artist:

LORNA BIEBER

statement:

Although I come from a background in painting I have been exploring alternative photographic processes and techniques since 1988.

My photography has always been about alchemy. Central to my work is a deep-seated desire to uncover and reveal vital, hidden images trapped within pre-existing generic photographs. Exhaustive research and editing go into choosing precisely the right pictures, which I select from books and magazines. Many hours are then spent drawing on, cropping and collaging hundreds of photographs. By altering the “root” image in these ways, I create new “branches” whose narratives are utterly different from the original.

Each phase is as important as any other in my complex, many-layered method of production, and my pieces are as much about the process of creation as they are about the final narrative image. I spend five to eight months of preparation in the studio before each piece is ready to be printed in the darkroom in its final form as gelatin silver prints.

An important element in my “Home and Office,” “Dogs,” “Birds,” “Busts” and “Trees” series is that the image moves in and out of focus. By breaking up the picture in this manner the print no longer appears to have a solid and impenetrable surface. This gives the photograph the appearance of being a temporary and fragile apparition that could dissolve at any moment. This illusion, plus the large size of the print (about the size of a doorway), enhances the viewer's sensation that the photograph is a means of entry into a parallel world.

Thus, unlike traditional photographers I am not seeking to reproduce reality, but create it. I conjure up places which feel familiar though they obviously cannot exist. These fabricated spaces are ultimately brought to life through the observer’s unique capacity to be affected by memory, dreams and nostalgia. Viewers find these powerful images to be deeply emotional, conceptually innovative and visually haunting.

resume:

SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS:
2011
Addison Gallery of American Art, Andover, MA
Southeast Museum of Photography, Daytona Beach, FL

2010
Houston Center for Photography, Houston, TX

2008
Box Gallery, Santa Fe, NM

2007
C. Grimaldis Gallery, Baltimore, MD

2005
Beard Gallery, Wheaton College, Norton, MA

2004-5
Box Gallery, Santa Fe, NM

2003
McKenzie Fine Art, New York, NY

1997
I-20 Gallery, New York, NY
Thomas Barry Fine Arts, Minneapolis, MN

1996
Clementine Gallery, New York, NY

1995
Julie Saul Gallery, New York, NY

1990
CEPA Gallery, Buffalo, NY

1989
Midtown Y Photography Gallery, New York, NY

1988
Fashion Moda, Bronx, NY

1986
Bronx Museum (Satellite Gallery), Bronx, NY

1985
Woods-Gerry Gallery, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI

1984
ABC No Rio, New York, NY
Herter Gallery, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS:
2010
Anthology, Southeast Museum of Photography, Daytona Beach, FL

2008
The Elusive Surrounding Curator, Al Miner, C. Grimaldis Gallery, Baltimore, MD

2006
Through the Lens, C. Grimaldis Gallery, Baltimore, MD

2005
Summer ’05, C. Grimaldis Gallery, Baltimore, MD
Maximum Exposure, Inaugural Photography Auction Norton Museum of Art, West Palm Beach, FL
Through the Lens, C. Grimaldis Gallery, Baltimore, MD

2004
Creativity, Beyond The Norm (Curator, Justin Kronwetter), Ross Art Museum, Ohio Wesleyan University, Delaware, OH
Birdspace: A Post-Audubon Artist's Aviary (Curator, David Rubins), Contemporary Art Center, New Orleans, LA; Traveled to: Norton Museum of Art, West Palm Beach, FL; Chicago Cultural Center, Chicago, IL; Pepperdine University, Weisman Museum of Art, Malibu, CA
Fresh Work – Actualities (Curator, Kevin Miller), Southeast Museum of Photography, Daytona Beach, FL

2002-3
A Thousand Hounds (Curators, Ray Merritt & Miles), Paine-Webber Gallery , New York, NYBarth, Traveled to: Norton Museum of Art, West Palm Beach, FL; Columbus Museum of Art, Columbus, OH; Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, Canada; Delaware Art Museum, Wilmington, DE; Durham Western Heritage Museum, Omaha, NE

