This post submitted by Zaria Forman, artist and co-leader of the Chasing the Light journey to the western coast of Greenland. Zaria’s enthusiasm for drawing began early in her childhood, when she and her family traveled to some of the world’s most remote landscapes, the subject of her Mother’s fine art photography. A Cum laude graduate in Studio Arts from Skidmore College, Zaria has exhibited extensively at galleries and venues throughout the United States and overseas. She created a series of drawings that served as the set design for the classic ballet “Giselle”, which premiered in 2012 at the Grand Theatre of Geneva, Switzerland. A number of her drawings were used in the set design for “House of Cards”, a Netflix TV series directed by David Fincher and starring Kevin Spacey. Zaria, along with artist Lisa Lebofsky, will be at the Museum for one month starting on 4/26/13 as artists in residence. Come watch them at work.
I am thrilled to have the opportunity to spend one month creating original drawings at the New Bedford Whaling Museum in conjunction with Arctic Visions: Away then Floats the Ice-Island, and my mother’s exhibit, Following the Panther: Arctic Photographs of RBF. I look forward to working in such close proximity to Bradford’s masterful compositions, and I trust they will offer me steady inspiration in my attempts to capture the same landscape he depicted so memorably nearly 150 years ago. I dedicate this new body of work to my mother, who’s passionate artistic expression continues to guide me.
With my Greenland series I attempt to capture the ephemeral properties of arctic light. I am interested in the element of water and how it absorbs and reflects the light in its various forms. The forms that we easily recognize are water, cloud, and ice; these are essential elements that inspire my compositions. I am also interested in the transition between these states and enjoy the challenge of translating such sublime experiences into my work. The different forms of illuminated water give rise to the dreamy, atmospheric scenes that I hope will transport the viewer to this remote region of the earth, and even encourage action to preserve it.
