The Edge of Knowing

By Elin Spring

To many of us, America is synonymous with the United States. But in truth, the Americas span the distance between southernmost Antarctica and the North Pole in Alaska. In a year-long journey, photographer Magda Biernat and her writer/illustrator husband Ian Webster meandered along a route that became The Edge of Knowing, an exquisite book they co-created offering physical and metaphorical landscapes of the Americas (Kehrer Verlag, 2019). The book and Biernat’s photographs from this project are now at Robert Klein Gallery through February 28^th, 2020.

“Lençois Maranhenses National Park, Maranhão, Brazil, 2013” from The Edge of Knowing by Magda Biernat (courtesy of the artist and Robert Klein Gallery).

“Mangroves in Recife, Brazil, 2013” from The Edge of Knowing by Magda Biernat (courtesy of the artist and Robert Klein Gallery).

Every journey is a quest for discovery – geographic, cultural, spiritual – and what we find naturally depends on our perspective. As a native of Poland and citizen of the United States, Biernat possesses a particular fascination with crossing cultures. Inspired by the belief that “America” encompasses more than the prevailing bias held by many in the United States, she sought a broader view that explores the very concept of boundaries. As Webster writes in their book, “we realized that much of what we thought we knew about the Americas simply wasn’t true…that the countries have far more in common with each other than we are taught to believe and are far more different than we’re told.” In largely unpeopled landscapes that are deliberately intermingled, Biernat explores both natural and constructed environments, drawing visual parallels and metaphors for the walls, fences and borders that separate us.

“Fisherman’s Castle, Irish Bayou, Louisiana, USA, 2013” from The Edge of Knowing by Magda Biernat (courtesy of the artist and Robert Klein Gallery).

“Pheasant Pen, Perkins, Oklahoma, 2013” from The Edge of Knowing by Magda Biernat (courtesy of the artist and Robert Klein Gallery).

It is tough to convey any location’s complex geographic, cultural and emotional interactions within the frame of a two-dimensional photograph. But Biernat’s talent as an architectural and interiors photographer come shining through in her organization of space. She exploits the geometries of angle, line, spatial fields and chromatic alliances to spectacular advantage. Her square, medium-format color prints impose a disciplined and gratifying sense of framing that accentuate the interplay of historical and visual elements. In “The Pan-American Highway cutting across the Nazca lines, Nazca, Peru” an ancient field of native drawings with a modern highway crossing through it become an analogy for cultural boundaries and crossings.

“The Pan-American Highway cutting across the Nazca lines, Nazca, Peru, 2013” from The Edge of Knowing by Magda Biernat (courtesy of the artist and Robert Klein Gallery).

“Huaca de la Luna, Peru, 2013” from The Edge of Knowing by Magda Biernat (courtesy of the artist and Robert Klein Gallery).

“Concrete teepee, Palo Duro Drive, Texas, USA, 2013” from The Edge of Knowing by Magda Biernat (courtesy of the artist and Robert Klein Gallery).

In the gallery, Biernat presents her images in pairs, prompting comparisons of subject matter that emphasize physical similarities, palette and symbolic meaning. Whether drawing attention to the ancient versus modern, urban versus remote, or natural versus built environments, Biernat’s images embrace an inclusive interpretation of the Americas. In their book, Beirnat and Webster take it a conceptual step further, with certain pages cut to reveal two different visions of the same photo spread, separated by the virtual fence of a quarter-page. While the book is a masterpiece of creative alignment between message and method, Biernat’s gallery photographs invite a more freeform immersion.  You can experience The Edge of Knowing both ways at Robert Klein Gallery through February 28^th, 2020.

For more information about this exhibit and accompanying book, go to: https://www.robertkleingallery.com/

Feature Image: “Moray Inca Ruins, Sacred Valley, Peru, 2013” from The Edge of Knowing by Magda Biernat (courtesy of the artist and Robert Klein Gallery).