Bridgette Mayer Gallery presents The Windows, a solo exhibition by Eileen Neff
November 2 - December 31, 2021.
Extended Hours & Artist Reception: Friday, November 12, 5:00 - 7:30pm
Philadelphia, PA - October 23, 2021. Bridgette Mayer Gallery is pleased to announce its third solo exhibition with gallery artist Eileen Neff. The Windows, will be on view from Tuesday, November 2 to Friday, December 31, 2021, with extended hours and an artist reception on Friday, November 12 from 5:00 to 7:30pm. The Windows will feature a collection of new and recent photographs that will be exhibited to the public for the first time. In a conversation about her exhibition and recent works, Neff had to say:
I’ve always been aware of how gifted I am by the windows of my studio/apartment, but never more so than this last year and a half of necessary seclusion. And the particular inspiration of the Summer Solstice, when the setting sun casts its deepening light on my eastern walls, once again turned this annual visit into a generative source of work. With my back to the windows, I also reconsidered what was already hanging on my walls, my printed-to-scale taped together test prints for work I was planning for this year’s New Grit: Art & Philly Now exhibition at the Philadelphia Museum of Art; in this new, sequestered world, the taped images, which I had long been living with and which had always been of interest to me, now held my attention in a heightened way. And my ongoing practice of photographing the Period Room windows at the PMA, (represented by Border Crossing in New Grit), also makes an appearance here, as I reproduced another museum window and subjected it to the seasonal light across my studio walls, conflating the museum experience with that of the studio, and ultimately retelling its story in the gallery.
In preparation for this November’s outing, several years of work not yet exhibited in the gallery wanted to come forward, and I’ve selected a few to accompany the work encouraged by my windows. While under their spell, I was still feeling close to what was out of sight – the landscapes remembered – and these memories and experiences were compounded for this exhibition, with my concentrated studio time leading the way.
About the Artist:
Having formally studied literature (B.A. Temple University) and painting (B.F.A. Philadelphia College of Art; M.F.A. Tyler School of Art) Eileen Neff has been working with photo-based images and photo/installations since 1981. Neff is inspired by both historic and contemporary concepts of picturing the natural and constructed world, and her work includes an investigation of studio practice itself among her sources. Drawing on her multi-disciplinary background, Neff often blurs the line between nature and art, embracing forms of display and presentation within the sites of exhibition as another critical layer of consideration. Neff is particularly pleased to be showing her work at Bridgette Mayer Gallery once again, as she feels the work completes itself with its installation in the space of a gallery.
In addition to the Bridgette Mayer Gallery, Neff’s work has been exhibited in solo shows at Rosenbach Museum and Library in Philadelphia; the Royal Hibernian Academy in Dublin, Ireland; and the Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia. She has been in many group exhibitions, at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Michener Art Museum, the Fabric Workshop and Museum, and Wave Hill, among others. Neff’s work is represented in the collections of institutions including the Hood Museum, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Neff has received awards including a John S. Guggenheim Fellowship in Photography, a Pew Fellowship in the Arts, and a National Endowment for the Arts Grant. She is currently a Resident Critic at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.
Gallery Information: Bridgette Mayer Gallery free and open to the public. We are located at 709 Walnut Street, 1st Floor, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Gallery hours are Tuesday – Saturday, 10:00am – 5:00pm.
COVID Policies: The health and safety of our community is our highest priority, and we are expanding our cleaning and safety protocols to abide by city guidelines. Gallery staff will continue to monitor and match our policies according to Philadelphia guidelines.
For further information, please contact Bridgette Mayer at: bmayer@bmayerart.com.
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