
Michael Cherney American, b. 1969
Mounted dimensions: 12 5/8 x 42 1/2 in 32 x 108 cm
In this austere vista of the Kunlun Mountains from Cherney’s Map of Mountains and Seas, the lens renders a spectral ridgeline suspended between sky and earth, its undulating forms etched in granular monochrome. Dark silhouettes of craggy peaks dissolve into a misty half-tone that evokes both altitude and atmosphere, while below, a narrow ribbon of light—like a hidden river traced from the Shan Hai Jing—anchors the composition. The stark interplay of shadow and luminance conjures a timeless liminality, as if these ancient heights hover between memory and myth. Here, photography becomes a speculative cartography, each subtle tonal shift inviting contemplation of a landscape where the real and the imagined converge.
「山海图」以「山海经」的宇宙观为镜,将巍峨群峰重构为虚实交织的精神图景。影像中的山脉如上古神祇般静穆矗立,粗粝的岩壁在细腻银盐颗粒中渐次雾化,与底部流淌的光带共同勾勒出"天柱"与"地维"的神秘接壤。艺术家通过极致的影调控制,在测绘的精确性(严谨标注的GPS坐标)与诗性的朦胧感之间创造张力——那些既可作为地理坐标查证、又因艺术处理而超越实证的影像细节,最终将昆仑转化为一个承载集体记忆的认知场域,邀请观者步入横跨神话时空的哲思之境。
Exhibitions
Hong Kong University Art Museum2023 April 17th - 28th "The Highest Virture Resembles Water," United Nations Secretariat Building, New York, NY