Cole Barash photo exhibition
Stiya

15th(fri) Feb – 3rd(sun) Mar, 2019

Opening Reception : 2/15 FRI 7-9pm

At gallery commune

At first, I hadn’t made the connection between the two events and was naturally drawn out into photographing the storm and the aftermath. I spent a few days hiking the dunes, the beaches, the ponds and woods, focusing on areas that had been impacted by the storm and areas that hadn’t changed at all. Later realizing that in its seclusion, the space of a storm can be much like the space of a delivery room. The pressure, the buildup, the excitement and fear that come along with witnessing this incredible transformation of energy. Both spaces exclusive to the elements involved in conceiving the change, I was so curious. What was this going to look like?

We were on high alert to be prepared and expect the worst. Receiving notifications, one after another that the Nor’Easter storm Stella was coming. With record breaking winds at 75 miles per hour in Wellfleet, MA where two days prior, we had welcomed our first child, Iya into the world.

The labor lasted four long days and in that time I was drawn to the obscurities in the room. The mirror was especially interesting, providing an alternative perspective to the room and to the relationship between the medical personal and my wife. The variety of shapes and tools, the strong bodily language and communication that was happening in the final stages of delivery to the heroic and monumental moments of my child taking her first breath of fresh air. I was intrigued by all the elements that came together to create the landscape where I was going to have the most important and beautiful experience of my life.

Stiya is the newest body of work from the Brooklyn based artist, Cole Barash. He uses a unique hyper-focused approach in a study of two pure forms of raw energy, a Nor’Easter storm and the birth of a child. Through composition and sequence, this work considers the experience of these two worlds as one.

Cole Barash
Cole Barash (b.1987) is a visual artist based in Brooklyn, NY. Working in the mediums of digital, analog, and archival photography, Barash often focuses on the conversation of color and composition between two objects or moments. Well acquainted with international subcultures, Cole seeks “subjects where the boundaries are more open and not as seasoned”. Using an organic approach, his portraiture and still lifes became known for their candid and spontaneous sense of intimacy. His book, Grimséy (2015) was published by The Silas Finch Foundation and subsequently recognized by TIME as one of the top photobooks of 2015. Images from Grimsey have been displayed in a solo exhibition at the National Museum of Iceland in 2017. Barash’s most recent book, Smokejumpers (2017) presents a vision in o the truly inaccessible world of wildland firefighters and was shortlisted for the 2017 Anamorphosis Prize becoming part of the Franklin Furnace Archive as well as the collection at the MoMA Library.

【Awards & Residencies】
The Anamorphosis Prize, 2017 Shortlist
SILOS, Caldas da Rainha, Portugal, 2016 Artist-in-Residence
Adios Arts, Nicaragua, 2014 Artist-in-Residence
PDN’S Top 30, 2009 Emerging Photographer