About Andrea Cordonier
Artist’s Statement
I shoot to express, address and possess.
Each frame contains my curiosity, physicality and knowledge, each an idea or moment in time. Together, they form stories at the intersection of people, their homes and communities and omnipresent nature, constructed, and re-constructed, in the first and third person.
I work in colour and black and white, in documentary, editorial and abstract forms, in accord with each subject. I look, first, for beauty, but delight in ordered disorder, elements of surprise, and movement in repose. The narrative structure reveals itself through bold composition, careful juxtaposition, and select revelation, demanding a second and third look.
Artist’s Bio
A simple SLR and a high school darkroom clinched it for photographer Andrea Cordonier. She describes the urge to create as “a beautiful beast with a will of its own.”
Cordonier pursued photography as an avocation alongside consulting, community development projects and a return to school to study construction carpentry and green building.
She studied and observed and shot and edited her growing body of work, resulting in a substantial archive of images. She moved from film to digital and back to film, now graced with a 1957 Hasselblad gifted to her by a fellow enthusiast.
A year ago, Cordonier mounted her first solo exhibition, ELEMENTAL, with the purpose of learning the ropes as a professional artist.
IF I WAKE (LMNTL No. 2), her second exhibition, opens on September 16, 2018 and explores the incomparable role of nature in creativity, mental health and a life well-lived.
More than 800 editorial images accompany her writing at Habicurious.com. The content marks a synthesis of architecture, building, design, art and culture, nature, history and the psycho-social considerations of how and where we live.
Cordonier was part of the team from the Workers History Museum that photographically catalogued the networks of industrial buildings of the E.B. Eddy site /Domtar Lands (Ottawa River, between Ottawa, ON and Gatineau, QC) prior to their redevelopment. With a focus on detail, the project took 12 months to complete.
In 2018/2019, she looks forward to submitting to competitions, securing representation, showing in group and solo exhibitions, and identifying creative collaborations, especially those that combine photography with building/making, writing and/or community cultural development.
From Vancouver, Cordonier now lives in Burritt’s Rapids, a rural village on the Rideau River in the City of Ottawa.
Series/Exhibitions:
Elemental, 2017
If I Wake (LMNTL No. 2), opens 16 September 2018, Giardino Gallery, Carleton Place, ON
E.B. Eddy Industrial Site, Ottawa/Gatineau, Carleton University, 2016
Additional Information:
About Geronimo Coffee House & Gallery
146 Prescott Street
Kemptville, ON K0G 1J0
Tel: (613) 215-0401
Located 30 minutes from downtown Ottawa
Hours of Operation: Open 7 days a week until 4:00pm
The Owners: Terry and Lee are adorable not to mention unfailingly kind. Stepping through the front door of Geronimo is like entering their living room, a comfortable gathering place populated with a lively mix of locals and travellers. Take a seat at the bar for the best conversation you’ll have all week.
Food & Beverages: Serving all manner of coffee (the best in town!), specialty bottled drinks, locally blended tea, handmade sweets and savouries, breakfast sandwiches, lunches, soup and salads.
The Building: With soaring wooden ceilings, 70+ feet of exhibition space, including a gorgeous brick wall, classic wooden bar and oversized windows, Geronimo is the preferred cultural and social space in Kemptville. Tip: The sheltered, private patio out back is a hidden treat.
Parking: Free and on the street; additional parking behind the North Grenville Public Library on Prescott Street, just north of Geronimo.
