Hudson River Explorers: Prints by Holly Sears
Inspired by the Hudson River’s rich ecology and long history as a transportation corridor, Holly Sears created Hudson River Explorers, a remarkable body of work that focuses on naturalism and migration.
Holly Sears (American, b. 1956). Ride, from the Hudson River Explorers series, 2012. Giclee print (edition 18/18). Collection of the Hudson River Museum. Gift of the artist, 2012 (2012.04.03).
In this 2012 print series, animals native to the region, such as white-tailed deer and sturgeon, as well as visitors from afar, such as elephants and polar bears, fly through the air, swim in the water, and perch on floating tree trunks and branches amid Hudson Valley landscapes. The artist’s often surreal scenes focus on the movement of animals, some of which are threatened or endangered, and reflect on our kinship with the natural world and the universality of the experience of living things. By enmeshing exotic species in the tissue of our local land, Sears entices us to look closer, to heighten our awareness and question our assumptions about the mysteries of nature.
Another version of the Hudson River Explorers series is installed at the Metro-North Tarrytown train station on laminated windows along the overpass corridors. In 2010, Sears was chosen to participate in the MTA Arts & Design program, which commissions dynamic contemporary art for subway and commuter rail stations. She designed the views so that commuters may feel a connection with the creatures in her art, as fellow travelers on a river journey.
Holly Sears earned an MFA from Virginia Commonwealth University, and her work has been featured at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, the Bergen Museum of Art and Science in New Jersey, and the Hudson River Museum. Her work can be found in the collections of the New Jersey State Museum in Trenton, NYU Langone Medical Center, American Telephone and Telegraph, Bank of America, and the Best Products Collection of Sidney and Frances Lewis.
Hudson River Explorers: Prints by Holly Sears complements the Museum’s concurrent exhibition Un/Natural Selections: Wildlife in Contemporary Art, featuring collections from the National Museum of Wildlife Art and supported by Art Bridges.
Exhibitions are made possible by assistance provided by the County of Westchester.
Additional support has been provided by Ellyn Plato and John Boyer.
Press
Selected objects
Holly Sears (American, b. 1956). Songbirds, from the Hudson River Explorers series, 2012. Giclee print (edition 18/18). Collection of the Hudson River Museum. Gift of the artist, 2012 (2012.04.01).
Holly Sears (American, b. 1956). Undertow, from the Hudson River Explorers series, 2012. Giclee print (edition 18/18). Collection of the Hudson River Museum. Gift of the artist, 2012 (2012.04.02).
Holly Sears (American, b. 1956). Ride, from the Hudson River Explorers series, 2012. Giclee print (edition 18/18). Collection of the Hudson River Museum. Gift of the artist, 2012 (2012.04.03).
Holly Sears (American, b. 1956). Swallows, from the Hudson River Explorers series, 2012. Giclee print (edition 18/18). Collection of the Hudson River Museum. Gift of the artist, 2012 (2012.04.04).
Holly Sears (American, b. 1956). Herons, from the Hudson River Explorers series, 2012. Giclee print (edition 18/18). Collection of the Hudson River Museum. Gift of the artist, 2012 (2012.04.05).
Holly Sears (American, b. 1956). Swimmers, from the Hudson River Explorers series, 2012. Giclee print (edition 18/18). Collection of the Hudson River Museum. Gift of the artist, 2012 (2012.04.06).
Holly Sears (American, b. 1956). Swoop, from the Hudson River Explorers series, 2012. Giclee print (edition 18/18). Collection of the Hudson River Museum. Gift of the artist, 2012 (2012.04.07).
Holly Sears (American, b. 1956). Passengers, from the Hudson River Explorers series, 2012. Giclee print (edition 18/18). Collection of the Hudson River Museum. Gift of the artist, 2012 (2012.04.08).
Holly Sears (American, b. 1956). Elephants, from the Hudson River Explorers series, 2012. Giclee print (edition 18/18). Collection of the Hudson River Museum. Gift of the artist, 2012 (2012.04.09).
Holly Sears (American, b. 1956). Hawks, from the Hudson River Explorers series, 2012. Giclee print (edition 18/18). Collection of the Hudson River Museum. Gift of the artist, 2012 (2012.04.10).
Holly Sears (American, b. 1956). Owls, from the Hudson River Explorers series, 2012. Giclee print (edition 18/18). Collection of the Hudson River Museum. Gift of the artist, 2012 (2012.04.11).
