Buster Levi Gallery is pleased to present Absent/Presence, selected works from Lucille Tortora and Nancy Steinson at 121 Main Street in Cold Spring, New York. The exhibition will run from November 1 through December 1, 2019. The opening for the show will be on Friday November 1, 2019 from 6-8:30 pm.

This exhibit had its genesis when Lucille Tortora saw Jon Stewart fighting in congress for the extension of benefits for first responders on 9/11. Tortora’s love of architecture initially drew her to begin taking photographs of the world trade center in the 1980’s. She revisited the subject in the early 1990’s before and after the first bombing of the World Trade Center. After September 11, 2001, Tortora again photographed the site, this time the memorial set up by rescue workers and families of those who lost their life that day. This year, when Tortora watched Stewart, with former New York City detective Luis Alvarez next to him before the House Judiciary subcommittee appealing to replenish the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, she decided to continue her theme with new photographs. The recent works continue her process of reconstructing different images or views to create a singular image that reflects a deep attachment to her subjects along with an emotional depth and formal beauty. Though the works may appear ‘abstracted’, this does not diminish their ability to deliver visually powerful statements that reflect Tortora’s concern both for the fate of this great American architectural icon and for the people whose lives were lost on September 11th, 2001.

Lucille Tortora is a photographer and Nancy Steinson is a sculptor. Though working in different mediums, they share visual and content similarities. Both are concerned with essential, pared down shapes as an armature for their work. Both look at their surroundings and translate their vision into synthesized compositions. In addition both artists are attentive to a subtle treatment of surface. In this exhibition, Steinson is exhibiting two works, one of which reflects a mutual interest with Tortora for architectural forms. The other work is titled Novatio, a made-up word that for Steinson references the idea of the spiritual: a new vision. Though not directly related to September 11, Novatio is for Steinson a memorial, thus its inclusion in this show. Monroe Denton in a review of her show in 1998 at the Kouros gallery described the work as “combining animal and vegetable seed symbolism” as indeed its curved shape does recall. It is the seed symbolism and its inference of growth and renewal that suggests hope in the face of such a tragedy.

Buster Levi Gallery is open Friday through Sunday from 12-6 pm.

For more information: busterlevigallery.com