Exhibition Review: Ice: Meghann Riepenhoff
Meghann Riepenhoff (American, b. 1979)
Ice #252 (-3-35°F, Colorado River, Silt, CO, 12.19-20.2021), 2021 Three Dynamic Cyanotypes
Written by Margarita Matta
Copy Edited by Janeen Mathisen
Photo Edited by Yanting Chen
Breaking down the boundaries between subject and photographer in an innovative, if unconventional manner, Meghann Riepenhoff’s Ice, on display at Yossi Milo Gallery, seeks to explore and conquer the natural world like never before. As summer comes to a close and winter’s reign draws nearer, Ice reminds viewers of the beauty within the chill. Riepenhoff’s extensive travel across the United States speaks to her immense commitment in compiling these images, fighting the various elements to finalize her work.
Meghann Riepenhoff (American, b. 1979)
Ice #211 (21-44°F, Bainbridge Island, WA 12.27.2021-01.02.2022), 2021-2022
Dynamic Cyanotype
Riepenhoff’s creative approach to her photographic work exhibits her technical skill not only with the camera, but also the accompanying science behind her work. According to the gallery website, Riepenhoff uses “the early photographic process of cyanotype…creat[ing] imagers that not only depict, but are themselves the physical traces of ice in its varied forms.” The melding of art and science together by means of the cyanotype process allows for a multifaceted, deeper approach to photography. The rich colors, careful attention to detail, and enriching depictions of motion make these images extremely compelling.
Meghann Riepenhoff (American, b. 1979)
Ice #208 (29-34°F, Bainbridge Island, WA 12.30.2021), 2021 Dynamic Cyanotype
For instance, Ice #252, taken on the Colorado River in Silt, CO, feature dynamic cyanotypes across three separate panels. What makes this work interesting is not only the rich, vibrant blue color but the delicate work with its motion and movement. These three panels are clearly related, but the subtle changes in each allow themselves to be distinct in their own way. It almost resembles a bird’s eye view of the ocean: small white dots are boats, and shifts from light blue to navy look like varying levels of the ocean’s depth. The flow of these images mimic a singular wave as the ocean recedes, retracting into the nothingness it originated from.
Every carefully curated and distinct image used in Ice serve as vehicles for expressing Riepenhoff’s experiences in each geographic destination she used in her work. Whether its Colorado or Washington or somewhere else, many pieces of her work have relative similarities – their colors, their movements, the emotions invoked. Due to the focus on nature, Riepenhoff’s works feel reflective and peaceful in a way only nature can convey. Riepenhoff brings her natural experiences in the field with cyanotype artwork to the gallery scene and boldly explores an entirely unique form of artistic expression.
Meghann Riepenhoff (American, b. 1979)
Ice #125 (28-37°F, Big Creek, Ashford, WA 03.08-10.20), 2020 Dynamic Cyanotype
Meghann Riepenhoff (American, b. 1979)
Ice #342 (27-39°F, Bainbridge Island, WA 02.22-24.2022), 2022 Four Dynamic Cyanotypes
Riepenhoff’s Ice will be on view through Saturday, October 22, 2022, at Yossi Milo Gallery, 245 Tenth Ave., NY. Ice will also be published as a monograph with Radius Books in collaboration with the gallery, accompanied by an essay by Rebecca Solnit.
