Helen Glazer (born Bronx, NY; lives Owings Mills, MD) holds a BA from Yale University, New Haven, CT and an MFA from Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore. She has had solo exhibitions at venues including Nailya Alexander Gallery, New York, NY; Center for Art + Environment, Nevada Art Museum, Reno, NV; and Hillyer Art Space, Washington, D.C. Glazer was a grantee of the National Science Foundation Antarctic Artists and Writers Program, which resulted in a solo exhibition that premiered at Goucher College, Baltimore. Her photographs have also been shown at Baltimore-Washington International Marshall Airport; the New York Hall of Science, Queens, NY; and the Delaware Art Museum, Wilmington, DE. Glazer has received two Rubys Awards from the Robert W. Deutsch Foundation, an artist grant from the Puffin Foundation, and an Individual Artist Award in Photography from the Maryland State Arts Council. She been artist-in-residence for the Baltimore Ecosystem Study. Her work has been featured in numerous publications including the National Academy of Sciences magazine Issues in Science and Technology, Adobe 99U magazine, Vice Media’s Creators Project and Yale Climate Connections as well as on AtlasObscura.com. She is a co-founder of the Antarctic Artists and Writers Collective.
Statement from the Artist:
My work is profoundly influenced by scientific insights on the physical forces that shape natural environments, including human activity. These photographs are from an ongoing series of Indian laurel fig trees, a Southeast Asian species planted along neighborhood streets in Los Angeles and other California coastal cities. With their smooth bark and humanoid forms, the trees have an animated, expressive presence. Their surfaces and patterns of growth record interactions with the urban environment, such as concrete infrastructure and carved graffiti. I highlight their distinctive profiles and gestures by replacing the background with a flat color gradient.