The 29th Annual Light Work Grants in Photography were recently awarded to Central New York residents John Dowling, Rhea Garen and Wilka Roig. Winners of the grants, which recognize the best photographers, critics, and photo historians residing in Central New York, are given a cash prize of $1,000. In addition, the award winning portfolios will be featured in an upcoming edition of Contact Sheet and in a group exhibition at Light Work, 316 Waverly Ave. The exhibition will run from June 1-August 14, with a reception for the artists to be held June 26 from 6-8 p.m. Gallery hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. daily, except for University holidays.
Dowling, of Syracuse, collects and researches historical photography and recently acquired a rare set of glass-plate negatives. His submitted works are prints taken from the negatives, which were made by U.S. Naval officer Asa Mattice onboard the Juanita as he photographed ships at sea and in port during an expedition through Asia from 1883-1885. The Juanita patrolled the seas of the West Indies during the Civil War and gained notoriety capturing English ships trading with the Confederacy.
Dowling was the recipient of a graduate studies scholarship and received a Master of Arts degree in photojournalism from Syracuse University in 1999. He has won numerous awards for his photography, including the CASE Award for Best Cover Photograph and Photo Essay.
Ithaca's Rhea Garen submitted work made up of a group of panoramas shot over various periods of time. They reflect her interest in color, shape, and attitude, as well as her desire to show changes in time and motion with still images.
Garen received a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Cornell University and a Master of Fine Arts Degree from the University of Illinois School of Art and Design. She was the 2000-2001 Cornell University Council of the Arts Grant Award recipient, and her work has been displayed in numerous exhibitions. Garen was also a Light Work Grant recipient in 1994.
Roig, also of Ithaca, uses a spontaneous, low-tech approach to her photography. Her self-portraits are documents of her day-to-day confrontations with private life experiences. Of her work, Roig states, "I am looking to facilitate an intimate relationship between the photographs and their viewers, intensified and complemented by the multiple identities of the self I have recorded."
Roig is currently employed as a darkroom manager in the Cornell University Department of Art. Her work was on display earlier this year as part of a group show in the String Room Gallery at Wells College, as well as in the State of the Art Gallery 2003 14th Annual Juried Show held in Ithaca.
The judges for the 2003 Light Work Grant competition were Deborah Jack, Julio Grinblatt, and Sunil Gupta.
Jack is an artist and writer from the Caribbean island of St. Martin. Her work has been featured in numerous exhibitions, as well as in many public and private collections. She is currently working as a visiting professor for the University of Buffalo and will be an artist in residence with Light Work in July 2003.
Grinblatt was born in Buenos Aires, and is currently living in New York City. He was an adjunct professor in the Visual Arts Department of SUNY College at Old Westbury from 2001-2002, and his photography has been showcased in many exhibitions and featured and reviewed in numerous international publications.
Born in New Delhi, India, Gupta is an artist, photographer and curator now residing in London. He graduated from the Royal College of Art in London in 1983 and went on to showcase his work in exhibitions around the world. He holds numerous awards and recognitions for his work.
The grant program is part of Light Work's ongoing effort to provide support and encouragement to artists working in photography. The grants also aim to foster an understanding and appreciation for the photographic arts in Central New York. For more information, contact Anisha Joseph at Light Work at 443-1300.
