BIO

Erika Blumenfeld, an internationally recgonized artist, received her B.F.A. in Photography from Parsons School of Design in New York. In 1994, Blumenfeld moved her studio from New York to Santa Fe, New Mexico, where she lived and worked for thirteen years. In 2007, the artist again relocated her home and studio, this time to Marfa, Texas.

Ms. Blumenfeld’s career as a visual artist is informed by her long-standing fascination with physics and light. From that vantage point, she explores and documents the subtle shifts in atmospheric, astronomic, and environmental phenomena. Developing new photographic processes and techniques to accomplish her artistic intent, Ms. Blumenfeld methodically documents the subtle incremental changes that light makes over time. Her photo-based works and video installations yield an elegant account of light’s trace.

The Polar Project, Ms. Blumenfeld's current work, will focus on the distinct and sublime phenomena of light, sky, and sound in the Arctic and Antarctica. Using innovative and state-of-the-art technology, The Polar Project will culminate in a series of full-surround real-time video and audio installations, which invite the viewer to step inside an immersive sensory sanctuary and thus witness its atmosphere and environment. According to Ms. Blumenfeld, the point at which the wonder of natural phenomena begins to awaken the mind and imagination is the point at which art, science, and humanity meet; The Polar Project's vision is to harmonize those perspectives. Ms. Blumenfeld believes that the Arctic and Antarctica are a part of our cultural and world heritage. The Polar Project''s mission is to capture the natural environment of these regions to preserve their image and voice for future generations, and to inspire awareness and change now. The Polar Project installation and educational program will travel to the world's most populated cities in order to engage current environmental concerns more broadly.

Ms. Blumenfeld’s installations have been exhibited widely in galleries, museums, and nonprofits in the U.S. and Europe, including the Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo, New York; Ballroom Marfa; BLAAK 10 Galerie, Willem de Kooning Academie, Rotterdam, Netherlands; Center for contemporary Art in Santa Fe; Center for Contemporary Non-Objective Art (CCNOA) in Brussels, Belgium; DiverseWorks Art Space in Houston; Färgfabriken Norr in Österund, Sweden; Galerie der Stadt Mainz-Brückenturm in Mainz, Germany; Hertfordshire University Galleries (UH Galleries), United Kingdom; Kunstnernes Hus in Oslo, Norway; Museum of Fine Arts, Santa Fe; Portland Institute for Contemporary Art (PICA), in Portland, Oregon; Santa Fe Art Institute; and Visual Studies Workshop Gallery, Rochester, New York.

Her work has been featured in such important journals as Art in America, ARTnews, Arté Contemporary, and Camera Arts; published in a monograph by Taschen entitled The Polaroid Book; and added to the permanent collections of the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, the Museum of Fine Arts in Santa Fe, The Polaroid Collection, and the University of Texas, Austin.

View Erika Blumenfeld's Expedition Blog to learn more about The Polar Project.

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