The four fundamental states of matter are solid, liquid, gas and plasma. In the Griffin Museum’s exhibition Light Matter, flowers are immersed in the solid and liquid states of ice and water. In addition the focus is turned on the tiny secret universe inside an icicle. In her “Ice Gardens” Mary Kocol creates “botanical ice tablets.” Judith Monteferrante stages floral compositions in water and ice. Susan Simon explores the interplay of light on ice.

Kocol’s, Monteferante’s and Simon’s photographs, Light Matter, are featured in the Griffin Museum’s Atelier Gallery at the Stoneham Theatre in Stoneham, MA,
May 15 – August 5, 2014. It runs parallel to the theater’s productions of “The Secret Garden.”

A reception is June 12, 2014 6:30-8:00 p.m.

Mary Kocol says, “I am inspired by gardens within my urban midst…..The blossoms are frozen into ice and photographed in sunlight to become fanciful and ethereal constructions. Blooms and ice are temporary; the photograph becomes the permanent art object – the record that they once briefly existed.”

Judith Monteferrante says, “When I plunge a blossom into a pool of water, the elegant flower expresses its stalwart agility under water. By photographing the flower, I can share my appreciation for beauty in nature, the purity of light and its reflections, as well as refine the viewers’ eyes to see more simply.”

“I am most inspired by the minute details of the natural landscape,” says Susan Simon. “My photography practice began as a means of meditation and seeking solace from the tumult of the classroom.”

Mary Kocol is a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design MFA in Photography program. She has had a numerous solo exhibitions and is collected widely. She resides in Somerville, MA. Her photographs are courtesy of Gallery NAGA, Boston.

Aside from her noteworthy career as an artist, Judith Monteferrante was a practicing cardiologist for over 25 years, specializing in heart imaging and female cardiac issues. Upon retirement from her medical career, the artist received her MA in Digital Photography (MPS) in 2009 at the School of Visual Arts in New York City. Dr. Monteferrante exhibits nationally, including group and solo exhibitions in Massachusetts, Arizona and New York. Dr. Monteferrante resides in Gloucester, Massachusetts.

Susan Simon is a retired middle school teacher and photographer living on the Cape in Barnstable, MA.