ART LABOR Gallery presents a major retrospective of Christy Lee Rogers (Kailua, Hawaii), tracing more than twenty years of underwater photography that fuses light, water, and motion into painterly visions reminiscent of Renaissance and Baroque grandeur. This survey invites viewers to witness a rebirth through liquid light and suspended bodies, a cinematic, human, and universally resonant exploration of beauty, vulnerability, and resilience that speaks across borders and disciplines.
The exhibition unfolds in Shanghai, a city defined by rivers and continual renewal, where Rogers’s signature choreographed underwater scenes, photographed in pools at night, merge the drama of Caravaggio with the sweeping movement of Rubens. Her work, born from a Pacific legacy and an island spirit, channels influences ranging from myth to cinematic visionaries such as Federico Fellini, Baz Luhrmann, and James Cameron, creating images that feel both timeless and startlingly contemporary. Rogers’s practice situates photography as a painterly medium, translating classical language into an immediacy that resonates with today’s global audience.
Among the works highlighted in this retrospective is the 2021 Lavazza Calendar piece, “The New Humanity,” a 58 x 58 inch archival pigment print with acrylic face mounting, which exemplifies the artist’s capacity to interweave narrative depth with technical precision. Also featured is A Dream Blossomed Right in Front of My Eyes, a 58 x 87 inch archival pigment print with acrylic face mounting, capturing a moment of choreography and vulnerability that is at once intimate and monumental. Our Hopes and Expectations presents at 48 x 51 inches, likewise archival pigment print with acrylic face mounting, continuing Rogers’s exploration of light’s interaction with water and form. A smaller, yet telling, work identified as p//h 5 measures 27 x 36 inches, an archival pigment print with acrylic face mounting, offering another facet of her expansive practice.
Rogers’s underwater imagery has a notable cultural footprint beyond the gallery wall: she was commissioned by James Cameron for Avatar: The Way of Water and by Disney, with her work featured in Apple campaigns and exhibited worldwide. Her accolades include the Open Photographer of the Year award at the 2019 Sony World Photography Awards, and her works reside in public and private collections across the globe. This retrospective marks Rogers’s first major presentation in Shanghai, situating her within a city that values cross-cultural dialogue and the transformative power of visual storytelling.
The title, Aqueous Renaissance, signals a rebirth narrative born of water, light, and flesh—an invitation to contemplate beauty, narrative, and meaning in a world that often feels fragmented. Rogers’s images are not escapist fantasies but mirrors of our collective condition: fragile, fluid, and searching for connection. In presenting a body of work that spans more than two decades, the exhibition affirms the enduring relevance of underwater photography as a conduit for universal human experiences, inviting audiences to reflect on vulnerability, resilience, and the possibility of shared understanding that transcends politics and borders.
For those seeking further context, the gallery’s program highlights the ongoing dialogue between water, history, and renewal that defines both artist and venue. The exhibition is curated to foster cross-cultural exchange, with Rogers’s luminous, cinematic language offering a powerful lens through which to view contemporary humanity. For media inquiries, high-resolution images, and press materials, please contact ART LABOR Gallery directly. The gallery’s doors open to a wide audience eager to engage with a vision that is at once intimate and expansive, bridging worlds through light, water, and time.
More info at www.christyleerogers.com, Ig @christyleerogers, www.artlaborgallery.com.
Photo credits: m@artlaborgallery.com
Leave a Reply