EMULSION:

Scratching the Surface
Heather Cox & Diana Jensen

Open tThursday, February 13 - Wednesday, April 16, 2025
Opening reception February 13, 6-8pm

Opening reception

Project: ARTspace is pleased to present Emulsion: Scratching the Surface, works by New York City based artists Heather Cox and Diana Jensen. Each artist investigates the cultural impact and emotional connection of collecting images and physicalizing memory. Diana Jensen and Heather Cox employ vernacular photography as a point of departure – each adding and subtracting layers of imagery to create evocative objects. Jensen finds inspiration from thrift store vintage slide collections. Cox uses orphaned analogue snapshots that never make it into photo albums.

Jensen uses imagery from random travel slides as inspiration. She paints on both the front and back of large, semi-translucent mylar sheets and plexiglass panels, and layers them to create illusions of pictorial depth. Hung individually and in groups, multiple travel locations stack and stray. Figures emerge and dissolve.

Cox creates sculptures using found photographs and staples. Each snapshot is cut into small circles, leaving only glimpses of the original image. Staples create quick, strong connections between the photos; a simple hinge that allows lightweight forms to grow and flex. The resulting collages create pointillistic 2D and 3D constellations that occupy walls, ceilings and shelves.

Emulsion: Scratching the Surface unites the work of two artists who uncover, examine and resurrect forgotten troves of found photos. Using different modalities, Cox and Jenson both create works that expand exponentially in space. They dissect personal histories, moving beyond fragile surfaces to create unique objects that project forward into a reimagined future.

Artist Bios:

Heather Cox received her early training in book arts and photography at Mills College. She went on to study sculpture at the Skowhegan School of Painting & Sculpture and received her MFA from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. She was awarded a Joan Mitchell Foundation Grant in 1998 and moved to New York City where she currently lives and works. Heather Cox has exhibited both nationally and internationally, with solo shows at the Guild Gallery II (New York, NY), Museum of Contemporary Art (Jacksonville, FL), Nina Freudenheim Gallery (Buffalo, NY), Gescheidle Gallery (Chicago, IL), Nohra Haime Gallery (New York, NY) and Miller Block Gallery (Boston, MA). coxart.com @heather_cox_studio

Diana Jensen was born on an American military base in Frankfurt, Germany. As a child she regularly prowled through thrift stores, flea markets and junk yards with her father, acquiring an early interest in ephemera and relics of the past. After receiving her MFA from Northwestern University and attending the Skowhegan School of Painting & Sculpture, she moved to NYC where she is currently based. Diana Jensen's paintings have been exhibited widely, including The Visual Arts Center of New Jersey (Summit, NJ), Readymade Gallery (Orleans, MA), Basin Gallery (Brooklyn, NY), White Columns (New York, NY), The Newark Museum (Newark, NJ), and a solo exhibition at the Susquehanna Art Museum (Harrisburg, PA). DianaJensen.com @dianajensen_art_official

High resolution photos are available upon request