Jeff Olson: North Woods II, 2008

PETER HAY HALPERT FINE ART

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Jeff Olson North Woods II

February 28- April 12, 2008

Opening reception with the artist: Thursday, February 28, 2008, 6-8 PM

Peter Hay Halpert Fine Art is pleased to announce the first solo exhibition of photographs by Jeff Olson from the series North Woods II. The exhibition will open on Thursday, April 17 and close on Saturday, May 31. A reception for the artist will be held on Thursday April 17 from 6:00 to 8:00 PM. 

North Woods II is a series of large-scale photographs taken over the course of two years. Begun in the fall of 2005, the work explores life in an isolated area of New Hampshire that is representative of rural, small town America. Olson follows a select cast of young people, capturing moments of minor significance. Through his use of colour and light, Olson infuses these images with a sense of emotional content that is more perceived than understood.

Olson’s nostalgia and distinct connection to his past and its relationship to the multiple rural areas he was raised in are a constant presence in these pictures.  He spent the substantial periods of his childhood documenting his consistently changing lifestyle as he moved around rural areas across the country. Working first with a camera he found when he was 8 years old (only to have it sold a year later), he received another camera four years later as a gift. These two cameras, one lost and the other a reclamation of the potential its predecessor suggested, enabled Olson to document what he saw on his journeys. His images reflect the solitude of his childhood experiences, as processed through a more mature eye.