Penelope Umbrico

New York-based artist Penelope Umbrico is contributing two series to this show, that will surround the grand staircase of the Drake. Seeming to float like bubbles up the wall, as one climbs the stairs, will be her Mirrors. For this series, images were sampled from decorating magazines, enlarged to the actual size of the mirror and reverse-mounted onto plexiglas. The objects themselves are flawless and jewel-like, while the images have a pixilated quality, reminiscent of pointillism.


Penelope Umbrico, selected works from the series Mirror (From Catalog), 2001-2007, archival digital print and plaxiglas, various sizes

Collapsing like a deck of cards, as one walks down the stairs, will be Umbrico's series Honeymoon Suite (Grounded). A collection of images of sunsets extracted from honeymoon vacation brochures and printed in a variety of sizes, that in effect, create an abstract staccato rhythm, lined up along a ledge on the wall. The piece will be positioned so that patrons will pass beneath the installation as they walk down the stairs.


Penelope Umbrico, Honeymoon Suite (Grounded), 2005, archival digital prints (installation shot, curtesy of p|m gallery

Penelope Umbrico is the chairperson of the MFA Photography program at Bard College. She has exhibited extensively throughout North America, as well as Europe and Asia; and her photo-based works are in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art; The Museum of Modern Art, NYC and the International Centre for Photography, NYC, among others. Also this spring, Umbrico will have a solo show at Boston's Bernard Toale Gallery . For more information on the work of Penelope Umbrico, please contact me.