The Arsenal Gallery Presents TRANSITORY SPACE: RECENT WORK BY LEAH OATES

The Arsenal Gallery is pleased to present Transitory Space, an exhibition featuring multiple exposure photography by New York-based artist Leah Oates. The show focuses on Oates' travels to Beijing, Newfoundland, and New York's own Van Cortlandt Park and Pelham Bay Park. Her photographs are lush and at times disquieting, as she documents the breadth of man's imprint on nature. The exhibit is on view from May 6, 2010 to June 18, 2010.

"Transitory Space by Leah Oates highlights the delicate balance between the natural world and manmade environment," said Parks & Recreation Commissioner Adrian Benepe. "Her photographs, depicting locations in New York City's parks and around the world, explore the complex bonds between people and their surroundings. This unique exhibition compels spectators to perceive our green spaces in new ways and perhaps inspire them to bring their own cameras the next time they visit the city's parks."

Oates' photographs of New York City's parks portray the unexpected beauty of primeval forests and natural botanicals thriving in proximity to the cityscape. Her use of multiple exposure photography translates particularly well in her photographs of Newfoundland's power lines: multiple apertures fuse the lines and branches making them indistinguishable from each other. A less symbiotic relationship between manmade and organic environments is depicted in her haunting photographs of Chinese hutongs. These historic alleyways condemned for future paved roads and high-rises have been reclaimed in the interim by nature. The sites in Transitory Space are in a constant state of unrest-flush with "messy human energy"-and complicated bonds between individuals and their surroundings.

Leah Oates has a B.F.A. from the Rhode Island School of Design and a M.F.A. from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She has had solo shows at Center for Book Arts, Tomasulo Gallery, Real Art Ways, Sara Nightingale Gallery, and the Sol Mednick Gallery at the Philadelphia University of the Arts. Oates has been in numerous group exhibitions at venues including Flux Factory, Wave Hill, International Print Center, Storefront for Art, and numerous international locations. She currently resides and works in Brooklyn, NY.

The Arsenal Gallery is dedicated to examining themes of nature, urban space, wildlife, New York City parks, and park history. It is located on the third floor of the NYC Parks & Recreation headquarters, in Central Park, on Fifth Avenue at 64th Street. Gallery hours are Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. except for holidays. Admission is free.