Satellite Events

As summer turns to fall, the angle of the sun’s rays becomes more acute and the shadows they cast grow more pronounced. This new light alters which details are accentuated or recede. In Raking Light, the interplay of light and shadow features prominently in the works of the four artists on view. Through distinct processes, these artists encourage a renewed examination of our surroundings to discover hidden details, patterns, and meaning in the everyday. 

Polly Bech and Jean Burdick’s works are examinations of time and patterns. Bech uses a photosensitive process of solar printing on fabric to cast permanent shadows which create patterns that evoke a canopy of leaves.  Burdick draws inspiration from the layering of light, shadow, pattern, texture and color in her paintings and prints. Each layer she creates magnifies, overlaps, obscures or otherwise enhances the layers that came before. 

Meegan Coll and Jennifer Brinton Robkin find solace and opportunities for contemplation in their surroundings. For Coll, inspiration often comes from time spent canoeing on the Schuylkill River. In her paintings she channels the magical feeling of being alone on the water, witnessing the sun rising, and the way the light transfigures the Philadelphia skyline. Robkin uses her photography practice as an opportunity to exercise curiosity and discover new concepts of form and content, as she decides what to reveal, and what to leave hidden in the shadows.

This collection of work invites you to consider the ways in which a subtle shift, be it natural, man, or even artist made can affect what we perceive.