Penn Chan and Vanessa Kotovich: Visual Analogies – Gallery Guide

Vanessa Kotovich, Plate VI, Natura Series (detail), 2017

Penn Chan, Untitled, Second Growth Series (detail), 2017

CURATORIAL STATEMENT Visual Analogies: The Photography of Vanessa Kotovich and Penn Chan

Visual Analogies features the photography of two recent graduates, Penn Chan and Vanessa Kotovich, who explore themes of growth and decay, myth and reality, and the beautiful and grotesque. Penn Chan captures the beauty of destructive forces and nature’s resiliency in his series, Second Growth, while Vanessa Kotovich immerses the viewer in the surreal beauty and lush decay of idyllic sanctuaries in her series Natura.

Both artists embrace the discomfort of the world and investigate the extremes therein by creating imagery that is as unsettling as it is beautiful.

In her Natura series, Vanessa Kotovich reworks artistic traditions to employ a new system of visual aesthetics. In her photographs, she creates colorful, lush, and surreal scenes that recall historic botanical illustrations and Dutch still-life paintings.

For centuries, paintings of flowers—their colors and physical attributes – were used to represent different emotional states. Similarly, Kotovich’s staged compositions exude an expressive mood and character that creates a form of “visual empathy” between artist and viewer.

In his series Second Growth, Penn Chan examines the organic and unnatural manifestations of disaster. As with the rebirth that occurs following a wildfire, Second Growth reveals the thriving ecosystem that emerges from devastation.

(L) Vanessa Kotovich, Plate XIV, Natura Series (detail), 2017, (R) Penn Chan, Untitled, Second Growth Series (detail), 2017

Although Chan’s project spans the country, it culminates around the destruction caused by 2016’s Hurricane Matthew that caused widespread damage in the southeastern United States.

With the rapid increase in production and accessibility of images (such as Instagram and Snapchat), a significant shift has occurred in how we view and appreciate contemporary photography. Through the influence of mass image sharing, today’s photographers are challenged to differentiate their imagery, or perhaps embrace aspects of these popular social media platforms.

Vanessa Kotovich and Penn Chan are keenly aware of the changes underway in contemporary photography; in response, they each take different aesthetic and conceptual approaches that draw upon comparisons within their larger series, as well as with one another. Ultimately, both Kotovich and Penn represent a new generation of contemporary photographers who are visually grappling with the changing world – creating photographs that are as intimate as they are universal.

Heather Ferrell, Curator and Director of Exhibitions, and Kate Malmstrom, BCA Curatorial Intern

BIOGRAPHY Penn Chan (b. 1989, New York City, NY) currently lives and works between New Haven, Connecticut and Portland, Maine. In 2011 he received a BA in writing from Bard College and earned his MFA from the Yale School of Art in 2018, working in photography and video. His work has been featured most recently in a group show at David Zwirner gallery in Manhattan and ltd Los Angeles gallery in CA. Vanessa Kotovich (b. 1995, Sharon, CT) currently resides in Hinesburg, Vermont.

After graduating with a BA in art from Bard College in May 2017, she was awarded the Lugo Land residency in Emilia-Romagna, Italy. Prior exhibitions include solo shows in New York, Massachusetts, Vermont, and Italy.

BCA Exhibitions are funded in part by a grant from the Vermont Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts. Farrell Distributing and Sugar Snap Catering are proud sponsors of BCA Center exhibitions and events.

BCA’s See.Think.Do! gallery education program invites youth and adults to the BCA Center for an interactive arts experience. Visits last approximately 1-1.5 hours and begin in the gallery with open-ended questioning, discussion and hands-on activities.

Visits conclude in the studio classroom where students create their own original artwork to take home. Youth and adults may also arrange for a guided gallery tour led by the BCA gallery staff.

To schedule your visit please contact: Melinda Johns, Gallery Education and Programs Coordinator, at mjohns@burlingtoncityarts.org, or 802-865-7166.

Visit burlingtoncityarts.org/gallery-education for more information.

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