May 14- July 3, 2010
Opening Reception
Friday, May 14, 2010
5:00-7:30pm
The Schneider Gallery is pleased to present the work of four young artists, Jowhara AlSaud, Jess T. Dugan, Jennifer Greenburg, and Ursula Sokolowska. These exceptional women photographers all explore the power of the portrait.
The portrait is personal, and when effective, goes beyond depiction- it commands presence, it reveals the quality and character of the sitter. The portraits by AlSaud, Dugan, Greenburg, and Sokolowska allow us the unique pleasure to do more than look but to engage a world that we may otherwise not feel invited into. Each artist captures their subject with such ease and grace that we too feel to have an intimate relation with them. We do not see as a voyeur, rather as friend, confidant, or equal. We are welcomed to comfortably wander, even inhabit the frame.
Saudi Arabian artist Jowhara AlSaud works with purpose. She begins with images of daily life- snapshots of family and friends- and works subtractively, scratching into the emulsion of the negative itself. Through elimination she employs a visual language that reacts directly to the process of censorship.
Jess T. Dugan takes interest in identity and self definition. She explores how activities, collections, and place act as mirror to the self. Dugan both asks and answers the question- how are our passions, interests, and pursuits reflected in the environments we inhabit. A seemingly simple question is handled with sincerity, delight, and insight into the figures and the spaces illuminated.
Jennifer Greenburg explores the subculture of the American Rockabilly in frames that inherently have documentary quality, but work beyond the limits of the genre. The Rockabillies live within the parameters of mid-twentieth century America. Judgment, critique, and skepticism of those living this adopted lifestyle fall away; our engagement with the figures is both personal and direct.
Ursula Sokolowska’s latest work is subtle yet weighty. No removal exists between the viewer and subject. The immediacy and rawness of the individuals depicted allows for an instant contact with the space, charac-ter, and subsequent narrative. If we were not allowed to hide ourselves in shadow our meeting with the figures would almost be abrupt.
The portrait is personal, and when effective, goes beyond depiction- it commands presence, it reveals the quality and character of the sitter. The portraits by AlSaud, Dugan, Greenburg, and Sokolowska allow us the unique pleasure to do more than look but to engage a world that we may otherwise not feel invited into. Each artist captures their subject with such ease and grace that we too feel to have an intimate relation with them. We do not see as a voyeur, rather as friend, confidant, or equal. We are welcomed to comfortably wander, even inhabit the frame.
Saudi Arabian artist Jowhara AlSaud works with purpose. She begins with images of daily life- snapshots of family and friends- and works subtractively, scratching into the emulsion of the negative itself. Through elimination she employs a visual language that reacts directly to the process of censorship.
Jess T. Dugan takes interest in identity and self definition. She explores how activities, collections, and place act as mirror to the self. Dugan both asks and answers the question- how are our passions, interests, and pursuits reflected in the environments we inhabit. A seemingly simple question is handled with sincerity, delight, and insight into the figures and the spaces illuminated.
Jennifer Greenburg explores the subculture of the American Rockabilly in frames that inherently have documentary quality, but work beyond the limits of the genre. The Rockabillies live within the parameters of mid-twentieth century America. Judgment, critique, and skepticism of those living this adopted lifestyle fall away; our engagement with the figures is both personal and direct.
Ursula Sokolowska’s latest work is subtle yet weighty. No removal exists between the viewer and subject. The immediacy and rawness of the individuals depicted allows for an instant contact with the space, charac-ter, and subsequent narrative. If we were not allowed to hide ourselves in shadow our meeting with the figures would almost be abrupt.
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