Lucinda DEVLIN
Omega Suites
Sep. 22 - Dec. 6, 2001
Paul Rodgers/9W is pleased to announce the American photographer Lucinda Devlin's first solo exhibition in New York and the inaugural exhibition of the gallery. The exhibition will consist of “The Omega Suites”, which will also be featured in an exhibition this summer at the Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst Galerie in Berlin, together with a book entitled “The Omega Suites” from Steidl Publishers, with 30 full color pages and text by Barbara Rose in English and German.
During the period from 1991 to 1998 Lucinda Devlin visited penitentiaries in 20 states, always with the permission and cooperation of the local authorities. The result, “The Omega Suites”, provides a portrait, in 30 images, of execution chambers operated by the American justice system across the United States. As such, this body of work brings startling clarity to one of the great ethical questions facing contemporary America, about which public opinion is currently passionately divided.
“My personal view of the role of capital punishment in our society is not at issue in these photographs,” states Lucinda Devlin. “Rather, I have attempted to let the environments themselves communicate directly with viewers.” In these photographs, we witness those places where society sanctions the taking away of life. Through them, we see what is not there, and in doing so, we are invited to explore the inescapable dimension of negation present in these works where art and the world intersect.
The exhibition will present 30 images of “The Omega Suites”. The photographs are chromogenic color prints, and will be available in 19 1/2 inch X 19 1/2 inch format, with selected images available in a 29 1/2 inch X 29 1/2 inch format.
Lucinda Devlin has received fellowships from the National Endowment of Arts and the Aaron Siskind Foundation, and has been an Artist in Residency in the Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst, of Berlin, Germany.
For further information, please call the gallery at (212) 414 9810 or email pr9w@aol.com. Paul Rodgers/9W gallery hours are 11:00 to 6:00 Tuesday to Saturday and by appointment.
