By Mark Jenkins

Experimental photographer Colby Caldwell has two interests that might seem incompatible: nature and digital distortion. For his Hemphill Artworks show, “over & under,” Caldwell hauled flatbed scanners into the woods to grab close-ups of the forest floor or, less often, panoramas of sky framed by treetops. The bulk of these wax-coated pictures are crisp and detailed, but they’re partly tinted in electric shades of red and pink and punctuated by swipes and swooshes of random pixels. Here and there, traditional nature imagery melts into computer-generated incoherence.

By Louis Jacobson

Caldwell’s forest floor images live up to their early promise, depicting natural elements within wavy glitches, unreal pink-hued distortions, and adventures in broken vertical hold settings. One work, “otff_(23),” includes a spectrum-like pattern that could be a crypto-homage to the Washington Color School, while another, “otff_(12),” suggests a Robert Motherwell abstract expressionist canvas limned in shades of brown and pink. But Caldwell’s photographs of the forest canopy and the sky more than hold their own. The skyward images are more conventional—essentially free of the digital glitchiness seen in the forest-floor works; as such, they offer a respite from the dizzying brambles below. 

Open to the public

Join us for a walk-through and discussion of the exhibition over & under with artist, Colby Caldwell. Complimentary coffee from our neighbors at Brew'd.

Exhibition on view May 14 - June 25, 2022

Seating is Limited, Registration Required.This event is currently at capacity, please register for the waiting list. In the event a ticket becomes available we will notify you by June 7.

"Now, What is Photography?" a panel discussion, brings together three viewpoints from the art world, journalism, and academia. The participants will address the subtle and dramatic changes in photography brought about by digital technology and social media. The panelists include Vesna Pavlović, a fine art photographer, educator, and recipient of the Fulbright Scholar Award; Lucian Perkins, a two-time Pulitzer Prize winning photojournalist; and Colby Caldwell, whose current exhibition was created with the radical use of standard office digital scanners in place of a camera. 

"Now, What is Photography?" is presented in conjunction with Colby Caldwell: over & under.

Since 1998, the ART TALKS series at Hemphill has included educational lectures on topics such as collecting for beginners, artist talks, and panel discussions on issues in contemporary art.