Julie Hedrick
dal 17/11/2014 al 2/1/2015
Segnalato da
17/11/2014
Julie Hedrick
Nohra Haime Gallery, New York
Alchemy. The exhibit constists of oils on canvas and works on paper. The artist uses these pieces as a meditation on alchemy and its relation to gold. Alchemy, of course, focused on the transmutation of base metals into gold.
Nohra Haime Gallery welcome’s Julie Hedrick’s newest series: Alchemy. Through a selection of works on paper and oils on canvas, Hedrick
meditates about concepts related to alchemy and its relation to gold. From its beginnings, alchemy’s final and absolute objective was
transmutation, and specifically, transmutation of any material into gold, also connected to the accomplishment of persona illumination. The
search of the philosopher’s stone as an elixir of life was directly related to this phenomenon.
Gold progressively takes the surfaces of the works shown in this exhibition. Alchemist Twins, 2014 refers to Egyptian alchemy, in which one
of the first steps to illumination consisted in the acknowledgement of the “ka”, the etheric twin that coexists with our physical self. The icons
are bordered by a fine line of gold, and in the center of one of them, a strong golden stroke marks the triumph of the transformation into the
noble metal, or the achievement of personal enlightenment. As we contemplate the rest of the paintings, we see a black mass, then a white
one, all interrupted by the golden edge that delimits space or void. The conversion is starting, and as we observe the paintings, we witness
its progress. The ordinary material is transformed into a golden cloak that covers and lights the surface.
In Infinity, 2014 we see a duality symbolizing light and darkness, a monochrome surface again bordered by a golden edge. Black is the first
color in the Magnus Opum, the process of creation of the Philosopher’s Stone that provides immortality, or infinite enlightenment. It is the
chaos, the nigredo that precedes the albedo, the whitening of matter, a purification stage that leads to the unity of opposites.
This pursuance of gold also symbolizes a higher order of achievements, a mental illumination and a spiritual revelation, that connect to
Hedrick’s works in their very beginning. Her blurry hues that swirl to the top of the painting, present as well in the Egyptian diptych, seem to
establish a microcosm of order and sensibility epitomizing what is above us.
Julie Hedrick has exhibited extensively throughout the United States, Canada and Colombia. She has also participated to great acclaim in
performances, poetry readings, set designs and discussion panels. Born in 1958 in Toronto, Canada, Hedrick currently lives and works in
Kingston, New York. She is a Graduate of the Painting Studio Program, Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, (NSCAD). She also studied
anatomy and physiology. Since 1990 Hedrick not only has been painting but also writing poetry.
Image: Alchemy by Julie Hedricks, 2014, oil on canvas 30” x 40”
Press Contact:
Leslie Garrett at gallery@nohrahaimegallery.com or 212-888-3550
Reception: Friday, November 21st from 6 – 8 p.m
Nohra Haime Gallery
730 Fifth Avenue, 7th Floor
Hours:
Tuesday - Saturday 10am - 6pm
Monday by appointment.