VISUAL ARTS + MUSEUMS

Beginning January 1, Spacetaker will host The Specter of Nature, a solo exhibition by Houston-based fine art photographer Stephanie Anne Clark, as a part of its ARC Exhibition series.

In her exhibition The Specter of Nature, Clark creates hybrid images in an effort to explore relationships between materiality and ideals within representation– cutting and staging photographs and decorative materials to reframe them through a lens of fantasy and make believe. Merging knowledge of digital media, studio practice and traditional forms, she creates a type of hybrid image that moves beyond the photograph.

The whimsical nature of Clark’s images is a result of a playful layering of topics such as visual culture, storytelling, religion, feminism, and psychology. Using light and shadow as symbols of hope and potential, the artist creates spaces where figures and forms merge and emerge; much like the human experience where the known and the unknown, the real and the unreal, are investigated within the murky depths of the subconscious.

“I believe these images are manifestations of a longing for a different place, one that exists beyond the material world, and is found in a space of make believe,” says Clark. “I hope each audience member leaves the gallery with a newfound appreciation for the transformative quality of such ubiquitous subjects as the decorative and the photograph.”

The Opening Reception for The Specter of Nature is Saturday, January 8 from 5-7 p.m. and the exhibition will be up at Spacetaker’s ARC Gallery through January 29, 2011.

About the Artist:
Stephanie Anne Clark is native to the Houston area, and has studied the arts at Rice University and Rochester Institute of Technology.  Learn more about Stephanie at www.stephanieanneclark.com.  

About Spacetaker:
Spacetaker is a 501(c)3 professional organization and Artist Resource Center located in Houston’s First Ward whose mission it to provide artists and small non-profits access to economic development, continuing education, and networking opportunities to support their professional growth.