Holly Gordon : Journey To The Extreme

Holly Gordon, a seasoned Long Island photographer, explored this fascinating environment firsthand. Antarctica is an ecosystem undergoing rapid and visible change, much like many environments around the world. Its stark, pristine nature echoes the alarming global transformations currently underway. Gordon captures the continent’s vastness, chilling fragility, and profound beauty. In the twenty-first century, it is imperative to remain cognizant of nature’s existential vulnerability. Through her lens, Gordon offers us a direct and intimate view of this remote world.

She reveals life that persists despite extreme conditions, most notably in her images of the penguins that inhabit this environment. Gordon’s photographs invite us to see these creatures through a human lens, evoking warmth, character, and individuality, while also suggesting their inherent protectiveness and resilience. Beneath this tenderness lies a prevailing sense of insecurity, potential loss, and an urgent call to responsibility—both within the natural hierarchy and for us as observers. The images quietly insist that action is necessary.

This exhibition both illustrates and implicates the processes of global warming. It is ecologically relevant, offering an intimate and personal encounter with nature in its purest form.

ABOUT HOLLY GORDON

Holly Gordon is a Bay Shore, Long Island–based photographer who creates fine art and documentary photography. In recent years, she has become widely recognized for pioneering photo-liminalism, a process that achieves a painterly quality in photography previously unexplored.

Gordon’s creative origins date back to film photography in the 1960s and the aura and aromas of the traditional wet darkroom. While many viewers assume her work is painting, it is in fact photography in transition.

As technology continues to transform photography, Gordon’s art stands at the forefront of that change. She is a master of both the technical workings of the camera and the capabilities of digital software. Through extensive experimentation, she developed a new photographic practice in which digital editing is used to create images that resemble paintings. This approach goes far beyond customary uses of computer software in photography and resulted in the emergence of a new art form she named photo-liminalism. Her process involves adding and subtracting layers, adjusting and eliminating objects, and refining color to transform the original image.

Gordon’s name became firmly associated with this innovative work after more than 20 years of technological exploration and collaboration with Northport watercolorist Ward Hooper. Their book, Parallel Perspectives: The Brush/Lens Collaboration, was launched worldwide by Simon & Schuster in 2020 and has generated significant interest throughout the arts community and media.

She is a member of the 21st-century artistic and social movement known as Techspressionism. Gordon was invited to share her creative process at Virtual Salon #27, had work selected for the Virtual 2021 Techspressionism Exhibition, and was later invited to exhibit three works in the groundbreaking Techspressionism exhibition at the Southampton Arts Center.

Inspired by her collaborative work, the Islip Arts Council invited Gordon in 2018 to curate the 2019 open call The Art of Collaboration. Due to its success, she was subsequently invited to curate the first AARP-sponsored open call, Art at 50 Plus, at the Islip Art Museum, as well as the award-winning 2020 and 2021 AARP-sponsored virtual exhibitions.

Gordon is an artist deeply committed to engaging with important social issues while blazing new creative trails. Her ability to clearly articulate her creative process and inspire others makes her an indispensable advocate for the arts. She is on the board of the participatory photography 501-c3 Seeing for Ourselves and the Islip Arts Council.