Lynn Davis has been named 2023's Frederic Church Award Honoree for her extraordinary contributions to American culture over the course of her celebrated artistic career. A pioneer in large-scale film photography, Davis has created images since the 1980s that meditate on the aesthetic and symbolic power of the landscape, distilling the environment into pure formal terms.Through this approach, Davis’ photographs dematerialize the world into its most basic elemental forms: water, dirt, stone, light, and air, while preserving an authoritative originality. Major sites of exploration include icebergs in Greenland, pyramids and deserts of Egypt, China's Yangtze River, and the world's tallest waterfall in Argentina and Brazil, amongst others.
The Frederic Church Award was established in 2000 by The Olana Partnership to honor individuals who embody the visionary and creative commitments and ideals of Frederic Edwin Church, one of the best known 19th century landscapes artists in the United States.
Davis' photographs are on view in "Chasing Icebergs: Art and a Disappearing Landscape" at Olana State Historic Site, Hudson, NY through 26 March. A special screening of Meltdown (dir. Fredric Golding, 2021, 60 mins), followed by a conversation with Davis, will be shown at Hudson Hall, Hudson on Saturday, 4 March at 4pm. The documentary follows Davis and Yale scientist Tony Leiserowitz in Greenland as they explore the beauty and tragedy of climate change. The 23rd Annual Frederic Church Award Gala will take place on 19 April 2023 at 30 Rockefeller Plaza.
