Foregrounding the Palisades
The view across the Hudson River to the majestic Palisades is integral to Wave Hill’s landscape. Foregrounding the Palisades, this fall’s exhibition, brings the vista into Glyndor Gallery, transforming its Georgian Revival rooms. Conceived as an opportunity to showcase sculpture, the artists Isidro Blasco, Blane De St. Croix and Paula Winokur were selected based on their interest in geology, ecology, preservation and history, and on the methods they have developed to deal with space and subject. A catalogue of the exhibition features interviews with each artist. A rich program of public events at Wave Hill, the Hudson River Museum and the Palisades Interstate Park Commission reflect a shared interest in the Palisades among these three institutions this fall.
Isidro Blasco’s FLOW SYSTEM combines architecture, photography and installation. By fragmenting specific views of the Palisades through multiple vantage points, based on hundreds of photographs he has taken from both sides of the Hudson, his installation fills the North Gallery with an elliptical succession of multiple angles, creating an articulated panoramic collage at once recognizable and new. He is focused on rocks, trees and the structures of the Palisades, beginning with the George Washington Bridge and working his way down the rocky face of the Interstate Park.
Blane de St. Croix’s powerful, imposing installations—indoors in the Georgian Revival architecture of Wave Hill’s Glyndor Gallery and outdoors at the Hudson River Museum with its Brutalist architecture— explore his interest in the geopolitical landscape through drawing and sculpture. Based on site visits, photographic documentation, interviews and satellite imagery, he uses foam and mixed media to mimic a portion of the cliffs, exploring the ecology of the Palisades and efforts to rescue it in the early 20th century, as well as referencing the historical genre of landscape painting. This is particularly pertinent to the Palisades, a favorite subject of the Hudson River School.
Philadelphia-based artist Paula Winokur brings a long term interest in geological formations of the American Southwest and Alaskan glaciers to her project at Wave Hill. Scale and perspective are extraordinarily important in her work; and in this installation the viewer will appreciate a vantage point and proximity to the Palisades impossible to achieve in real life. Zeroing in on the pinnacle of one section of the Palisades, Winokur is creating 60 sections of clay with textures that convey the jagged rock face. Her piece refers to the geological character of the cliffs, which creates the illusion that different sections are cutting through the gallery floor.
Exhibition Kicks Off Tribute to Former Residents of Wave Hill
The new work in the show collectively offers an homage to George Perkins, whose family deeded the property to the City of New York and whose leadership a century ago galvanized the preservation of land on both sides of the Hudson. It is also part of a new initiative to honor previous residents of Wave Hill. Both the Palisades vista, and Wave Hill’s desire to pay tribute to former residents, have inspired extensive public programming at Wave Hill, as well as at the Hudson River Museum and the Palisades Interstate Park Commission.
Historical Backdrop
The steep cliff face of the Palisades, stretching 30 miles on the west shore of the Hudson River, was formed about 30 million years ago when semimolten igneous rock was forced up through a fissure in the earth’s crust, shrinking and solidifying into the giant crystals of diabase lava that give the cliffs their distinctive columnar structure. Hard but brittle, the diabase has great wearing power, suitable for unglamorous purposes. Broken up, it helps prevent erosion, and it can be crushed to use on railroad crossties and track. During the industrial expansion following the Civil War, old hardwood trees atop the Palisades were harvested to be used as railroad ties, while quarrymen began blasting the rock to supply crushed stone to pave streets and expand railbeds. This exploitation of the cliffs led to the conservation efforts so tirelessly and effectively led by George W. Perkins. Through his work with the Palisades Interstate Park Commission, which he was instrumental in forming, he not only ensured that the view from Wave Hill and this side of the river would be preserved but also that the land would be available for public use. The Palisades were designated a National Natural Landmark in 1983.
Exhibition-Related Public Programs
Immerse yourself in the Palisades at exhibition-related public programs this fall. Gain perspective from both banks of the Hudson on off-site nature and history hikes; let the beautiful vistas and changing fall color inspire the artist within at a series of art workshops “Picturing the Palisades” through different media; and learn about the history of the Palisades from the time of the New Deal era with Eric Nelsen, Historic Interpreter at The Palisades Interstate Park in New Jersey.
For more information on exhibition-related public programs this fall, please contact Martha Gellens at marthag@wavehill.org or refer to our website wavehill.org.
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