Anne Veraldi

Melting Point

Water forms the basis of all life on the planet. It is a very precious, and yet a very common substance. As global warming changes the environment, the effects of melting ice and water are of critical importance.

From a scientific perspective, water has many intriguing properties that we normally take for granted. These are a result of the way the hydrogen atoms bond with the oxygen atom. The electrons are not shared equally between the atoms, causing the water molecule to be polarized. Because of this, water exists in all three of its forms in the earth's climate: water, ice and water vapors. Its solid form is less dense than its liquid form. Thus, ice floats in water and expands as it freezes. Another interesting result of the hydrogen bonding is the phenomenon of "surface tension." Surface tension causes gases to escape slowly from water to form beautiful bubbles. I find these bubbles to be compelling photographic subjects.

Cythia Greig

Cynthia Greig: Artist Statement

Representations

For me, the coexistence of contradictions marks the moment when apparent realities collide. When we recognize that something is both askew and right on the mark, confusion and/or enlightenment usually follow. Humor and irony often color my work as I play with visual miscues and the deceptive nature of first impressions. My photographs explore the exchange of influence between perception and experience, and the camera's role in negotiating what we consider to be reality. Using the inherent properties of the camera's lens and photographic film, I make images that investigate how information can infiltrate our consciousness, occupy our memory and affect our understanding of the world we live in.

Chris Verene: Artist Statement

Family

I began to make these pictures in 1985, while I was in high school. I had no idea that the process of photographing my family and their hometown in rural Illinois would consume me throughout my adult life. Until about 1997, my pictures were known only to family, friends, and classmates. To my surprise, at age 29, my pictures were on display in New York museums and my first book was due to be released.

Suzy Poling

Alchemical Feedback
Alchemical Feedback is an exhibition of two different bodies of photographic works that compare and share the relationships of chemical reactions, spontaneity and permanence. One of the series of photographs is taken of geysers from Yellowstone National Park, where Earth's feedback is presented in one of its finest forms. The geysers are a magma phenomenon, which is made up of strange colors, bacteria mat and mysterious boiling pots of water and acid.

Poling contrasts the Geyser images with a project of experiments made with chemistry, oils, and decay and burned photographic film. This series called Ellipses is equally accidental and unexpected as the mysterious Geysers. These images contrast the human-made versus what is made by the Universe, as it describes what is found and what is made up. There is an arc between these two works as it bridges the need to comprehend our relationship with Astronomy exploration images and also how surreal the Earth can look. The work suggests a human's need to understand nature's unknowns as both projects embrace spontaneity and regeneration.

Tom Stone

Tom Stone was born on a train outside of Mexico City traveling to Puerto Angel, Oaxaca. His parents separated soon after his birth. He spent his early childhood with his mother communally in Los Angeles' famed Source Family; and after its dispersion, in various nomadic settings in Hawaii and California. A graduate of Harvard University with a degree in Computer Science, he worked in Silicon Valley for a number of years in investment banking and in the technology industry. He is a documentary photographer known for his portraits of people living along the edges of society. His photography shares perspective with the work of Dorothea Lange, Richard Avedon, Diane Arbus and Sebastião Salgado.

Bryan Ricci

"I have always been interested in the way people in today’s fast-paced, high-tech culture perceive (or fail to perceive) their environment, with specific regard to nature and animals.  In other words, my paintings attempt to pose the question:  To what extent have we become physically, morally, and emotionally removed from our natural environments?  Is our day-to-day experience with nature perceived or real?  Also, how much of this separation is the effect of our obsession with technology?  

To examine these ideas in my newer work, (the series involving painted dots on photographs), I chose to synthesize a traditional medium of artistic expression (oil paint) with a technique that mimics the more modern pixelized images we see everyday on the internet and other media.  I started by photographing a landscape with a digital camera.  Then, I hand-pixelated an animal that I felt fit the scene, either realistically or ironically.  I wanted each piece to tell its own individual story. 

In all of my work, I am interested in bringing to light the ever-increasing disparities between the limited scope of our understanding of and experience with nature, (partly due to the replacement of the digital experience for what is real), and the enormity and timelessness of the natural world that goes unnoticed.  My paintings serve as a reminder of human ignorance and neglect, an invitation to look deeper, and a challenge to question and examine your own perceptions." -Bryan Ricci

Kevork Cholakian

Artist Statement:
" I have always been influenced by the Early Dutch Masters: the way they used color, light and shadow to create luminous still life paintings.  I choose to paint subject matter that is rich in color, texture and character of an imperfect nature. I use the juxtaposition of strong color against opposite or neutral tones to help focus full attention on each element in my work. Painting on smooth surfaces in transparent layers helps me to create subtle variations of color, luminosity and realism. Color is a central focus. Simplicity and clarity are my primary goals. "