Dowd Exhibition Allows Viewers to Connect

08/20/2013 

Paintings, photography and interactive media projects — tied together by a shared theme of human connection — make up the Dowd Gallery’s first exhibition of the 2013-14 academic year at SUNY Cortland.

“Connective Existence: Paintings by Lin Price and Projects by Simon Høgsberg” runs from Tuesday, Aug. 27, to Thursday, Oct. 3. The exhibition, which is free and open to the public, features 20 paintings by Price and several projects by Høgsberg that capture the human condition through use of the figure, despite their differences in approach.

The Dowd Gallery remains housed temporarily on the third floor of Main Street SUNY Cortland, 9 Main St., while the Dowd Fine Arts Center undergoes renovations.

Gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday. The gallery is closed Sunday and Monday.

Image above: Lin Price, I’m This Big, mixed media on paper board, 25¾'' x 36'', 2013 Image top left: Simon Høgsberg, Joan Darrow from the Faces of New York series, 14½'' x 11½'', 2006

An opening reception will be held from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 5, and a talk by Price takes place at 5 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 12.

Additionally, Associate Professor of Art and Art History Martine Barnaby and her SUNY Cortland students will display an Interactive Media Student Exhibition from Thursday, Sept. 19, to Tuesday, Oct. 1, in the Beard Gallery, located on the first floor of Main Street SUNY Cortland. Høgsberg and the students also will participate in an interactive talk at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 24.

The works of Price and Høgsberg bring to light shared human emotions and experiences. Both artists invite viewers to communicate with depicted figures and ultimately with other people.

Price’s paintings, for instance, feature the same male figure, who she describes as an “everyman.” The figure often is accompanied by objects or animals that float on the surface in a simple way. The setting is typically light on detail, which allows a viewer to consider his or her own situation.

The real and the fantastical are said to comingle in Price’s paintings, creating a window to a psychological world where daily difficulties, desires and eccentricities are portrayed. The mysterious and dreamlike quality of her work entices a viewer to attempt to make sense of what the “everyman” is experiencing.

“The paintings are idiosyncratic,” she explains. “And I attempt to execute them with empathy towards the human condition.

“Themes of work, isolation, stress, searching, anticipation and caring emerge, that I believe many people in our times can identify with.”

Høgsberg’s projects often depict diverse people in urban settings. “The Grocery Store Project,” for example, incorporates 2,600 photographs of people taken over five months in front of a Copenhagen supermarket. The photos are arranged in a chart resembling a giant family tree, depicting unintended patterns and making unnoticed connections visible.

Høgsberg’s contemporary influence and improvisational quality result in work that focuses on the figure rather than the background — a trait shared with Price’s paintings. His figures often are captured unknowingly in a real-time snapshot rather than an arranged portrait, allowing a viewer to study them, invent their stories and eventually connect with them.

A complete listing of the Dowd Gallery’s programs can be found on its website. The latest news related to the gallery can be found on its Facebook page.

For more information on educational programs that will occur during the exhibition or to schedule a group tour, contact Dowd Gallery Director Erika Fowler-Decatur at 607-753-4216.