won’t die. We, as humans, often attempt to hide from death through constant repetition that allow us to feel in control.
The idea of ritual, impulse, and compulsion is not specific to my personal struggle. It can easily relate to the world that we are in."
Olivia Hunter grew up in Virginia directly outside of Washington, DC. She received a BFA in Photography and Imaging at NYU Tisch (where she also received the Creative Excellence Award in 2014). She worked for Steven Meisel’s Studio and Archive, Art + Commerce, and Human Rights Watch. She is now a student pursuing her MFA at the School of Visual Arts.
In her early teens, she was diagnosed with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Her work often focuses on using visual metaphors to represent struggles with mental illness, rituals, and compulsions.
Olivia Hunter has exhibited work at the Target Gallery (Torpedo Factory in Virginia), LIC The Factory (NY), The Local Project Art Space (NY), Greenpoint Gallery (NY), and the NYU Tisch Photography Gallery (NY).
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS:
Human Rights Watch Publications/Photography Coordinator December 2015-September 2017
• Coordinated the end-stage production for all reports
• Provided photo research, purchasing, and editing of images for HRW’s largest products
(was promoted from associate to coordinator as of July 2017)
Art+Commerce Archivist/Tears Coordinator May 2014- December 2015
• Coordinated all portfolio, tears, and pdfs for the archives
• Maintained portfolio and archival organization through photo research and data entry
Steven Meisel Studio and Archive Assistant January 2013- May 2014
• Reorganized digital server and archive, catalogued vintage prints, and took inventory of full archival storage
• Planned and coordinated for Steven Meisel’s retrospective feature in Italian Vogue July 2013
U.S Fund for UNICEF Digital Intern February 2014-May 2014
• Organized photographs from the digital archive to help curate the new website
• Worked with the design team and digital team to perform testing, content management, and design online material for the new system
EDUCATION:
NYU Tisch School of the Arts
BFA Photography and Imaging (graduated May 2014)
• Winner of the Creative Excellence Award
• Attended the Magnum Foundation summer program: Picture Essay for Paper and Pixel
School of Visual Arts
MFA Candidate (May 2018)
• Assisting Charles Traub (Department Chair/Founder) with upcoming exhibitions and archival materials
www.oliviahunterphotography.com
By completing rituals, following specific rules, and counting; I thought I could save people’s lives or destroy them. I pretended to feel a sense of importance, as if I were some sort of hero, while always feeling a deep misery, frustration, and anger.
My work focuses on using visual metaphors to represent struggles with mental illness. The images in this series represent the specific fears of finality and death, the idea of regret, and the fear of passing on one’s illness through children through personal symbolic actions.
My goal is to frustrate the viewer and have them feel a sense of nervousness through calm black and white images. I attempt to do this by creating imagery that is fragmented where the full action of the frame is never fully visible.
I often show the female body only partially and in the act of reaching towards an unattainable goal. I choose to fragment my own body and by doing so I attempt to reclaim the power from the audience. The images act as stills from a film that has never been made.
My work uses symbolic imagery to represent the darkness that haunts everyone. They are the fractured memories that we have forgotten how to piece together.
Everyone has certain rituals that gives them power over this fear of mortality, fear of illness, or fear of disability. In my world, it could be anything… even simply touching the light switch once more…. And then my friend won’t die. We, as humans, often attempt to hide from death through constant repetition that allow us to feel in control.
The idea of ritual, impulse, and compulsion is not specific to my personal struggle. It can easily relate to the world that we are in."
Olivia Hunter grew up in Virginia directly outside of Washington, DC. She received a BFA in Photography and Imaging at NYU Tisch (where she also received the Creative Excellence Award in 2014). She worked for Steven Meisel’s Studio and Archive, Art + Commerce, and Human Rights Watch. She is now a student pursuing her MFA at the School of Visual Arts.
In her early teens, she was diagnosed with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Her work often focuses on using visual metaphors to represent struggles with mental illness, rituals, and compulsions.
Olivia Hunter has exhibited work at the Target Gallery (Torpedo Factory in Virginia), LIC The Factory (NY), The Local Project Art Space (NY), Greenpoint Gallery (NY), and the NYU Tisch Photography Gallery (NY).
