ANDREW RAFACZ is pleased to announce FISH-WORK, a solo exhibition of photographs by Corey Arnold.

Chicago, IL, March 27, 2009 – ANDREW RAFACZ begins the spring season with FISH-WORK, photographs by Corey Arnold. The gallery will have a reception for the artist on Friday, March 27th, from 5 to 8pm. The exhibition continues through May 9th.

Documenting his experiences as a commercial fisherman for the last 13 years, Arnold presents the viewer with images rarely seen. The narrative that Arnold carves out might best be described in the strictest terms as ‘man versus nature,’ but by inserting humor and pathos into the frame, he subverts the fearsome and potentially hazardous scenarios into something more sublime. In Bering Sea Birthday, one is immediately thrust on to the fishing vessel in the photograph. The sea is tumultuous, and the violent motion being captured is palpable. Yet, the main subject is a lone fisherman swinging desperately at a pinata in celebration of his birthday. His perseverance in the face of the danger around him makes this a moment of extreme and triumphant humanity._
The power of Arnold’s photographs rests in the way the viewer is pulled directly into the action as it unfolds. Although many of his images capture raw emotion and drama, Arnold is not merely a documentary photographer. He also creates more conceptual works, such as Kitty and Horse Fisherman, which depicts a single figure wearing a costume horse head and holding a kitten. The fisherman is nonchalantly posing against the railing of a boat with the ocean roiling behind him, creating a work of contemporary surrealism set in the unlikeliest of places.

COREY ARNOLD (American, b. 1976) lives and works in Portland, but travels extensively. He has exhibited throughout the United States, Norway, Japan, and France. He has been featured in The Paris Review, Juxtapoz, Artweek, and the Italian version of Rolling Stone, among others. He recently completed a solo exhibition at Sara Tecchia Roma New York. This is his first exhibition in Chicago.