The Hudson Palisades, a quintessential feature of Wave Hill’s vista, are spectacular in autumn. Usually seen as a backdrop, artists Isidro Blasco, Blane De St. Croix and Paula Winokur foreground these impressive rock formations through sculptural installations in each room of Glyndor Gallery. The artists employ distinct processes to translate the awesome experience of being next to the Palisades. Blasco uses photography to simulate the continuum of the formations through multiple vantage points; the viewer experiences a walk through the woods and along the river. Winokur works in clay to make a relief wall piece that transposes the massive rock features to an intimate room-sized scale. Blane De St. Croix conveys the monumentality of the formations through floor to ceiling sculpture that captures the volume of the room. At the Hudson River Museum in Yonkers, his outdoor sculpture relates to a view of the Palisades framed by the Museum’s Brutalist and Victorian architecture.

Photo courtesy Wave Hill

«Foregrounding the Palisades» is the first in a series of exhibitions and performing arts programs that honor former residents as we re-open Wave Hill House in 2013. By focusing on the Hudson Palisades, we celebrate the preservation efforts led by George W. Perkins, who, from 1895 to 1920, lived on the property now known as Wave Hill and who galvanized the preservation of land on both sides of the Hudson. Through his work with the Palisades Interstate Park Commission, Perkins ensured that the view from this side of the river would be preserved and that the land would be available for public use. His role is explored more fully in the essay included here by Deirdre La Porte “Wave Hill and the Palisades,”  The Perkins and Freeman families generously donated Wave Hill to The City of New York guaranteeing that the estate would be available for public use. Perkins’s legacy continues through the families’ continued generosity and support that has been instrumental in the growth of the institution.

A shared view and appreciation of the Palisades offers an opportunity to collaborate with the Hudson River Museum and the Palisades Interstate Park Commission. Public programs exploring the Palisades are offered with opportunities to visit all three locations. The Hudson River Museum features work from its permanent collection that focuses on the Palisades and Blane De Saint Croix’s sculpture forms a triangle between the Palisades, Wave Hill and the Hudson River Museum. Our institutional collaborators have expanded the breadth of the project, particularly Bartholomew Bland, Jennifer Rabley and Laura Vookles of the Hudson River Museum who have been instrumental in setting up the overlapping exhibitions and programs. Thanks also to Eric Nelson at the Palisades Interstate Park for offering us his expert history on the Palisades in numerous ways.

Site: Wave Hill

Title: Foregrounding the Palisades
Place: Glyndor Gallery
City: New York
Country: United States of America
Date: September 01 – December 02, 2012