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS:
Human Rights Watch Publications/Photography Coordinator December 2015-September 2017
• Coordinated the end-stage production for all reports
• Provided photo research, purchasing, and editing of images for HRW’s largest products
(was promoted from associate to coordinator as of July 2017)
Art+Commerce Archivist/Tears Coordinator May 2014- December 2015
• Coordinated all portfolio, tears, and pdfs for the archives
• Maintained portfolio and archival organization through photo research and data entry
Steven Meisel Studio and Archive Assistant January 2013- May 2014
• Reorganized digital server and archive, catalogued vintage prints, and took inventory of full archival storage
• Planned and coordinated for Steven Meisel’s retrospective feature in Italian Vogue July 2013
U.S Fund for UNICEF Digital Intern February 2014-May 2014
• Organized photographs from the digital archive to help curate the new website
• Worked with the design team and digital team to perform testing, content management, and design online material for the new system
EDUCATION:
NYU Tisch School of the Arts
BFA Photography and Imaging (graduated May 2014)
• Winner of the Creative Excellence Award
• Attended the Magnum Foundation summer program: Picture Essay for Paper and Pixel
School of Visual Arts
MFA Candidate (May 2018)
• Assisting Charles Traub (Department Chair/Founder) with upcoming exhibitions and archival materials
www.oliviahunterphotography.com
DOUBTFUL SHADOWS by Oliva Hunter
BEST SERIES
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BEST SERIES
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BROKEN MIRROR BROKEN EGG by Olivia Hunter
BEST SERIES
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BEST SERIES
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ROSE VALLEY PHOENIX by Luther Gerlach
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(Click on image for larger view)
Luther Gerlach says, "The 2017 Thomas Fire is the largest in California history, an extreme example of a powerfully destructive and creative cycle endemic to the region. The burn came within a quarter mile of my home, and as the smoke cleared, I was struck by how it had abstracted the landscape, leaving white shadows of ash where trees had been and turning a once-colorful forest black, rendered completely bare of undergrowth. Only the strongest features remained.
These images were created with an 8x10” wooden view camera and enlarged to allow the viewer access to an incredibly detailed account of the destruction wrought by the fire. They are then toned with ashes and sulfur-laden water I collected from hot springs at the origin point, Thomas Aquinas College. It is as if these chemical catalysts carry a memory of the fire, acting on the print to produce ghostly effects such as swirling apocalyptic skies and suggestions of the trees that once stood. Applied to the developed prints, the ash and sulfur attack the silver, transforming the monochrome image into fiery color, with licks of red, orange, green, and brown. The result is not only a documentation of destruction, but also a vision of the beauty rendered by it."
Photographer Luther Gerlach works in a variety of historical photographic processes, highlighting the role of constraints in creative production and the hand-made, tactile connection between the artist and his work. Known for nude portraits and urban scenes of downtown LA in his early career, more recently Gerlach has pioneered the re-emergence of plein air wet plate collodion landscapes. His work distills detailed images of the natural world, particularly the trees, seaweeds, and grasses of Southern California, to emphasize pure light and line, endowing his images with a subtly abstract quality.
Luther Gerlach was born in Tenterden, Kent in 1960. He grew up in Blayne, Minnesota. Gerlach apprenticed with Brett Weston in Carmel and Hawaii in the 1980’s, before learning the wet plate process which he still works in today.
He has led lectures and demonstrations at the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles since 2001. Gerlach has exhibited at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, the Ventura Museum of Art, the Schaknow Museum of Fine Art, Miami, the Denver Art Museum, and The Palace of the Governors, Santa Fe. Selected permanent collections include the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, The J. Paul Getty Museum, and the Michael G. Wilson Centre for Photography, among others.
The artist lives and works in Ventura, California.
Abbreviated CV:
Awards and Grants:
2018 Rfotofolio, Denis Roussel Award Grant
2018 OPUS Archives’ New Mythos Artists Grant, Out of the Mud and Ashes
2018 American River College Innovation Grant, Luther Gerlach: Alternative Lens
2016 Director’s Selection, A Smith Gallery “wet plate,” juror S Gayle Stevens
2013 1st Place, Carmel Visual Arts ‘Nude Figure in Landscape’ competition
2012 Focus on the Masters Award
Selected Exhibitions
2018 Odysseys, featured artist resident in the group exhibition at the Revela T Analogue Photography Festival, Vilasar de Dalt, Spain
2018 Absence of Light, solo exhibition at the Viewpoint Photographic Arts Center, Sacramento, CA
2017 Luther Gerlach, solo exhibition at Vita Art Center, Ventura, CA
2017 Handmade! Group exhibition curated by Weston Naef, curator emeritis at the Getty Museum, at the honorarium feature booth at Photo LA
2016 A New and Mysterious Art, group exhibition curated by Jerry Spagnoli at the Howard Greenberg Gallery, New York City, NY
2011 In the Light of Blue, solo exhibition at the Ventura Museum of Art, CA
2007 Made in Santa Barbara, group exhibition at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, CA
Selected Collections:
Community Memorial Hospital of San Buenaventura, CA
Los Angeles County Museum of Art, CA
J.P. Getty Museum, Los Angeles, CA
President Barack and Mrs. Obama, Washington D.C.
