NYAB Event - Jeff Rich "WATERSHED - A Survey of the French Broad River Basin"

Jeff Rich "WATERSHED - A Survey of the French Broad River Basin"

United Photo Industries

This event has ended.

United Photo Industries is welcoming Jeff Rich in March to exhibit his vivid and powerful project WATERSHED - A Survey of the French Broad River Basin, marking his first solo exhibition in New York.

Jeff documents water issues ranging from recreation and sustainability to exploitation and abuse. He explores these subjects by using long-term photographic documentations of very specific regions of the United States, one of which is WATERSHED - A Survey of the French Broad River Basin.

We wanted you to be the first to hear this exciting news (ahead of our public announcement next week!) so you can save the dates for the opening of the show and artist reception on March 1 and and an artist talk the next day, March 2 @ 3pm.

We are also hosting additional receptions during this exhibition:

DUMBO 1st Thursday Gallery Walk: March 7, 6-9PM

Armory Arts Week: Brooklyn Night – March 9, 5-9PM

We would love for you to join us during one of these times to view Jeff's wonderful work. Additionally, Jeff will be in NYC from February 28 through March 3, and available for interviews via email, phone or Skype.

A common misconception of a watershed is that it’s all about the water. While water does play a large part, the land plays an even larger role by directing the water to a common point, such as a river or ocean. Thus human impact on the land directly affects the water that runs over it. With this project I intend to highlight this relationship between the land, water, and man, within the Mississippi River watershed.

This is a long-term series of work that aims to define the Mississippi River watershed, the largest watershed in North America, in terms of its smaller pieces. I intend to document the four corners of the watershed in a series of chapters. The French Broad, and the Tennessee watersheds make up the southeastern corner of the Mississippi watershed.

The first chapter of the Watershed series focuses on The French Broad River Basin. In the 1950s The French Broad River was one of the most polluted rivers in the country. A local writer Wilma Dykeman described the condition of the river as having “white scum that caps the water’s blackness for mile after mile.” The river was beset with pollution from erosion, which was caused by deforestation, pollution from heavy industry, and the rapid development of the cities within the watershed.

–Jeff Rich