press release :: Fieldwork

NEW YORK, NY — Jen Bekman is pleased to present Beth Dow’s New York City solo debut, Fieldwork, an exhibition of thirteen black and white photographs printed in silver platinum-palladium process at Jen Bekman Gallery, located at 6 Spring Street, New York, NY. The exhibition will be on view Friday November 2 through Saturday December 8, 2007.

An opening reception for the artist will be held on the evening of Friday, November 2 from 6:00 to 8:00pm at the gallery.

“By finding poetry in humble, neglected and utilitarian vistas, Dow affirms the value and vitality of the ordinary,” says Minneapolis Star-Tribune art critic Mary Abbe.

Fieldwork presents the viewer with the classical beauty of the black and white photograph within a contemporary context. Gallery director Jen Bekman remarks “With the prevalence of digital reproduction there is a sense that we must reject such tradition in order to produce work that can claim the distinction of the new. What attracted me to Dow’s work is her homage to historical influences, both in process and through her refreshing embrace of the beauty of the photograph as an art object.”

The photographs have the scratchy, crosshatched look of etchings or pencil drawings - the prints look hand-built, branch-by-branch. The platinum-palladium prints fully exploit the tonal subtleties of both subject and medium, thus describing the grey areas of marginal landscapes.

“Beth Dow stops short of the romantic notion of artist above nature and brings an illuminated gardener’s punctum to its pruning,” says Sean Smuda of the Walker Art Center and McKnight Foundation. “Despite straightforward appearances, her work teems with history and philosophy in a comforting, meditative way, like gardens of the sublime domesticated and available for personal consultation... perhaps here can be our simple wish: to wonder at the presence of infinity and singularity.”

About the Artist

Beth Dow grew up in Minneapolis, where her earliest memories of photography involved her photographer father's experimental color work. After college she moved to London, where she developed her eye for unusual landscapes and the various ways we interact with our environment. She has received several awards, including a $25,000 fellowship from the McKnight Foundation and an Individual Artist Fellowship from the Minnesota State Arts Board. Dow's photographs have been exhibited internationally, including America, Britain, Japan, and China. She lives in Minneapolis with her photographer husband Keith Taylor and two kids.

Fieldwork at Jen Bekman Gallery, 6 Spring Street.
Hours: Wednesday — Saturday, noon – 6pm or by private appointment.

For images or more information, please contact Lydia Kenny: 212.219.0166 or press@jenbekman.com.

Download a PDF of the release | inventory | artist profile here.