| DANELLE
MANTHEY |
 |
Baker
2010
ink jet print
20 x 16 inches
ed. of 15 |
 |
Fencer
2010
ink jet print
24 x 20 inches
ed. of 10 |
 |
Postpartum
2009
ink jet print
30 x 24 inches
ed. of 5 |
|
| HEATHER
BOOTH WEISS
|
 |
Hanging
Valley
2009
silver gelatin print
50 x 50 inches |
 |
El
Matador
2011
silver gelatin print
15 x 15 inches |
 |
Navajo
Sand
2010
silver gelatin print
36 x 36 inches |
|
We
are pleased to announce a two-person exhibition of photographs
by Heather Boose Weiss and Danelle Manthey. Gallery
I features a dozen silver gelatin prints of landscapes
by Boose Weiss. In Gallery II we present
ten ink jet portraits of individuals in color and black and
white by Manthey. This is SEFA’s third major exhibition
of Boose Weiss’s photographs, following Shaping
Space (2007) and Passages in Black & White (2009).
WINSOME/AWESOME is Manthey’s
first exhibition with SEFA.
“Throughout
the scope of my work, I try to visually express what it means
to be an individual. This experience is vastly different for
each of us and there are so many small instances that make
up our lives. How we deal with these experiences defines us.”
DANELLE
MANTHEY
Born
and raised in South Dakota, DANELLE MANTHEY is a newcomer
to SEFA. Manthey started this portrait series in 2009, shooting
in her apartment in Brooklyn, and completed the project during
a residency at the NY based chashama in 2010. Manthey works
closely with each sitter to create a personal setting with
props and costume, allowing each subject to tell his or her
own vignette. The artist draws inspiration from circus portraits
and vintage photographs, combining qualities of both to create
a portrait for the 21st century. This is the first public
exhibition of this work.
People acting out their unique dramas include: “Fencer,”
in white, with a foil propped against her shoulder; the “Baker,”
caked in flour and presenting a rolling pin like a weapon;
a huckster with slicked back hair and a pencil thin mustache;
and a smirking, sexy “Carney” with a
hand on a carnival wheel of fortune, and the other on a jutting
hip.
Some
subjects are whimsical, like “Drifter,” showing
a boy playing a tiny guitar, with knee socks and romper as
white as his tow head. Others are more enigmatic, such as
“Postpartum”, a new mom in bathing suit and hair
curlers, gazing downwards, as a basket of baby dolls sits
next to her on the floor.
We think we know these characters with one glance, that each
is somehow defined by the activity they represent. We all
engage in activities and pastimes to both differentiate ourselves
from one another, but also to connect to a community. In the
end, Manthey’s stunning, soulful portraits sometimes
depict humor and irony, and always, a deep longing.
Danelle Manthey has a BFA in photography,
Columbia College, Chicago. She has exhibited
at Jenkins Johnson, Ceres Gallery, NY, Silvermine Guild Arts
Center, CT, and participated in an
Open Portfolio at the Chelsea Art Museum, NY, among other
shows. This past fall, she
participated in the Governor’s Island Art Fair, NY.
additional
information & works by Danelle Manthey
“I have a great deal of love for nature
and I like to think that co-creating with nature is a good
way to go about exploring the world and my presence in it.
Even though my performance in front of the camera is usually
a living, moving dance, I love how the photograph holds still.”
HEATHER BOOSE
WEISS
HEATHER
BOOSE WEISS’s photographs chosen for Winsome/Awesome
were taken during the past three years in Europe, the Caribbean
and the US. The selection includes views of rushing waterfalls,
dramatic nighttime ocean settings, grand rock faces, a cross
section of a rock crevice, and startlingly beautiful close-ups
of mushrooms, snapped lovingly at ground level. Using the
traditional medium of silver gelatin to its fullest potential,
Boose Weiss offers us painterly hues—from the deepest
midnight black, pierced with starlight, to a snowy white landscape
in Norway—and infinite tones of grays in between.
Beyond Boose Weiss’s adoration of nature, her photographs
also reflect a desire to find a way in to these chosen, mystical
landscapes. What happens in a natural setting when a human,
usually theartist herself, enters the scene? How does her
presence alter the place? Boose Weiss’s form is barely
perceptible, as if she were drawing herself into the photograph
with light.
Each photograph reflects a different quality of energy. Our
movements upon the earth leave a trace, as in “Polar
Wander.” Sometimes, we sense movement, but don’t
see it, as in the dynamic pulll of the moonlight in “Moon
Beam”. Poetry is evoked in the silent, still moments
the artist captures. Details are sharp and crisp. We want
to lean into the photograph and bask in the moon light, feel
the sand pour through our fingers or breathe in a rising mist.
Heather Boose Weiss was born in Florida
and raised in Connecticut. She has a BFA in photography from
the School of Visual Arts, NY. Her work has been exhibited
at the Gray and Gove Gallery, NY and at the Photography Festival
in Pingyao, China, among others venues.
Boose Weiss currently lives and works in Los Angeles.
additional
information & works by Heather Boose Weiss
For
information contact:
Susan Eley: 917.952.7641
susie@susaneley.com
| www.susaneleyfineart.com |