Oprah Winfrey, Santa Barbara, CA
Selected Lectures / Presentations / Symposia
2002 – present Artist at Work, ongoing lecture series at the J.P. Getty Museum, CA
2017 Workshop Leader, Photographer’s Formulary, MT
2016 Workshop Leader, Symposium Organizer, and Artist-in-Residence at the International Center for the Arts, Monte Castello di Vibio, Italy
2016 Keynote Speaker for Art Without Limits Coalition’s Art Career Day Conference, Santa Barbara, CA
2015 Lecture/Presentation on Historical Photographic Processes to PhD candidates and curators at Los Angeles County Museum of Art, CA
2012 Master Class Instructor, European Wet Plate Collodion Weekend, the Netherlands, 2012
Selected Publications:
One Twelve Publishing, Poignant Portfolio No. 6: Luther Gerlach, July, 2018, Blue Mitchell
View Camera, Cover and Portfolio, January/February 2004
Image Info:
Rose Valley Phoenix
16x20” unique silver gelatin print, 2018
The ash and sulfur toning has created what looks like shadow-flames rising from the trees, echoing the fire that consumed them.
www.luthergerlach.net
These images were created with an 8x10” wooden view camera and enlarged to allow the viewer access to an incredibly detailed account of the destruction wrought by the fire. They are then toned with ashes and sulfur-laden water I collected from hot springs at the origin point, Thomas Aquinas College. It is as if these chemical catalysts carry a memory of the fire, acting on the print to produce ghostly effects such as swirling apocalyptic skies and suggestions of the trees that once stood. Applied to the developed prints, the ash and sulfur attack the silver, transforming the monochrome image into fiery color, with licks of red, orange, green, and brown. The result is not only a documentation of destruction, but also a vision of the beauty rendered by it."
Photographer Luther Gerlach works in a variety of historical photographic processes, highlighting the role of constraints in creative production and the hand-made, tactile connection between the artist and his work. Known for nude portraits and urban scenes of downtown LA in his early career, more recently Gerlach has pioneered the re-emergence of plein air wet plate collodion landscapes. His work distills detailed images of the natural world, particularly the trees, seaweeds, and grasses of Southern California, to emphasize pure light and line, endowing his images with a subtly abstract quality.
Luther Gerlach was born in Tenterden, Kent in 1960. He grew up in Blayne, Minnesota. Gerlach apprenticed with Brett Weston in Carmel and Hawaii in the 1980’s, before learning the wet plate process which he still works in today.
He has led lectures and demonstrations at the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles since 2001. Gerlach has exhibited at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, the Ventura Museum of Art, the Schaknow Museum of Fine Art, Miami, the Denver Art Museum, and The Palace of the Governors, Santa Fe. Selected permanent collections include the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, The J. Paul Getty Museum, and the Michael G. Wilson Centre for Photography, among others.
The artist lives and works in Ventura, California.
Abbreviated CV:
Awards and Grants:
2018 Rfotofolio, Denis Roussel Award Grant
2018 OPUS Archives’ New Mythos Artists Grant, Out of the Mud and Ashes
2018 American River College Innovation Grant, Luther Gerlach: Alternative Lens
2016 Director’s Selection, A Smith Gallery “wet plate,” juror S Gayle Stevens
2013 1st Place, Carmel Visual Arts ‘Nude Figure in Landscape’ competition
2012 Focus on the Masters Award
Selected Exhibitions
2018 Odysseys, featured artist resident in the group exhibition at the Revela T Analogue Photography Festival, Vilasar de Dalt, Spain
2018 Absence of Light, solo exhibition at the Viewpoint Photographic Arts Center, Sacramento, CA
2017 Luther Gerlach, solo exhibition at Vita Art Center, Ventura, CA
2017 Handmade! Group exhibition curated by Weston Naef, curator emeritis at the Getty Museum, at the honorarium feature booth at Photo LA
2016 A New and Mysterious Art, group exhibition curated by Jerry Spagnoli at the Howard Greenberg Gallery, New York City, NY
2011 In the Light of Blue, solo exhibition at the Ventura Museum of Art, CA
2007 Made in Santa Barbara, group exhibition at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, CA
Selected Collections:
Community Memorial Hospital of San Buenaventura, CA
Los Angeles County Museum of Art, CA
J.P. Getty Museum, Los Angeles, CA
President Barack and Mrs. Obama, Washington D.C.
