Contact: John Addison, 505-992-0711 August 24, 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Gunnar Plake: The Light Within
Peter Millett: Woman at the Well
September 17 – October 16, 2010
Santa Fe, NM- Chiaroscuro Contemporary Art presents: Gunnar Plake: The Light Within and Peter Millet: Woman at the Well from September 17 – October 16, 2010. The opening reception for both exhibitions is Friday, September 17, from 5 – 7pm.
Gunnar Plake
Whether it’s a shot of condors soaring through the desert sky or of the Colorado River far below, Gunnar Plake captures the essence of seeing while in motion. A sweeping motion performed during the exposure provides a clarity of its own: while details vanish, patterns emerge, the land comes alive in these large scale abstractions.
Featured at Chiaroscuro next month is Plake’s second series of Grand Canyon images that capture the feel of the landscape as a light-filled, ever changing world. The textural feel of Plake’s photographs accentuate the interconnectedness of landscape forms. Through distortions of light and atmosphere, patterns emerge in the colored bands of rock layers, as distance is expressed in various hues of blue. The intentional lack of sharp focus on landscape features gives viewers the freedom to absorb the feel of place, without the sharp details so prevalent in traditional landscape photograph.
The UV protected and laminated photographs are mounted on anodized aluminum with a reflective edge that changes depending on your angle of view. Plake has exhibited his photograph extensively throughout the United States and his subjects range from impressionistic seascapes to wide-open desert vistas, woods and forests.
Peter Millet
Seattle based sculptor Peter Millett creates geometric compositions, in metal or painted wood, which engage the viewer in a dialogue about shape and space. In Millett’s first solo show at Chiaroscuro, he draws inspiration from an old blues song by staging a scene of abstract sculpture. Woman at the Well is a collection of geometric sculptures containing the essence of human forms through distinct angles and volumes.
Using folded sheet metal or wood to explore a geometry-based visual language, Millett incorporates a refined, modern sensibility to his work. Millet’s sculptural configurations are both bold and graceful, and his work often plays upon the presence of the object and the emptiness of the space which surrounds it. Millett’s sculptures inhabit (activate?) the space they are in, and invite the viewer to meditate on form. A graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design in 1971, Millett has shown extensively in Washington.
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Gunnar Plake: The Light Within
Peter Millett: Woman at the Well
September 17 – October 16, 2010
Opening reception, Friday, September 17, from 5 – 7pm
For more information call 505-992-0711 or email gallery@chiaroscurosantafe.com