Santa Fe, NM– Chiaroscuro is pleased to present a solo exhibition for Renate Aller, titled Commensalism. The exhibition opens Friday, September 15, with a public reception with the Artist; from 5-7pm. Commensalism is on view from September 15 – October 28, 2023, in the main downstairs galleries at 558 Canyon Road.
Throughout Renate Aller’s career, her photographic inquiries have consistently shed light on our relationship to nature, how we inhabit the space, and how that space in turn inhabits us. Commensalism brings new focus on the landscape/figure relationship and sets up dynamic juxtapositions in the process, helping us see Aller’s unique vision.
Aller explains:
“Commensalism is a relationship between organisms of different species in which one derives some benefit, while the other is unaffected nor harmed. Humans benefit from nature, and we should not harm it in return. We are part of nature, made stronger by our interconnectedness. Echoing the forms of the landscape, I pair an image of the human body to mirror our presence. Another way to look at it is the observation that we are hosts to microorganisms who are such a large part of us that we cannot define ourselves as being a separate entity.”
Known for her large scale photography, Commensalism brings together expansive large scale imagery with smaller scale intimate figurative diptychs to tell the story. Also included are images printed on wood panels, which lend their wood grain and atmosphere to the photographic image. This major exhibition of new work will present over twenty photographs and immerse the viewer in Aller’s vision of commensalism.
Commensalismis Aller’s sixth solo exhibition at Chiaroscuro. Her works are included in the collections of corporate institutions, private collectors, and museums, including Lannan Foundation, Santa Fe, N.M., National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., Yale University Art Gallery, CT, George Eastman House, Rochester, NY, New Britain Museum of American Art, CT, Hamburger Kunsthalle, Hamburg, Germany, Chazen Museum of Art, Madison, WI Musée des beaux-arts Le Locle, Switzerland, The New York Historical Society Museum, NYC and Parrish Art Museum, Water Mill, NY.
Born in Germany,Renate Allerlives and works in New York. Her recent project and book The Space Between Memory and Expectation was featured as a solo exhibition at the Brattleboro Museum, VT from October 2022 – February 2023. This project as well as Mountain Interval, Ocean and Desert, dicotyledon and the long term project Oceanscapes – One View – Ten Years are supporting the artist’s investigation in the context of our current socio-political awareness. Her project and book side walk 6’ apart in NYC was on view at the New-York Historical Society Museum from March-August 2022.
Renate Aller:Commensalism
September 15 – October 28, 2023
Opening Reception, Friday, September 15, 5-7pm
High resolution images available upon request from John Addison, john@chiaroscurosantafe.com, 505-992-0711.