Oprah Winfrey, Santa Barbara, CA
Selected Lectures / Presentations / Symposia
2002 – present Artist at Work, ongoing lecture series at the J.P. Getty Museum, CA
2017 Workshop Leader, Photographer’s Formulary, MT
2016 Workshop Leader, Symposium Organizer, and Artist-in-Residence at the International Center for the Arts, Monte Castello di Vibio, Italy
2016 Keynote Speaker for Art Without Limits Coalition’s Art Career Day Conference, Santa Barbara, CA
2015 Lecture/Presentation on Historical Photographic Processes to PhD candidates and curators at Los Angeles County Museum of Art, CA
2012 Master Class Instructor, European Wet Plate Collodion Weekend, the Netherlands, 2012
Selected Publications:
One Twelve Publishing, Poignant Portfolio No. 6: Luther Gerlach, July, 2018, Blue Mitchell
View Camera, Cover and Portfolio, January/February 2004
Image Info:
Rose Valley Phoenix
16x20” unique silver gelatin print, 2018
The ash and sulfur toning has created what looks like shadow-flames rising from the trees, echoing the fire that consumed them.
www.luthergerlach.net
GHOST TREES by Luther Gerlach
(Click on image for larger view)
(Click on image for larger view)
Image: Ghost Trees
16x20” unique silver gelatin print, 2018
Mysterious black shadows suggest a forest of trees that no longer exist.
16x20” unique silver gelatin print, 2018
Mysterious black shadows suggest a forest of trees that no longer exist.
BURNT BUSH by Luther Gerlach
(Click on image for larger view)
(Click on image for larger view)
Image: 16x20” unique silver gelatin print, 2018
The black skeleton of a manzanita bush rises into the dawn of a new day.
___________________________
HOME PAGE REGARDING THE SYMBOLIC, CONCERNING THE REAL
http://nyphotocurator.com/regarding-the-symbolic-concerning-the-real-mary-dondero
FIRST PLACE
http://nyphotocurator.com/regarding-the-symbolic-concerning-the-real-mary-dondero/first-place-ellen-garvens-you-wanted-chaos----/1
SECOND PLACE:
http://nyphotocurator.com/regarding-the-symbolic-concerning-the-real-mary-dondero/second-place-vincent-minor-begin-voyage----/1
HONORABLE MENTIONS:
http://nyphotocurator.com/regarding-the-symbolic-concerning-the-real-mary-dondero/honorable-mentions-alicia-rodriguez-alvisa-untitled-from-the-series-pulling-4-daniel-munteanu-lone-traveller-joann-chaus-eclips-leslie-sheryll-baby-iv-clay-burch-radio-of-hypnotism-7078-howard-rotblat-walker-selfie----/1
BEST SERIES:
http://nyphotocurator.com/regarding-the-symbolic-concerning-the-real-mary-dondero/best-series-olivia-hunter/1
EXHIBITION #1
http://nyphotocurator.com/regarding-the-symbolic-concerning-the-real-mary-dondero/exhibition-1/1
EXHIBITION #2
http://nyphotocurator.com/regarding-the-symbolic-concerning-the-real-mary-dondero/exhibition-2/1
The black skeleton of a manzanita bush rises into the dawn of a new day.
___________________________
HOME PAGE REGARDING THE SYMBOLIC, CONCERNING THE REAL
http://nyphotocurator.com/regarding-the-symbolic-concerning-the-real-mary-dondero
FIRST PLACE
http://nyphotocurator.com/regarding-the-symbolic-concerning-the-real-mary-dondero/first-place-ellen-garvens-you-wanted-chaos----/1
SECOND PLACE:
http://nyphotocurator.com/regarding-the-symbolic-concerning-the-real-mary-dondero/second-place-vincent-minor-begin-voyage----/1
HONORABLE MENTIONS:
http://nyphotocurator.com/regarding-the-symbolic-concerning-the-real-mary-dondero/honorable-mentions-alicia-rodriguez-alvisa-untitled-from-the-series-pulling-4-daniel-munteanu-lone-traveller-joann-chaus-eclips-leslie-sheryll-baby-iv-clay-burch-radio-of-hypnotism-7078-howard-rotblat-walker-selfie----/1
BEST SERIES:
http://nyphotocurator.com/regarding-the-symbolic-concerning-the-real-mary-dondero/best-series-olivia-hunter/1
EXHIBITION #1
http://nyphotocurator.com/regarding-the-symbolic-concerning-the-real-mary-dondero/exhibition-1/1
EXHIBITION #2
http://nyphotocurator.com/regarding-the-symbolic-concerning-the-real-mary-dondero/exhibition-2/1
