Susannah Ray Offers Rockaway a New Work

By S. C. Samoy, RISE Director of Ope­rations & Communications

It has been four years since Susannah Ray last exhibited her photography at RISE (Rockaway Initiative for Sustainability and Equity). Hinterland: The Legacy of New York City’s Urban Renewal captured the landscape of Arverne East Nature Preserve before it became a destination.

Now she brings the sea to the viewer and the viewer to the sea with Sea Chapel. The multipanel installation was created using screen captures from Rockaway webcams that live stream views of the Atlantic Ocean, and Mark Rothko’s abstract color field paintings inspired her to digitally manipulate selected sections of each capture. She made abstract the ocean view and rendered it more ideal than real with soft-focus bands and broad washes of color. Even the title, Sea Chapel, is in homage to Rothko Chapel in Houston, Texas.

The artwork will be displayed until the end of October, Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., at RISE, 58-03 Rockaway Beach Boulevard. And there will be a “Meet the Artist” opportunity on Wednesday, October 8, 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., along with a ritual by sound artist Electric Djinn at 5 p.m. Sea Chapel was supported by Queen Arts Fund, New York Foundation for the Arts, and New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.