Press Release

NEW ORLEANS: Heriard-Cimino Gallery presents Michel Varisco's Shifting, a photographic series on coastal Louisiana. An Opening Reception to meet the artist will be held on Saturday, December 5th from 6 to 8 p.m. The exhibition will be on view December 5th, 2009 through January 2nd, 2010. Gallery hours are Tuesday through Saturday 10 to 5, or by appointment.

While spending time on a houseboat throughout the seasons along coastal Louisiana, Varisco familiarized herself with the colors, shapes and sounds of the region, when the trees are bare lines, and the water shifts to fog and clouds. She also bares witness to the impact society has upon the coastal environment.

When flying over the wetlands the artist captures its unique majesty and its nuanced bayous, arteries, and waterways. Varisco observes the accelerated shifting of this endangered land, noting the more we try to protect our investments from ruin by building levees, the less the alluvial soil is allowed to naturally rebuild its banks. Shifting captures imagery of transitional marshes, swamplands and open waters. In spite of the harmful impact society has had upon this fragile environment, Varisco's images are meditations on the ephemeral and persistent beauty of the Louisiana wetlands.

Michel Varisco received her M.F.A. from Tulane University and her Bachelor of Arts from Loyola University. She has been a guest lecturer at Loyola University and the Contemporary Arts Center, and awarded grants from the Louisiana Division of the Arts. Varisco has exhibited her work in New York, Washington, Houston, Chicago, Boston, Atlanta, New Orleans and internationally. Shifting is sponsored in part from a grant from the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities.