See The Exhibition

Chandra Cerrito Contemporary is pleased to announce an exhibition of works by artists Lewis deSoto and Sonja Hinrichsen. Both artists are featuring photographic series that involve  impermanent manipulations of the landscape and reflect their deep reverence for nature.

Lewis deSoto is a multimedia artist whose installations are often about the human quest to reconcile our inner and outer worlds. His Native American ancestry infused his Southern California upbringing with both a respect for the land and a critical view of cultural imperialism. DeSoto’s Site Projects (1980-1986) were a reaction against the disruptive impact of certain “earthworks” of the 1970s. The Site Projects were created during long camera exposures at night--leaving a minimal trace. They “compared the scale of the human against the overarching embrace of the world, the stars and the galaxies,” states deSoto.

German-born Sonja Hinrichsen examines urban and natural environments through immersive video installations, performances, or rituals that result in ephemeral art pieces. Hinrichsen’s Snow Drawings are large designs created during public art events, where community takes an active part in the creative process. These works correspond with and accentuate the landscape and its local and historical significance. Sonja writes, “Despite an overall documentary character, these projects have a very personal focus, as they draw from my experiences and perceptions. I hope that they help arouse appreciation and consciousness for the natural world.”

About the Artists:

Lewis deSoto was born in San Bernardino, California and earned his Master of Fine Arts at Claremont Graduate School. He has exhibited widely across the United States, Europe, and Japan. In 1996, deSoto received an Artist Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. His work Paranirvana has been exhibited in numerous major museums worldwide since 2006 as part of the Missing Peace exhibition. He taught at Otis Art Institute in Los Angeles, Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle, WA, served as the Director of Graduate Studies at California College of Arts and Crafts and as is currently a Professor of Art at San  Francisco State University. His work is in the collections of the Seattle Art Museum, the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles as well as many private collections. Artist residencies include ArtPace in San Antonio, TX and the Headlands Center for the Arts in Sausalito, CA.

Sonja Hinrichsen graduated from the Academy of Art in Stuttgart, Germany and received her Masters degree in New Genres from the San Francisco Art Institute in 2001. Sonja has won numerous artist residency awards, such as the Bemis Center in Omaha, Santa Fe Art Institute in Santa Fe,  PlatteForum in Denver, Djerassi in California, Ucross Foundation in Wyoming, Valparaiso in Spain, Fiskars in Finland, and the Taipei Artist Village in Taiwan. Sonja’s ongoing

community arts project Snow Drawings has received significant attention and has been featured on numerous art, design and culture websites, and featured on NPR, MSNBC, The Discovery Channel, and public TV Tokyo. Photographic prints and video have been shown in exhibitions in California, Colorado and in Europe.

Lewis deSoto

Wave System, 1983, 2009

Epson K3 inks on paper, 36 x 36 inches

Sonja Hinrichsen

Snow Drawings, Eychauda, France

Inkjet on archival Hahnemuhle paper, 22 x 33 inches