Since January, Margaret Cogswell has investigated thoughts and observations about weather and the Hudson River from people who work on the river. The resulting Hudson Weather Fugues was created specifically for this exhibition. The projection in the north window begins with a view of the window, then zooms in to a view of the river from Saugerties Lighthouse. The audio narratives are drawn from the conversations of people along the river north of Poughkeepsie. The west window zooms to views of the river from the Adirondack Schooner traveling from Albany to Manhattan, and features observations from people along the river below Poughkeepsie. The project transports visitors from the gallery to the river through the voices of people who know it intimately.

Margaret Cogswell’s site-specific installations delve into perception, the elements, and experience. While an artist-in-residence at SPACES in Cleveland, Ohio, she explored the complex layers of connection between the steel industry and the river in Cuyahoga Fugues, 2003. She has created installations for Goliath Art Space, Brooklyn, NY; the Islip Art Museum, Islip, NY; old buildings in Union City, NJ and Kansas City, MO; as well as the Utatsuyama Temple in Kanazawa, Japan.

Hudson Weather Fugues was produced with special assistance from Terry Kolb, woodwork design and fabrication; Magaly Ponce, new media artist & professor, Bridgewater, MA; Jimmy Rahn, audio engineer, artist & composer; New York, NY; and Ken Steen, composer & professor, Hart School of Music, Hartford, CT. More information at www.margaretcogswell.net

Hudson Weather Fugues, 2005 audio speakers, dvd players, video projectors, mylar, shutters, benches dimensions variable Courtesy of the artist Installation in Glyndor Gallery, Wave Hill, 2005

Hudson Weather Fugues, 2005 video still