Kathryn Dunlevie and Julie Brook Alexander (FotoFest 2016 @ Hooks-Epstein Galleries)

In observance of FotoFest 2016, Hooks-Epstein Galleries will present work by Kathryn Dunlevie and Julie Brook Alexander. The exhibition opens at 11:00am on Saturday, April 9, 2016 and is followed by a reception for the artists from 5:00 to 7:00pm, with a conversation with the artists at 4:00pm. The exhibition continues through Saturday, May 14, 2016.

In Kathryn Dunlevie’s, Mistick Krewes, she pays homage to the New Orleans overlapping cultures and the still perceptible aura of its tempestuous history.

The Mistick Krewe of Comus began the tradition of celebrating Mardi Gras, with a torch-lit procession of extravagantly designed floats in 1857.  The works in Mistick Krewes, combine Dunlevie’s own photography with images from the internet, print media and old world photo albums, in which she adds layer upon layer.

Dunlevie states, “I am working toward scenarios that compel even as they mislead.  Interweaving elements form nature, history and contemporary culture conjures up landscapes populated with plants, wildlife, and otherworldly beings, evoking lost cultures and the Mardi Gras costumes that celebrate them.”

In Filling in the Blanks, Julie Brook Alexander unites two points of view in her diptychs.  The left side is a close up reflecting the desire to hold on to particular moments. Whereas, the right side are views taken from airplanes and helicopters representing the need to let go.

Alexander’s interest in this juxtaposition began as she watched a young cousin die from cancer.  Wanting to hold on while needing to let go happened over and over.  However, the feeling isn’t unique to cancer struggles, it is universal.  Alexander states, “The new work is based on the natural world, not about it.  The natural world becomes a metaphor for the spiritual one.  I take each photograph, compose the combinations, and print the final product in this ongoing series.”

Mistick Krewes and Filling in the Blanks will continue through May 14, 2016.

Pictured above: Kathryn Dunlevie, Tchoupitoulas, 2016, photomontage and acrylic on wood panel
Pictured below: Julie Brook Alexander, Adieu, 2016, archival inkjet print, ed. 1/7