2000
Photo Forum 2000 (Curator, Ann Tucker), Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX

1999
Building Representation:Photography and Architecture, Contemporary Interactions (Curator, Deborah Martin Kao), Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA

1998
Three American Photographers, Fotoforum West, Innsbruck, Austria
Three American Photographers, Fotogalerie Wien, Vienna, Austria

1997
Process on Paper, Recent Acquisitions (Curator, Barbara Millstein) The Brooklyn Museum of Art, Brooklyn, NY

1996
Outtakes, Julie Saul Gallery, New York, NY
Photography, James Graham and Sons Gallery, New York, NY

1995-6
Hearth and Home (Curator, Janice Oresman), Champion International Corporation, Stamford, CT

1995
Choices, Julie Saul Gallery, New York, NY
Mother and Child Reunion, Caren Golden Fine Art, New York, NY
Split Level (Curators, Sally Heller & Lisa Davis Art in General), New York, NY

1992
Outsiders Masked Ball (Curator, Maurice Tuchman), L. A. County Museum of Art, L.A., CA
American Photography (Curator, Gervais Jassaud), School of Fine Art, Rheims, France
New Photography Acquisitions (Curator, Julia Van Haaften), New York Public Library, New York, NY
The Surrogate Figure (Curator, Julia Ballerini), Woodstock Center for Photography, Woodstock, NY; Traveled to: The Cooley Memorial Art Gallery,
Reed College, Portland, OR & Rosa Esman Gallery, NY, NY

1989
Invention and Continuity in Contemporary Photography (Curator, Ellen Handy)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Selected Photographs at the Brooklyn Museum (Curator, Barbara Millstein)
The Brooklyn Museum of Art, Brooklyn, NY
Fictive Strategies (Curator, Joseph Rauch), The Squibb Gallery, Princeton, NJ
Strange Past (Curator, Fred Wilson), Bronx Council on the Arts, Bronx, NY

1988
Female (Re)production (Curator, Marilu Knode), White Columns, New York, NY
1987
Metro Show (Curators, Peter Frank and Stefan Stux), City Without Walls, Newark, NJ Mary (Curator, Mark Wilson), Althea Viafora Gallery, New York, NY
Dollhouse (Curator, Thalia Doukas), Franklin Furnace, New York, NY

1986
Fresh Fruit for Rotten Vegetables, A&P Gallery, New York, NY

1984
East Village Show (Curators, Carlo McCormick & Walter Robinson), P.S. 1, Long Island City, NY
Art For Someone Else's Home (Curator, Susan Crowe), Fashion Moda, Bronx, NY
Xmas Time Extravaganza, 8 BC, New York, NY

SELECTED AWARDS and HONORS:
2009
Edward E. Elson, Artist-in-Residence, Addison Gallery of American Art, Andover, MA

2007-10
Fellow’s Executive Committee, The MacDowell Colony, NY, NY & Peterborough, NH

2005
Fellow, The MacDowell Colony, Peterborough, NH

2003
Fellow, Santa Fe Art Institute, Santa Fe, NM

2002
Fellow, Bogliasco Foundation, Genoa, Italy
Fellow, The MacDowell Colony, Peterborough, NH
Fellow, Virginia Center for Creative Arts, Sweet Briar, VA

2001
Artist-In Residence, Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin, Ireland
Fellow, Ucross Foundation, Clearmont, WY

2000
Fellow, The Rockefeller Foundation, Bellagio Study & Conference Center, Bellagio, Italy
Fellow, Yaddo, Saratoga Springs, NY
Fellow, The MacDowell Colony, Peterborough, NH
1999
Fellow, The Camargo Foundation, Cassis, France
Fellow, The MacDowell Colony, Peterborough, NH
Fellow, Fundacion Valparieso, Mojacar, Spain

1998
Lecturer, Fogg Art Museum, "Light Conversations: Seminars with Contemporary Photographers at the Fogg Art Museum,” Cambridge, MA.
Fellow, The MacDowell Colony, Peterborough, NH

