‘Warm Room’ Series of Photographs by Peter A. Moriarty Depicting Historic Greenhouses on View at Cantor Art Gallery

The Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Art Gallery at the College of the Holy Cross will present the work of photographer Peter A. Moriarty in the exhibition "Warm Room: Photographs from Historic Greenhouses" from January 22 through February 29. An opening reception, with remarks by the artist, will take place on January 23 from 5 – 7 p.m.

Moriarty began the project over twenty years ago when he visited Planting Fields Arboretum near his home on Long Island. Since then, greenhouses and gardens have been a focal point of Moriarty’s artistic and scholarly interests as he focused his camera on the architecture of the historic buildings, and the visual relationship of the plants housed within them, both in the United States and in Europe. From the "Palm House" of Kew Gardens in England to nearby Tower Hill Botanic Garden’s "Orangerie," his evocative silver gelatin prints contrast structure with organic forms using the play of light and shadow.

In addition to "Warm Room," photos from Moriarty’s "Light Shed" series of temporary or plastic greenhouses, and his experimental camera-less contact prints of plant forms, will also be on view.

Moriarty, who currently resides and maintains a studio in Clinton, Massachusetts, received an undergraduate degree in philosophy, with honors, from the University of New Hampshire, and a master of fine arts degree from the Rochester Institute of Technology. He is an emeritus professor of art from the Vermont State Colleges, and is a former senior teacher at the Trinity School in New York City.

His photographs have been exhibited throughout the United States and are in numerous collections, including the Addison Gallery of Art, Andover, Mass.; George Eastman House, Rochester, N.Y.; New York Botanical Garden, Bronx, N.Y.; Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, Conn.; and the Worcester Art Museum. He is represented by BigTown Gallery in Rochester, Vt.

Moriarty, along with faculty scholars from the College’s departments of history and visual arts, will give lectures in conjunction with the exhibition. A catalogue is available for sale.

 

EVENTS

Opening Reception

Thursday, January 23

Cantor Art Gallery 5 – 7 p.m.

Opening remarks by the artist at 5:30 p.m.

 

Gallery Talk by artist Peter Moriarty

Thursday, February 20

Cantor Art Gallery, 4 p.m.

 

Lunchtime Talk Series

Wednesdays at 12 noon

Cantor Art Gallery

 

January 29

Peter Moriarty, Artist

A Teaching Portfolio from the History of Photographs

 

February 12

Amy D. Finstein, Assistant Professor, Department of Visual Arts, College of the Holy Cross

Of Green and Gardens

 

February 26

Sahar Bazzaz, Professor, History Department, College of the Holy Cross

Greenhouses as Colonial 'Kunstkammer': Plants, Science and Empire