Heller Gallery
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"The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes."

Marcel Proust

Having been asked to write a brief introduction to Steffen Dam's new book, we now find ourselves pondering anew what attracts us to his work. For the past 35 years Heller Gallery has focused on artists working with glass so one part of the answer is obvious. Steffen Dam is a disciplined master craftsman whose plants and invertebrates are beautifully executed and display an impressive material credibility. This is a notable technical achievement and merits admiration, but the greater question is once Steffen's pseudo-specimens attract us, what do they have to tell us? Dam's glass panels and jars contain alter-nature specimens of his imaginary universe. Through them he forges a path not necessarily to a new world but to a new perception of the one which surrounds us. It is a gateway to our own desire to learn and consider the immensity of knowledge that leads to the understanding of our world. Steffen's pieces remind us that, in the words of Charles Darwin, 'great oceans of truth lay undiscovered before us' to turn us from the dark side of ignorance to the light of knowledge. All of us are travelers on the path of discovery, but those who help us see the way, like Steffen Dam, are pathfinders.

Heller Gallery is proud to present the exhibition of Dam's work entitled End of my garden. The exhibition will be on view at our New York gallery from April 4 - 25, 2009.

Katya & Douglas Heller

Exhibit Information
End of My Garden
Exhibit Catalog (PDF)