Artists Space

See Around

April 26 – June 21, 2008

Brooklyn-based artist Christa Blatchford explores the conditions of seeing by translating location through personal and sensory reference. By focusing on her subject with an extended gaze, and slightly altering fragments frame by frame, she draws attention to elements normally passed over by the quick encounter.

A corner of a wall imposed with the text, "Christa Blatchford: See Around."
See Around. Installation view, Artists Space, 2008. Photo: Adam Reich. [A corner of a wall imposed with the text, "Christa Blatchford: See Around."]

Opening Reception
Friday, April 25, 6-8 pm

In See Around, a four-channel video installation, Blatchford examines the boundaries of place. Isolating herself for periods of time on an island, her prolonged view envelopes the viewer in four fragments. Constructed walls reflect the impromptu structures that exist on the island, serving as shelters that provide an intimate vantage point to visually navigate the surrounding landscape. The installation extends the psychological relationships in the film to the physical terrain, and the artist’s subtle manipulation of the perception of time, light, and location.

Born and raised in New England, Christa Blatchford is a video artist that examines perception through the study of object, place, and personal experience. Her work has been included in a number of group exhibitions in New York, Boston, and Cape Cod. Blatchford completed her MFA in Combined Media at Hunter College in 2005. She recently taught digital media at Hunter College and is currently conducting seminars around New York State for the New York Foundation for the Arts. This is Blatchford’s first solo exhibition in New York.

A dimmed room with three projections casting purple, gray, and aqua light against the walls. In the corner of the image is a small, circular seat.
See Around. Installation view, Artists Space, 2008. Photo: Adam Reich. [A dimmed room with three projections casting purple, gray, and aqua light against the walls. In the corner of the image is a small, circular seat.]
A dimmed room with three projections, one casting purple light, the other two depicting stills of shorelines. In the corner, a small, round seat is visible.
See Around. Installation view, Artists Space, 2008. Photo: Adam Reich. [A dimmed room with three projections, one casting purple light, the other two depicting stills of shorelines. In the corner, a small, round seat is visible.]
An image of a shoreline is projected on a trifold screen.
See Around. Installation view, Artists Space, 2008. Photo: Adam Reich. [An image of a shoreline is projected on a trifold screen.]

See Around Exhibition Handout

Curator: Meredith Johnson
Design: We Have Photoshop
Printing: GHP Media
Copyeditor: Stefania Heim

Christa Blatchford would like to thank Artists Space for this opportunity and in particular Meredith Johnson for her thoughtful feedback and support. The artist extends additional thanks to Thor Snilsberg, Asya Reznikov, Nicole Tschampel and Dan Walsh for their encouragement, advice, and technical support.

Artists Space would like to thank Christa Blatchford and Meredith Johnson for their creativity, enthusiasm, and generous assistance in making this exhibition possible. Sincere appreciation is also due to Sebastian Campos, Mike Gallagher, Rebecca Gimenez, and Andrew Shurtz of We Have Photoshop for their graphic design of this publication, and to Stefania Heim, who edited the text.

Exhibitions and programs at Artists Space are funded, in part, by Altria Group, Inc.; American Center Foundation; Harriet Ames Charitable Trust; Milton and Sally Avery Arts Foundation; the British Council; CAMPARI; Carnegie Corporation of New York; Con Edison; Consulate General of France; The Cowles Charitable Trust; The Danielson Foundation; Debs Foundation; Fondation Jean-Luc Lagardère; Foundation for Contemporary Arts; Gesso Foundation; Stephen A. and Diana L. Goldberg Foundation; Herman Goldman Foundation; The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation; The Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts; Greenwich Collection, Ltd.; Elise Jaffe + Jeffrey Brown; Jerome Foundation; JPMorgan Chase Foundation; Louise Bourgeois Trust; Betty Parsons Foundation; Puffin Foundation Ltd.; Starry Night Fund of the Tides Foundation; Strypemonde Foundation; The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts; and with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, a State Agency; the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs; and the National Endowment for the Arts.

This catalogue and exhibition were made possible through generous support from CAMPARI.

    Four images arranged horizontally. From left to right: solid gray-blue, a gray-blue toned image of a shoreline, a gray toned image of a shoreline, and a gray toned image of a shoreline with a subtle pink sunrise in the sky.
    Christa Blatchford, still from See Around, 2008. [Four images arranged horizontally. From left to right: solid gray-blue, a gray-blue toned image of a shoreline, a gray toned image of a shoreline, and a gray toned image of a shoreline with a subtle pink sunrise in the sky.]