Highways- August 1st

JESS KOEHLER
ESCUELA, TRABAJO, Y HOGAR

Opening Reception:
Saturday, August 1 6-10 pm

Escuela, Trabajo, y Hogar is Koehler’s collection of work that spans from Honduras to Zambia. These three pieces are an exploration on various impoverished children sharing a glimpse of their daily lives: School, Work, and Home (Escuela, Trabajo, y Hogar). She has recently concentrated on children that work with their families in a Honduran trash dump by means of survival and Zambian children who are considered vulnerable or have already become orphaned due to HIV/AIDS. Her social photojournalistic approach moves us from mere looker to actually feeling engaged by the emotions conveyed in the images. Whether it’s a simple gaze off into the distance or that of an intent look staring you in the eyes, we are impacted by the power that lies within the composition of each piece, the cinematic lighting, and more importantly the stars of each frame, the children, which holds our attention with such power and grace. If the intention of artists is to echo a message, then in this case, Koehler has done a marvelous job of not only documenting their stories but re-telling them with a resilience that resonates deep within us all, and that shows promise for an up and coming artist.

Jess Koehler is an artist and social photojournalist that documents human conflict and strife in the world not to sensationalize the stories but to re-tell them in a dignified manner. Koehler’s dedication as a photographer began in High School back in central New York, at the base of Adirondack Mountains, and has continued since. She is the first in her family to graduate college. Graduated from Rochester Institute of Technology with a BFA in Advertising Photography. She has made Los Angeles her home because of its rich diversity and global impact as a leading metropolitan city that continues to influence the world with its art and culture.