Opening Reception: Thursday, August 1st (6-9pm)
Exhibition Dates: August 1 – September 1, 2019
7 Franklin Place
New York, NY 10013
July 20, 2019
For Immediate Release:
NYA Gallery is pleased to present NY Rambling: Drawing Light from the Shadows, a solo exhibition of large-scale charcoal drawings by Miriam Innes. In 2018, the artist embarked on an ambitious new project centered on the production of a series of drawings exploring historically significant sites and neighborhoods in Manhattan. Through the use of an organic medium—charcoal—the artist prompts spectators to consider the evolving and fraught relationship between the natural and built environments. Wielding humble sticks of charcoal and consulting photographic source material, Innes masterfully re-creates sweeping urban vistas that feature iconic New York landmarks and neighborhoods. The artist encourages viewers to contemplate the significance of light in a city cast in shadows; protecting light and air is an ongoing concern in this densely packed metropolis. Wiith the push and pull of the dense charcoal against the whiteness of the paper, the artist is mindful of drawing out the light from the shadows. She will complete the final panel in the series on site at New York Art (NYA) Center in the days leading up to the opening. An exhibition catalog—with an original essay about Innes and the NY Rambling project by Regina Clery—will accompany the show.
The exhibition will open to the public on Thursday, August 1st with a reception from 6-9pm. The show will remain on view until Sunday, September 1st. Visitors may see works during regular gallery hours: Monday through Sunday, 12-5pm. For more information, please call (917) 472-9015 or email press@newyorkart.com. After its New York debut, NY Rambling will travel to Brisbane, Australia for the second half of the exhibition tour at Logan City Art Gallery, opening February 2020.
Miriam Innes in the studio.
About the Artist
Miriam Innes is best known for her large, dynamic charcoal drawings. Born in 1979, she grew up surrounded by the unique environment of the peat bogs found in western Ireland. Her work explores the natural material of charcoal and the man-made environment. Innes relates to charcoal—her primary medium—and draws parallels to it with the black bog oak found in the area where she grew up. As a child, she drew pictures with this natural material. As such, drawing with charcoal is a reminder of her origins—a connection to the land and a representation of her humble upbringing.
She also investigates the medium of charcoal and its new exciting relationship with more contemporary materials. Charcoal, aluminum, and resin make for a new and innovative combination of media. This experimental work is more concerned with the possibilities of man-made materials and their relationship to the organic medium of charcoal. Her first completed panel employing this new technique “Reclaimed: A Journey Back to Nature” hung in the prestigious Collie Art Award, W.A. and Clayton Utz Art Award, Q.L.D. 2018.
Innes received her Bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts in 2003 and has traveled worldwide, spending time in Asia, the United States, Europe, the Middle East, and eventually settling in Brisbane, Australia. The artist was awarded the Regional Arts Development Fund for 2018. So far in 2019, she has exhibited her work in the United Arab Emirates, Germany, and Texas. Innes is represented by Traffic Jam Galleries, Sydney; Red Sea Gallery/ Artmarketspace, Australia; and Novus Gallery, Abu Dhabi. Currently, she resides between Brisbane and the U.A.E.
About NYA Gallery
New York Art (NYA) Gallery is a multipurpose cultural institution conceived as a significant site for artistic expression and discussion, serving as a nexus for practitioners, curators, dealers, critics, and collectors in Manhattan. Initially an iPhone app (NewYorkArt·com) designed to connect artists with collectors and make navigating the art market more manageable, after 8 successful years NYA developed into a brick-and-mortar gallery in March 2019. In addition to mounting solo and group exhibitions, the gallery offers studio stalls and exhibitor booths, art storage facilities, and a suite of other services, such as framing, stretching, and crating. Shane Townley is the founder of NYA Gallery.
For press inquiries, please call (917) 472-9015 or email press@newyorkart.com.
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