Light Work to exhibit ‘Hudson Past/Perfect’

Light Work has announced the exhibition “Hudson Past/Perfect,” featuring photographs by Marna Bell, the winner of the Light Work/Community Darkrooms Members Juried Exhibition competition. The exhibition run Jan. 18-March 8. A gallery reception will be held Feb. 3, from 5-7 p.m.

Juror Stephen Mahan, director of the Photography & Literacy Project at Syracuse University, picked Bell as the winner, and awarded five honorable mentions to Jeremy Decharzo, Andy Frost, Genevieve Marshall, Meghan Schaetziel, and Mindy Lee Tarry.

In 2005, after the sudden death of her mother, Bell picked up her camera after a 20-year hiatus from painting and began photographing nature. Her focus in both painting and photography has been on reclaiming visions of the past and her connection to nature.

According to Bell, “Many trips back home to New York City on the train have helped me remember lost pieces of time where life seemed simpler and less veiled. It was a natural progression for me to record the cycle of change in my ‘Hudson Past/Perfect’ series. By revisiting the same landscapes in different seasons and under different weather conditions, I was able to capture the past before it disappeared. I am drawn to the meditative quality of the Hudson River and the sacred aspects of the natural environment. The series is reminiscent of a more romantic era, when God and nature were viewed as one.”

Bell received her B.F.A. from Pratt Institute and her M.F.A. from SU. Her paintings and photography have been featured in exhibitions throughout New York state, as well as at the Brenda Taylor Gallery in San Diego. She received the Best in Photography Award in the Manhattan Arts International Online Exhibition, “The Healing Power of Art” (New York, N.Y.).