Vessels
May 20, 2008- June 14, 2008
Reception: May 24, 4:00 pm - 7:00 pm
511 W 25th St
SOHO20 Chelsea Gallery is pleased to present VESSELS and TURNING ON NATURE,
two sets of new photographic work by artist
Susan Hockaday.
VESSELS, an exhibition of new Photographs and Photograms, portrays a graveyard of rusted ships
off the shore of Staten Island. In this series Hockaday has recorded the collapsing and decomposing
forms of sunken ships that have been abraded by the tide and weather. The artist has photographed
them from above in a small airplane and while exploring among them in a motorboat. Through both
processes Hockaday has been able to combine intimate detailed images along with more scenic,
panoramic views. The images reveal traces of history while bringing up elements of industrial power,
the human hand, and the relentless strength of nature.
Each photograph is accompanied by a photogram made from ubiquitous scraps of contemporary life.
They provide a dark counterpoint to the aged vessels; a message from our own time and culture.
The second group of photographs, TURNING ON NATURE, depicts further interactions
between man and the natural world. These pictures were taken on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia,
and reveal the dense mixture of patterns and layers in that costal landscape. The images reveal the
effects of uncontrolled human activity in a remote area where over-fishing, pollution, graffiti and
deforestation is apparent. Hockaday conveys this presence by adding a variety of marks (paint, ink,
mixed-media) to the finished photographs, providing them with a layer of tension and ambiguity.
Throughout her career
Susan Hockaday has used art as a means of exploring and discovering the
natural world. Her fascination with the processes of Nature has been expressed through the mediums
of etching, handmade paper, collage construction, and, for the last 14 years, photography. Hockaday
has had over 25 solo exhibits, and her work is included in many public and private collections,
including the Art Museum, Princeton University. A graduate of Vassar College, she continued her
studies at the Pratt Graphics Center in New York, Princeton University, and the School of the
Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. She has lived and worked in England and Holland, and lectured in
China in 1983. In 1974 she was awarded the W.K.Rose Fellowship from Vassar College, and was the
recipient of fellowships from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts in 1982 and 1984
Books and DVDs related to artists in this show| Location | map | | Gallery | SOHO20 Chelsea Gallery | | Address | 511 W 25th St, #605 New York (Chelsea) NY, 10001 United States | | Phone | 212-367-8994 | | Fax | 212-367-8984 | | Hours | Tue-Sat 12-6 | |
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