Nomadic Geography

Wave Hill, Bronx, NY
Linoleum block-printed and cut paper and Sumi ink on paper
Dimensions variable 

Hilary Lorenz translates the physical and visceral experience of hiking remote landscapes into visual imagery that takes the form of prints, drawings and enveloping installations. Grounded in traditions of performance walking, Lorenz’s artwork is shaped by the space she passes through during long-distance runs and mountain climbing. Her drawings and prints function as visual mapping specific to each location: abstract, intuitive time-lines that mark a spatial journey of memory and change. As the artist describes, “When I am carving a linoleum block or applying watercolor to paper, I relive each step that I walked or ran through a single knife-cut or brushstroke.” Even the act of operating a manual printing press supports her strong passion for simple physical repetition. 

For the Sunroom Project Space, Lorenz continues her series Nomadic Geographies, which stems from an intensive walking exploration of the Wave Hill grounds and of Harriman State Park about 30 miles north. The room-size environment consists of linoleum block-printed and cut paper that is collaged and layered to form a 10-foot mountain attached directly to the wall. Because the work documents her experiences, the artist is careful to portray only the mountains that she has hiked or climbed. In addition, 4,000 printed paper ivy leaves adhere to and wrap around three walls of the gallery space, recalling the vines that cling to the exterior walls and creep around the windows of the Sunroom. The installation includes an eight-foot depiction of a lean-to (three-sided shed) that is commonly found in New York State Parks, such as Harriman. The ink drawing serves as a record of Lorenz’s treks and simultaneously evokes a wilderness fantasy with roaring bears and meandering coyotes. In this way, the artist attempts to represent a longing for solitude, quietness and rural moments in the big, bustling city. 

Written by Gabriel de Guzman
Curator of Visual Arts, Wave Hill, 2014