Cynthia-Reeves Closes 'Sense of Place,' 8/20

Cynthia-Reeves presents 'Sense of Place,' featuring the art of seven contemporary photographers. The exhibition opens on Thursday evening, June 24th, with a reception open to the public from 6 p.m. - 8 p.m., and will run through August 20th. Please note that after the July 4th weekend, the gallery is open Tuesday - Friday, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.

Specific to the photographic medium are issues of presumed transparency. To counter such assumptions, 'Sense of Place' includes works that rely upon overt manipulation to further communicate the "essence" of the depicted places. These images aim to elicit emotion rather than merely convey objective documentation.

The places addressed are diverse, ranging from the unique skylines of cities around the world to the intimate spaces of the domestic sphere. From the haunting images of a deserted, sere landscape of Turkey by Paul Taylor, to the formal compositions of blue-collar streets by Elke Morris, the photographers ably capture their subjects, and draw on technique and aesthetic vision to present their unique views of place.

David Burdeny's Sacred and Secular series captures the unique horizon lines of cities of various international cities. Johannes Brus' Vorholle is a large-scale, four-panel photograph that incorporates collaged imagery over hand-painted and chemically washed papers.

Luc Demers' acute control of light offers an intimate look into domestic space. A fluid interaction between darkness and light defines Demers' commanding series Darkened Rooms. Elke Morris' selectively blurred and saturated images of buildings give her Domicile series the trompe l'oeil effect of miniaturization. Though printed large-scale, it feels as if one is looking at models.

Using a video camera, Shuli Sadé captured the iconic image of a newly constructed tower in Tel Aviv over two consecutive summers. From the footage gathered, she created Time Units, a multi-panel work of video stills printed on transparency and fused to plexi.

Jeffrey Stockbridge's Divine Lorraine series examines the once luxurious hotel, exposing the subtle beauty of the building's decay and capturing the mystery of abandoned places. To create his Images of Turkey series Paul Taylor used turn of the century photographic techniques to develop his glass plate negatives.

For more information please visit the online gallery at cynthia-reeves.com. Cynthia-Reeves is located at 535 West 24th Street, Second Floor; gallery hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.