"New Zealand's South Pacific and Tasman Sea" is the latest chapter in Hooper's ongoing photographic series documenting the oceans of the world. His embrace of natural beauty is rarely found in the contemporary art world.
New Zealand's South Pacific and TasmanSea
Robert Mann Gallery is pleased to
present a solo exhibition by Chip Hooper entitled
New Zealand's South Pacific and asmanSea from March
29 to May 12, 2007. An opening reception for the artistwill
be held
on Thursday, March 29 (6-8pm). A catalogue will accompany
theexhibition.
New Zealand's South Pacific and Tasman Sea is the latest chapter
in
Chip Hooper's ongoing photographic series documenting the oceans of
the world.
The first installment, California's Pacific,was
exhibited at Robert Mann Gallery
in 2004. Hooper's travels have taken
him repeatedly to the rugged shores of New
Zealand, where he
continues to perfect the lyrical minimalism of his photographs,
as in
Toward Dunedin, South Pacific, 2003, where a horizon of dark water is
broken
by the low, jagged line of distant mountains, or in Cape
Foulwind, Tasman Sea,
2003, where a monolithic cliff rises beyond the
frame.
Hooper's embrace of
natural beauty is rarely found in the
contemporary art world, and it is
invigorating to see an artist
undeterred by the fact that his vision may not match
the critical
disposition of the moment. Instead, Hooper holds fast to a
lifelong
goal: to master the technical precision of the early masters of
landscape
photography whose work inspired him, and to use those skills to capture his own
unique vision. Hooper's meditative studies of
sea and sky preserve the emotional
communion between the artist and
his subject and allow the viewer to experience
that same tranquil
state of mind.
Chip Hooper was born in Miami in 1962 and was
raised in Chicago.
His work is in permanent collections at the Monterey Museum of
Art,
Monterey, California; The Portland Museum of Art, Portland, Oregon;
and the
Tokyo Photographic Cultural Center, Tokyo, Japan. He lives
in Carmel Valley,
California.
Robert Mann Gallery
210 Eleventh Avenue - New York