PHOENIX -- Stephen Strom has spent most of his professional life as an astronomer looking mostly upward, searching the universe for patterns and with the hope of gaining some understanding of how the stars, our sun, and solar system came to be. He has also spent countless hours over the last four decades contemplating the desert underneath his feet. He was drawn to the changing patterns of the continuously sculpted landscape and the millennial forces that created the vast number of shapes and colors.
As a response to his examination of the patterns of earthbound forces and his exposure to extraterrestrial landscape images, he created this series on view in Bokeh Gallery March 1-30, 2014. The images represent thirty years of the artist’s personal exploration of the American landscape paired with photographs produced by Martian orbiters, rovers, and landers that NASA sent to Mars and its European counterpart, ESA over the past decades.
Stephen was drawn to the commonality of the emotional response and the patterns manifested in the images, created by similar processes. He states, “That these patterns are manifest on vastly different scales on different planetary surfaces speaks to the profound beauty inherent in forms which result from the action of universal physical laws over time and space; the interaction of the elemental: fire, earth, water, and air.”
Those displayed here were chosen both for their aesthetic qualities and their value in illustrating the action of familiar physical processes on another world. Shade Projects Art Program Director and the curator for the exhibition was drawn to the accessibility of the imagery. “The images look as if they were all taken on Earth, which allow the viewer to relate, but upon finding out that many are from Mars it expands their ability to contemplate other planets and what they are like on the surface.”
The exhibition is on display in the Bokeh Gallery at the monOrchid March 1-30, 2014 including events on first and third Friday (3/7 and 3/21) from 6-10pm, and during Art Detour (3/8 & 3/9) from 11am – 5pm. The monOrchid is located at 214 E Roosevelt St. in the heart of the downtown Phoenix arts district.
Contact
Justin Germain
602 253 0339
