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Immersed and Submerged

Sage Sohier

April 5 – May 12, 2019

Sage Sohier, Nymphaea 11 (small white flower in center of grasses and a few lily pads/ submerged birch), 2018
Sage Sohier, Nymphaea 3 (red lily pad underside in the midst of green), 2018
Sage Sohier, Nymphaea 4 (large serrated lily pads at sunrise), 2018
Sage Sohier, Nymphaea 14 (submerged maple, felled by beaver, among pond grasses), 2018
Sage Sohier, Nymphaea 2 (submerged fern), 2018
Sage Sohier, Nymphaea 16 (submerged red maple leaves/reflected blue sky), 2018
Sage Sohier, Nymphaea 15 (rock, bright spot of light, small green lily pads), 2018
Sage Sohier, Nymphaea 1 (submerged autumn leaves near clump of pond grass), 2018
Sage Sohier, Nymphaea 6 (submerged grasses and pads moving), 2018
Sage Sohier, Nymphaea 5 (red leaf floating between grasses/blue sky reflection), 2018
Sage Sohier, Nymphaea 17 (carpet of floating autumn leaves against black water), 2018
Sage Sohier, Nymphaea 18 (lily pads and reflected green of trees on shore/red and orange pad in foreground), 2018

Foley Gallery is pleased to present Immersed and Submerged, a solo exhibition featuring new photographs by Sage Sohier. This will be the artist’s 5th solo exhibition with the gallery. 

For the last 20 years, Sage Sohier has spent as much time as possible in a canoe on a pond in the mountains of New Hampshire. Her grandfather was a naturalist, who taught her how to paddle a canoe and how to walk silently in the woods. Her mother has always been an avid bird-watcher, and Sage joined her in this enthusiasm in middle age. 

The play of light on and through the water, the effects of wind, the cloud cover, the reflections, are always changing with the time of day and the seasons, and there is always something new to observe. 

Sohier found herself immediately captivated by the challenge of capturing interesting frames when everything was in motion: her canoe was drifting, the aquatic plants were swayed by wind and wave action, and the light on and through the water was constantly changing. The mixture of what’s on and below the surface, as well as what’s reflected, creates something complex and mysterious, avoiding showing the horizon, so as to add to the non-linear abstract quality of the compositions.

The optical properties of water are exquisite and surprising; add sunlight, wind, ever-changing sky, color, and form, and it becomes a mesmerizing cocktail. 

Sage Sohier (b. 1954) has been photographing people in their environments for more than 30 years.  Her work is in several public collections including the Museum of Modern Art, The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, The Cleveland Museum of Art, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, The Portland Art Museum, and The Brooklyn Museum.  She received her B.A. from Harvard University.

Immersed and Submerged is on view through May 12th, 2019. Foley Gallery is open Wednesday through Saturday, 11 – 5:30pm and Sunday from 12-5pm. To request images; please contact the gallery at info@foleygallery.com.