1997
Fellow, Ucross Foundation, Lois Nellie Gill Award, Clearmont, WY

1989
Fellow, Yaddo, Saratoga Springs, NY

1986
Fellow, Altos de Chavon, La Romana, Dominican Republic

1983
Fellow, Cummington Community of the Arts, Cummington, MA

1980
Fellow, Wurlitzer Foundation, Taos, NM

1979
Fellow, Virginia Center for Creative Arts, Sweet Briar, VA
Fellow, Cummington Community of the Arts, Cummington, MA

SELECTED COLLECTIONS:
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris, France
Brooklyn Museum of Art, Brooklyn, NY
Norton Museum of Art, West Palm Beach, FL
Neuberger and Berman, New York, NY
Prudential Insurance Company, New York, NY
New York Public Library, New York, NY
Southeast Museum of Photography, Daytona Beach, FL
Franklin Furnace, New York, NY
I.B.M., New York, NY

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS:
2008
Miner, Al, “The Elusive Surrounding,” C. Grimaldis Gallery essay, May

2007
McNatt, Glenn, The Baltimore Sun, May 20, page 4E
Don Cook, BmoreArt blog, May 23, http://bmoreart.blogspot.com

2005
McNatt, Glenn, The Baltimore Sun, January 18, page 1C

2004
Weideman, Paul, The New Mexican/Pasatiempo Magazine, December 3-9, cover and pages 53-4
THE Magazine, December 2004 - January 2005, page 38
Genocchio, Benjamin, The New York Times, November 28, page 13 & September 5, 2004, page 11
Haus, Mary, ARTnews, June, cover and pages 96-7
Bookhardt, Eric, Art Paper, July/August, pages 44-5
Rubin, David, “Birdspace, A Post-Audubon Artists Aviary” Contemporary Arts Center,New Orleans, page 9

2002
Glueck, Grace, The New York Times, Feb, 1, Weekend, Fine Arts & Leisure Section, page 36
TimeOut New York, January 10-17, page 45

2000
Barth, Miles & Merritt, Ray,"A Thousand Hounds, the Presence of Dogs in
Photography" Taschen
Parnassus, 25th Anniversary Issue, page 323
Sulfur, The Final Issue 45/46, Spring, pages 44-5

1999
Temin, Christine, The Boston Globe , April 4

1997
Dalton, Jennifer, REVIEW, October 1, pages 9-10
Nahas, Dominique, REVIEW, October 1, pages 8-9
2wice, November, pages 30 and 35

1996
The New Yorker, October 21, 28, Goings On About Town, Photography
Dalton, Jennifer, REVIEW, November 1, pages 13-14
Wilkinson Jeanne C., REVIEW, November 1, page 34
Aletti, Vince, Village Voice, April 2, Voice Choices, page 10
The New Yorker, April 1, Goings On About Town, Photography

1995
Pedersen, Martin, “Fine Art Photography, 95,” Graphis, page 109
Zoom, Spring
Loke, Margaret, ARTnews, May, page 151
Schaffner, Ingrid, Artforum, August, page 92
Hagen, Charles, The New York Times, January 20, page C28
The New Yorker, Jan 23, 30, Feb. 6, Goings On About Town, Photography
New York Magazine, February 6, page 83

1992
Ballerini, Julia, Sulfur, October, 8 reproductions and an essay, pages 211-19
Aletti, Vince, Village Voice, June 23, Voice Choices, page 78
Aletti, Vince, Village Voice, March 24, Voice Choices, page 80
The New Yorker, March 16, Goings On About Town, Photography, page 14
Randy Gragg, Oregonian, February 9, Arts & Leisure Section pages, D1 and D4
Goldberg, Vicki, The New York Times, February, 9, Arts & Leisure Section, page 33

1989
Grundberg, Andy, The New York Times, August 13, page 33
Coleman, A.D., The New York Observer, July 31, page 19
Raynor, Vivien, The New York Times, March 12

1988
Raynor, Vivien, The New York Times, November 13, page 34

1987
Aletti, Vince,Village Voice, July 28, centerfold and page 45