KLOMPCHING GALLERY is excited to launch its new Project Gallery, with the two-person exhibition Icebergs and Wildfires featuring the photographic artworks of Adriene Hughes and DM Witman.

The exhibition will open with a reception on Thursday, September 5, 6:00–8:00 p.m., with both artists in attendance.

Icebergs and Wildfires inaugurates the gallery’s expanded exhibition space, with a show that has been curated to be in-conversation with the featured solo exhibition—Anthem—in the main gallery.

Adriene Hughes’ Threaded Icebergs and Threaded Wildfires present a subtle statement upon environmental politics. Attention to this is brought about by handsewn threads, reminding us not only of the materiality of the photograph, but the vulnerability of nature and our cultural relationship to it. These are poetic images speaking about serious concerns. Each of the ten small-scale photographs are unique artworks, precious in size and revealing of nature. Alongside the dramatic icebergs of Greenland, are Californian forest scenes, imbued with a surreal coloration, brought about by infra-red photography diffused by wildfire smoke.

DM Witman’s work—Arctic Elegy—pays tribute to the disappearing icebergs of the Arctic. The historical photographs of William H. Pierce are appropriated and reconstructed, by combining red gouache with salt printing. In her statement about the series, and indeed the title itself, she clearly points to the idea, not of icebergs in the process of disappearing, but perhaps already having been i.e.—it’s already too late to halt their demise. In this context, while the salt print is a nod to the historical component of the work, the use of the color red might be seen to perform as a visual signal of distress. The five photographs on view are bold and graphic, reflecting a contemporary approach to 19th-century printing techniques.

Together, the two artists in Icebergs and Wildfires demonstrate an effective use of photographic techniques and application of materials—to bring attention to the serious subject of the state of the environment, in a manner that combines perfectly with the artists’ authorship and aesthetic.

DM Witman is an interdisciplinary artist working primarily with photographic media based in Maine.

Adriene Hughes is a San Diego-based multi-media artist, currently working with infrared technology, photography and video installation, focusing on grand landscapes and the effect of global warming on the environment.

Klompching Gallery was established in Dumbo, Brooklyn in 2007, and specializes in the exhibition and sale of contemporary fine art photographs. It represents an international roster of artists, including the critically-acclaimed Helen Sear, British/Australian artist Odette England, and Barcelona-based Max de Esteban. The gallery has placed photographs into numerous private and public collections, including the George Eastman Museum, MoCP and The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston among others.

Media and image requests, please contact Darren Ching at darren@klompching.com or +1 212 796 2070.

Sales inquiries, please contact Debra Klomp Ching at debra@klompching.com or +1 212 796 2070.