(Great Barrington, MA. – June 9, 2022) The Carrie Chen Gallery is pleased to present the exhibition - The Meaning of Memory. The exhibition will take place from August 6 – September 25, 2022. This show will include artifacts of the Pulitzer Prize winning journalist John Hersey, large scale paintings by his son John R. Hersey Jr., and the photography, silkscreens and textile artwork of his grandson, Cannon Hersey. A public reception will be held on Saturday, August 6, from 3-5 pm, marking the 77th anniversary of the Hiroshima bombing.
John Hersey (1914-1993) is celebrated as a pioneer of new journalism, well-known for his 1946 New Yorker article describing the destructive force of a nuclear explosion and its impact on survivors and their families. His article, suggested the NewYorker editor, made the public pause and “consider the implication of its use.” "Given the nuclear threat still present, organizing this exhibit was very meaningful to me" indicated Carrie Chen, Chief Curator and Gallery Owner. John Hersey's influence was deeply felt by his son and grandson and can be seen in their respective works in the exhibit. Cannon’s artwork is a continuing reminder of his grandfather’s legacy in many different forms - in texture, emotion, and compassion, and John R Hersey Jr.’s painting is about the freedom of self-expression. This show is the first time that works of three generations of the Hersey family are exhibited together.
John R. Hersey Jr. (1943-2018), best known for his large-scale abstract paintings, opened the Gallery Hirondelle in the heart of Soho frequented by friends and colleagues such as Lou Reed, Gerard Malanga, John Chamberlin, Andy Warhol, Peter Bradley, and many other cultural leaders of the time. The paintings on display in this exhibition have a light-filled energy, strong colorful brushstrokes, dappled surface and figurative abstraction he termed “physical lyricism.”
Cannon Hersey is a photographer, fine artist, and organizer of large-scale cultural events in non-traditional spaces around the world. Complementing the work of his grandfather, Cannon has made some thirty trips to Hiroshima, meeting with descendants of survivor families. "Before my grandfather died," Cannon explained, "he revisited Hiroshima in 1985 and interviewed survivors featured in his original article acknowledging that 'they have accepted as a compelling responsibility their mission to help in preventing further similar destruction anywhere in the world.’ " Cannon's photographs and silkscreens present stark, haunting images of trees, vegetation and mementos of the nuclear blast. About the exhibition, Cannon added, “My artwork, television shows, online storytelling and community organizing of the past seven years represent a quest to find a new way to explore history and keep the world safe from nuclear war in the 21st century.”
Cannon will be honored on August 5th by The Scone Foundation in a private event. He will receive the Foundation's Annual Archivist Award. This award recognizes an archivist or activist who has made a significant contribution in such areas as resisting censorship, preserving historical memory or by providing support to scholars conducting research in history and Carrie Chen Gallery | 16 Railroad Street, Great Barrington, MA 01230 | carriechengallery.com biography. Previous recipients have included Dr. Saad Eskander of the Iraq National Archives, Nancy Dupree for her work in Kabul, Albert Knoll for reinvigorating the Dachau archives, and Jingming Xion for preserving memories of the Cultural Revolution. Honored jointly was the archivist of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Israel state archivist to allow exploration of the difference between collective memory and insights arising from archival research
