Domesticated Show Reviewed in ARTnews

Today, on the drive home from our vacation we stopped at a Barnes & Noble in New Haven to pick up the September issue of ARTnews. The magazine features a review of my Domesticated show at the Paul Kopeikin Gallery.

I have known for almost a month the review was coming and the September issue has been out for a few days now, but I have been too apprehensive to pick it up until today. I was so nervous I had my husband read it first while I browsed the fiction aisle. When I came back he was smiling.

Here's the review by Richard Chang:

In her first solo exhibition, titled "Domesticated," Amy Stein explored the point where the civilized world and wild-animal habitats. For her compelling photographs, the artist restages real encounters between humans and animals. The scenes are united by their setting: the area in and around Matamoras, a small town in northeast Pennsylvania that borders a state forest.

Stein specializes in unexpected juxtapositions. In Nursery (2007) a spotted doe appears to have just awakened in a greenhouse among meticulously organized flowers, cacti, and hanging potted plants. Watering Hole (2005) features a young girl in a blue bathing suit standing on the edge of a diving board, staring down a large bear poised on its hind legs. Only a low chain-link fence separates them.

The narratives are enhanced by Stein's formal skill. Trasheaters (2005), showing two coyotes picking over spilled garbage outside a suburban ranch house, contrasts the animals' natural grace with hard geometry of the circular metal trash can, the triangular roofline, and three rectangular windows emitting a harsh yellow light as a sign of nearby human presence.

Backyard (2007) shows a hunter behind a chain-link fence, aiming his rifle at a turkey trotting across a snow-covered meadow. The placement of the hunter makes it look as if he's the one confined. Through such clever scene-setting, Stein reveals the contradictions inherent in mankind's twin impulses to join nature and to tame it.

Whew!

Jessica Dimmock and The Ninth Floor

© Jessica Dimmock

This Thursday Jessica Dimmock's The Ninth Floor opens at Foley Gallery this Thursday. If you haven't seen Jessica's work yet check out the show or pick up her book. You will be hard pressed not to be effected by the work.

Anna Sirota is a student of mine from Parsons. She was moved by the images from The Ninth Floor and approached me about writing a review of the book on my blog. I am a big fan of writing about your own work and the work of others, so I was happy to oblige.

Here's Anna's review:

The drug epidemic in America has escalated to an all time high. People all over the country are falling into the abyss of addiction and the war on drugs is an endless and seemingly hopeless endeavor. Many feel disconcerted and disgusted with the idea of injecting a lethal chemical into their veins, but the importance of recognizing and discussing the emotional pain and suffering that addicts experience on a daily basis is the way to initiate change.

Jessica Dimmock’s “The Ninth Floor” is a hauntingly uneasy documentation of young heroin addicts living in squalor. Jessica successfully captured the stale, dismal atmosphere of the space, once a representation of beauty and class. The vacancy disintegration of each of her subjects is palpable. Through a muted color scheme and a straightforward snap-shot perspective, Jessica Dimmock evokes feelings of sadness and sympathy. The images are genuinely disturbing and impossible to be ignored. If this book is not a cause for reflection, then nothing can be.

Here are the details on the show:

Jessica Dimmock | The Ninth Floor
Foley Gallery
547 W 27th Street, 5th floor
New York, NY 10001
Apr 17 - May 31, 2008
Opening reception: Apr 17, 6 - 8 PM