NYAB Event - Dorothy Simpson Krause "River of Grass"

Dorothy Simpson Krause "River of Grass"

571 Projects

This event has ended.

571 Projects presents River of Grass, an exhibition of new mixed media works by artist Dorothy Simpson Krause. This is Krause' second exhibition with the gallery.

River of Grass marks Krause' return to her deep environmentalist concerns, always close to hand in her work, exploring here the rich landscapes of the Florida Everglades with her unique blend of cutting edge digital processes and traditional art making methods. Eight mixed media works will be on view. Krause renders the captivating beauty and shifting light using both organic substrates (linen canvas, wood panel) and inorganic substrates (aluminum panel), with painting and image transfer. From the serenely contemplative Misty River (2011, pigment transfer with mixed media on aluminum, 36 x 36 in.) to the somberly brooding Dark (2011, pigment transfer to aluminum, 24 x 22 in.), Krause's landscapes draw the viewer into a world defined by sky, water, luxuriant vegetation and reflections. Where the Hudson River painters of the 1800s saw the sublime in the American wilderness, under threat even then, Krause draws out a powerful, all-encompassing spirituality as she at once captures a fragile beauty and underlines it's inevitable vulnerability. Suffused with a soft, nuanced palette, works like Silver Sky (2012, pigment transfer to gesso on wood, 24 x 24 in.) seem to hearken more to historical documents, a concept that is developed even further in the limited edition portfolio that accompanies the exhibition.

The portfolio, a limited edition of six 7 x 10 inch prints on handmade paper, pays tribute to the pioneering work of Marjory Stoneman Douglas whose lifelong activism coupled with her 1947 book, The Everglades: River of Grass, fuelled the defense and conservation of this unique area. Housed in a handmade envelope referencing a packet of documents an early settler might have carried, the folios combine Krause' images of the Everglades with historic photographs, documents and maps.