Untitled (Black), 2017
Archival pigment print - Edition of 5 - 24 x 24"
Traywick Contemporary is pleased to announce True North, a series of photographs by New York-based artist and writer Amanda Marchand, in her third solo exhibition with the gallery.
True North is a recent body of work that explores the experience of light within the natural landscape. Made during a residency in rural Finland in January, 2015—the darkest time of the year, when the sun is closest to the horizon—these color photographs capture a state of mind more than the specifics of a place. Sprawling fields are blanketed with snow, obscuring the surroundings, while also allowing for small details to emerge from the frozen landscape. Responding to winter's monotone palette, Marchand became acutely aware of the delicate play of light against the snow and sky, especially the “blue” period of day lasting one hour at dawn and twilight. Comprised of single prints and groupings of images, True North reflects meditative silence, the slow passage of time, and a heightened awareness of even the subtlest transitions in light and color.
Also known for her creative writing, Marchand’s photographic work and books of poetry often intertwine visual ideas with text. For this exhibition, Marchand has created a new artist book: The Book of Hours, as well as a site-specific installation that echoes the verbal rhythms of language. She mines the expressive in the natural world—shifting horizon lines, fleeting weather patterns, and the moments where vertical objects punctuate the quiet landscape—and presents them as pictorial sequences and visual sentences. With this series, Marchand asks the simple question “What happens when you pay attention?”
A native of Montreal, Amanda Marchand lives and works in Brooklyn, NY. She received her MFA from the San Francisco Art Institute in 2001, followed by a Graduate Fellowship Residency at the Headlands Center for the Arts in 2002. Marchand is a MacDowell Colony Fellow (Petersborough, NH) and recently completed residencies at the Hermitage Artist Retreat, FL; the Studios at MASS MoCA; The Bakery Photo Collective, ME and Arteles Creative Center in Finland. She recently completed a permanent installation at the MUHC Glen Hospital in Montreal and has been widely recognized with awards and exhibitions at numerous institutions including Datz Museum (Korea), Palo Alto Art Center (Palo Alto, CA), Center for Contemporary Arts (Santa Fe, NM) and The Center for Fine Art Photography (Fort Collins, CO).