Emerging artist Alex Unthank's photography exhibition, Mundane Push opens at Harlem's Hamilton Landmark Galleries on November 7 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Running through November 16, Unthank's art work highlights the often overlooked rich visual stimuli that inform the New York City urban aesthetic experience.
Unthank's inspiration can be attributed to her acute fascination with the inherent patterns present in both the natural and urban environments. Having studied print making abroad at Il Bisonte in Florence, Italy, and with internationally recognized Cuban master printmaker Edwardo Salazar Roca "Choco" in his Havana studio, as well as stateside at the renowned Robert Blackburn Print Making Workshop (RBPMW) in New York City, her scholastic and professional training have allowed her to hone her talents. Unthank says:
Learning something new is a great way to revitalize myself. I have been integrating the photographs into the printmaking basis. I don't call myself a photographer in the traditional sense. I am using photography as a vehicle to express this particular body of work. My photographs are a reference for things... like "post-it" notes where I can go back and explore them later to see what types of options the medium provides for me.
Her work is a fascinating representation of the confluence of patterns inspired by the urban milieu and natural landscapes. Unthank approaches her cityscape photographs with scientific detail. According to the artist, "it is important to break down the everyday organic forms by moving from chaos to order in the hopes of achieving a greater awareness of the concept of man versus his natural environment."
Unthank recently completed stints as studio assistant at RBPMW in New York and as a teaching assistant at the Penland School of Crafts in Ashville, North Carolina, working in lithography, etching, water color monotype and woodcut techniques.
Hamilton Landmark Galleries is located at 467 West 144th Street, New York, NY 10031. For more information about the exhibit call 212-281-7667. To learn more about Alex Unthank, visit www.Alexunthank.com.