A Gallery For Fine Photography presents, States of Grace, a collection of twenty-four gilded pigment prints by contemporary artist Wendi Schneider. This work is rooted in the serenity Schneider finds in the sinuous elegance of organic forms.
Artist Statement
States of Grace is a celebration of the senses anchored in the visual — an exploration of my spiritual connection to our vulnerable natural world and the transcendence I find in its beauty. In those magical moments when my eyes and essence are engaged, I photograph what I feel, as much as see. The images are layered digitally with color and texture to manipulate the boundaries between the real and imagined, inspired by my background in painting and art history.
I follow intuitively where each image takes me, honoring the variations within the edition to elevate the ephemeral. Printed on translucent vellum or kozo, these ethereal illusions are gilded with precious metals on the verso, creating a luminosity that varies as the ambient light transitions. My process infuses the artist’s hand and suffuses the treasured subjects with the implied spirituality of the precious metals – echoing the moment of capture and ensuring each illuminated impression is a unique object of reverence. My work is testament and tribute, adoration and obligation.
The Patina Collection
The Patina Collection is an assemblage of gilded prints from the States of Grace series paired with antique frames – the synthesis of 40 years of collecting turn of the twentieth-century art and objects and creating images inspired by fluid organic forms. The serpentine shapes are echoed in the subjects I photograph and the curves of the Art Nouveau and Arts & Crafts frames that house these works.
Evenings with the Moon
In this collection of images in the States of Grace series, I contemplate the power of universal experiences to unify and find transcendence, engaging the moon as muse. These impressions of the night draw on the metaphor of darkness and light to express our shared longing for love and harmony amidst the chaos of the world. The shimmer of the gilded prints echoes the luminosity of their celestial inspiration. This synthesis of form and content encourages the viewer to consider the commonalities in our collective consciousness.
We all live under the same moon.
Wendi Schneider : States of Grace
On view through August 1, 2022
A Gallery For Fine Photography
241 Chartres St., New Orleans, LA 70130
www.agallery.com
