WaterLand: A Solo Exhibition by Donna J. Wan
Opening Reception: Friday February 15, 6-9:00pm
Exhibition: February 15 - March 27, 2013
Gallery Carte Blanche is pleased to announce the
opening of WaterLand, a solo exhibition
by Donna J. Wan on Friday, February 15th, 2013.
WaterLand:
Water has always been an important theme in art - both
as a vital element for humans and the planet and as a sacred symbol of purity.
Water covers 71 percent and 140 million square miles of the Earth’s surface. It
is a source of life, food, beauty and recreation, and the center of rising
environmental concerns. We all use water - in our homes, at work, at play, and
in our industries - and we are all part of and responsible for its condition
and future. As water becomes a scarce resource, it threatens to change almost
every aspect of our lives.
Through her photographs, Donna J. Wan doesn’t try to
make a political statement about humankind’s impact on the environment. She
observes and reports what she sees about how people experience and are affected
by water. Our footprints on the landscape are unmistakably visible in her work,
but her photographs invite us to reflect on how our perceptions and identities
are shaped by the land and the water surrounding it. More than beautiful sceneries, her work highlights the
different ways in which we experience and interact with water in the landscape
- for recreation, function, or contemplation. She shows us that water can be a source of enjoyment, peace,
awe, and even fear. But, because
humankind continues to squander and pollute it, her photographs also inevitably
question what is at stake if we continue to alter the landscape and the role of
water in it. At our current pace of development and water usage, will scenes
like the ones captured in her photographs soon become visions of the past?
WaterLand, Donna
J. Wan opens on Friday, February 15th
and runs through March 27th, 2013.
An opening reception in presence of the artist will be held on Friday, February
15th from 6pm–9pm.
About the Photographer:
Donna J. Wan was born in
Taiwan and now lives in the San Francisco Bay Area. After receiving a BA in economics from Stanford University
and working in the corporate world for a few years, Donna decided to pursue her
love for art, and completed a MFA from the San Francisco Art Institute in
2008. Having grown up in New York
City, she only recently developed an interest in the natural world.
Donna’s landscape
photographs reflect a continual search for her to understand and express how
perceptions and identities are shaped by the landscapes that surround us. She takes photographs in both the
United States and Asia and in both the natural and built environments.
