PHOTOGRAPHIC PRINTS BY HENRY AVIGNON
AXOM Gallery Press Release
March 29 – April 23, 2013
Opening Reception – Friday March 29, from 5:30 – 9 PM
Artist Talk – Wednesday April 10 from 6:30 – 8:30 PM
AXOM Gallery is pleased to host a unique exhibition of The New Town Collection: A Gift Of Hope by artist, Henry Avignon. The New Town Collection is a rare edition of 5 photographic prints. The first full edition of 26 framed prints has been purchased by Avignon’s patrons, Richard and Jennifer Sands which they are donating to the Sandy Hook Elementary School. All proceeds from the sale of remaining editions will be contributed to the Sandy Hook Scholarship Fund. We invite the Rochester community to come join us in this opportunity to help support these healing and recovery efforts through the gift of art. This exhibit will be on view for 26 days of awareness in honor of the 26 lives lost.
The collection is dedicated as a memorial to the victims and was created as a response to a tragedy that left families and their community with a severe sense of grievousness and loss. Each of the 26 prints is intended as a visual portal into an abyss of color and transmuted forms to create atmospheric compositions that become a vehicle for stillness and contemplation. Void of narrative, Avignon places the emphasis on light as a vehicle of creation and as a tool for healing. As one keeps vigil by the light of a candle, so was the intent in the creation of the New Town Collection.
“In a way I wanted everyone to feel like it feels to stare blankly out a window at the sky at dawn or sunset, (when) the burning light transforms the heart with moments of profound, almost disconnected reflection – light is hope in dark times.” -Henry Avignon
Henry has invited artist Christine Knoblauch to join him in this effort. Also on view is a welded steel heart sculpture by Knoblauch, engraved with the names of the 26 victims.
Avignon has been rapidly gaining recognition both nationally and internationally with his work in many private and corporate collections. Coming off of his first solo exhibition in Paris, France, he is now completing a portfolio that will tour in major American and Canadian cities, with the production of the work being funded by Richard and Jennifer Sands. Avignon’s work is an alchemy of painting, photography, printmaking and represents an alliance of two philosophies: photography’s truth of the moment merged with eternity of matter specific to painting and sculpture. He synthesizes the transformative power of energy, as it pertains to the creative vitality of life cycles in nature, and then presents his creations as moments documented in time. Originally from Tampa, Florida, Avignon now resides in Rochester, NY with his two children.