News

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Steve Christensen
LUMA
312.915.6164
schris6@luc.edu

CHICAGO, November 24, 2009 – On Saturday, December 5, 2009, the Loyola University Museum of Art (LUMA) will open the exhibition Lost in Venice: Photographs by Sarah Hadley, which will be on view through Sunday, January 17, 2010.

The work of Sarah Hadley, who began visiting Venice as a child and was intrigued by the faded church façades, birds circling overhead, and waves lapping against marble steps, highlights the Renaissance past of Venice, a city that she has photographed for more than 20 years. Her ethereal, sepia-toned photographs capture the allure of the City of Bridges. Focusing her lens on the city's timeless architecture and ever-changing waterways, Hadley evokes an otherworldly place, one filled with graceful and extraordinary beauty.

Hadley first lived in Venice in her twenties and has said of the city, “The Venice I photograph speaks to the majesty of the place, but also to the supernatural and surrealism of it as well. I resisted shooting traditional views of St. Mark’s Square or gondolas on the Grand Canal, as I wanted to show glimpses of dark and hidden corners of this Renaissance stage set that can only be found late at night or on foggy days.”

Born in Boston, Hadley spent most of her childhood in the fourth floor apartment on top of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, where her father was the director from 1970 to 1988. It was there she fell in love with all things Venetian, and with the work of American artists John Singer Sargeant and James Abbott McNeill Whistler, both of whom worked in Venice. She studied art history and Italian at Georgetown University and photography at the Corcoran School of Art in Washington DC. She has won many grants and awards, including honorable mentions at the International Photography Awards and the Prix de la Photographie, Paris, and she was a finalist for the Illinois Arts Council Fellowship.

Hadley, in her own words, “Deals with the idea that Venice is a beautiful illusion, and my photographs depict an ethereal and mythic city, one caught between this world and the next; a dying city whose swan song is beautiful, but tragic. I am capturing a city clinging to a bygone era and a city which is slowly eroding, but one whose opulence and allure is still powerful and transformative.”

Lost in Venice: Photographs by Sarah Hadley is partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency.

Public Program:

Lecture— Lost in Venice: A Photographic Journey
Saturday, December 5, at 3 p.m.
LUMA, 820 N. Michigan Avenue

During this lecture, Sarah Hadley will take attendees on a photographic tour of Venice as she discusses her haunting photographs of the city's mazes of canals, deserted squares, and quiet backstreets. The event is free with museum admission.

About LUMA
Opened in 2005, the Loyola University Museum of Art is dedicated to exploring, promoting, and understanding art and artistic expression that illuminates the enduring spiritual questions of all cultures and societies. As a museum with an interest in education and educational programming, LUMA reflects the University’s Jesuit mission and is dedicated to helping people of all creeds explore the roots of their faith and spiritual quests. Located at Loyola University Chicago’s Water Tower Campus, the museum occupies the first three floors of the University’s historic Lewis Towers on Chicago’s famous Michigan Avenue. For more information, visit the museum’s website at LUC.edu/luma.

Art illuminating the spirit!

-LUMA-