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Worthington Whittredge Newport, 1862

Worthington Whittredge
Newport, 1862
Oil on canvas
13 x 25 inches
WWp 1

Dan Torop G.W. Etc., 2001

Dan Torop
G.W. Etc., 2001
Chromogenic print
16 3/4 x 21 3/4 inches
DTh01

William Trost Richards

William Trost Richards
Along the Shore, New Jersey, 1870
Oil on canvas
14 3/8 x 26 3/8 inches
WTp 2

William Trost Richards

William Trost Richards
Shoal Water, 1900
Oil on canvas
34 1/4 x 60 inches
WTp 1

Adam Straus Air and Water, Long Island Grays, 2009

Adam Straus
Air and Water, Long Island Grays, 2009
Oil on canvas
18 1/2 x 19 1/4 inches
ASTp 2

Charles Seliger Ways of Nature: 15, 2008

Charles Seliger
Ways of Nature: 15, 2008
Acrylic, matte gel, and beeswax varnish on gessoed masonite
16 x 20 inches
CSGp 1

Fairfield Porter Bright Day on the Beach, 1973

Fairfield Porter
Bright Day on the Beach, 1973
Oil on masonite
18 x 22 inches
FPp 3

John Marin The Sea, 1923

John Marin
The Sea, 1923
Watercolor on paper
13 5/8 x 16 3/4 inches
JMARd 1

John Marin Movement in Blue Sepia

John Marin
Movement in Blue Sepia
1950
Watercolor on paper
14 1/2 x 20 inches
JMARp 1

Pam Longobardi Sleeping Giant (Drifters), 2006

Pam Longobardi
Sleeping Giant (Drifters), 2006
chromogenic print on Fujiflex Crystal Archive paper
33 x 50 inches
1/3
PLh 2

Andrew Lenaghan Rockaway Surf, 2007

Andrew Lenaghan
Rockaway Surf, 2007
Oil on panel
32 x 49 inches
AnLp 487

Lino Lago Sea, 2013

Lino Lago
Sea, 2013
oil on canvas
35 1/2 x 35 1/2 inches
LiLap 31

Chris Jordan Gyre, 2009

Chris Jordan
Gyre, 2009
Archival inkjet print
96 x 112 inches
Edition of 3

Chip Hooper Surf #1082, 2003

Chip Hooper
Surf #1082, 2003
Silver print
44 1/4 x 56 inches
2/5
CHh 1

Pat de Groot

Pat de Groot
Beach Under Water, 2005
Oil on board
12 x 11 inches

Lynn Davis Iceberg V. Dishko Bay, Greenland, 2004

Lynn Davis
Iceberg V. Dishko Bay, Greenland, 2004
Selenium toned gelatin silver print
40 x 40 inches
Edition of 10

Vija Celmins Lead Sea #2, 1969

Vija Celmins
Lead Sea #2, 1969
Graphite on paper
12 5/8 x 17 5/8 inches
VCd1

William Bradford A Calm Afternoon, Coast of Labrador, 1874

William Bradford
A Calm Afternoon, Coast of Labrador, 1874
Oil on canvas
18 3/8 x 30 1/2 inches
WBRp 01

Dozier Bell 8 Knots, 2012

Dozier Bell
8 Knots, 2012
Charcoal on mylar
3 x 4 1/2 inches
DBd 1

Press Release

George Adams Gallery is pleased to announce its summer 2013 exhibition, SEESCAPE, organized with the gallery by independent curator Edward Boyer. The artists included are: Dozier Bell, William Bradford, Vija Celmins, Lynn Davis, Pat de Groot, Chip Hooper, Chris Jordan, Lino Lago, Andrew Lenaghan, Pamela Longobardi, John Marin, Joel Meyerowitz, Fairfield Porter, Charles Seliger, William Trost Richards, Adam Straus, Hiroshi Sugimoto, Dan Torop and Worthington Whittredge.

 

Spanning almost a century and a half of painting, drawing and photography, the exhibition explores the evolution of maritime representation from the sublime to the political. In its origin 400 years ago, maritime painting initially documented naval encounters in support of imperial expansion. Later ship portraits, the whaling and fishing industry and yachting events were important subjects, but the sea itself became the actual subject of works of art only with the advent of the European discourse on the Sublime in the 18th century.

 

Mid-19th century American artists such as Bradford, Richards, and Whittridge were exploring the grandeur of nature, emphasizing the infinitely mutable sea as a metaphor for spiritual transcendence. By the early and mid-20th century, artists such as Marin and Porter focused on the expressive power of the sea, while contemporary artists such as  Celmins, Davis, Lago, Lenaghan, Straus, and Sugimoto reference their 19th Century predecessors by exploring the effect of photography on contemporary realism – and traditional realism on contemporary photography.

 

The sea has also become a vehicle for political expression for artists such as Chris Jordan and Pamela Longobardi who address the polluting effects of global commerce, overpopulation, and climate change; in the 21st century, the sea as subject is less a metaphor of transcendental space than a very real place systematically being destroyed by human profligacy and waste.