Cortney Andrews

Harbor is pleased to present a solo exhibition of recent work by Cortney Andrews. Andrews is a photographer, video artist and choreographer exploring the physical and psychological thresholds of desire. Through performance, imagery and drawing, she portrays these themes in narratives and gestures that challenge her subjects to reveal the signs of being pushed beyond their comfortable state.

Andrews’ recent body of work investigates water as a place of hypnotic beauty and darkness. In the video installation Curtain, her subjects appear confined in an expanse of water. Their movements heighten the dynamic tension of the water's surface, teasing the barrier of the body. Each group of performers recalls a layer of the psyche, evoking a link between the personal and the collective unconscious. The result is a feeling of something spellbinding yet familiar.

The relationship between the female body and water has for centuries been expressed through the narratives of sirens, witches, and mourning rituals. Andrews is interested in how these histories signify female seduction as powerful, and consequently dangerous, with an inherent, overt connection to death.

With references that range from poets Frank O’Hara and Anne Carson, to Michelangelo Antonioni’s infamous film L’Avventura, Andrews’ videos, drawings and photographs reflect that these themes and archetypes remain relevant today.

Born and raised in Kansas, Cortney Andrews received her MFA in Photography from the Rhode Island School of Design. She has exhibited in New York, Detroit, London, Los Angeles, and throughout the US, and staged performances at Los Angeles County Museum of Art and Regina Rex Gallery. Her work can be found in collections, including The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. She currently lives and works in Brooklyn.