Patricia Heal Fine Art Photography X Robin Rice Gallery “Three Decades of Photography, A Retropective”

Heal brings us through a world of stillness and sensual nature, which subverts your perception with her unique photography styles. They are reminiscent of classical paintings. 

1997 - In her first solo show, 1997 “Madeline”, Heal creates her images where her figures resemble still lives. They capture a moment of intrigue and tranquility emphasized by the use of unsaturated, subtle color and careful composition. The images have a silent presence. As a point of reference, she draws inspiration from the great painters of the early modernist period. In “Madelaine”, the model is posed in early 19th-century attire against an Edwardian setting as in Degas’ Bathers.

1999 - In her second solo show “Hats” Heal disguises her contemporary characters in a fiction of stillness. Theatrical setups, costumes, and historical props were posed. She embraces the sitting - the formality of posing. The stillness is figurative, the movement is emotional.

2007 - “Naturae”, inspired by systema naturae; a classification of plants based on their sexual parts that was published by Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1735, Demonstrates a portrait-like focus on structure and bold detail. Using her large-format 8” x10” camera she creates muted reds, mossy browns and dirty greens, earth tones in their essence, these photographs evoke the work of Robert Mapplethorpe.

2009, Quiescence echo’s Dutch master painters of the 17th century. Heals images appear to be canvases that have been allowed to accumulate a patina of age over the years. However, the fact that these are indeed contemporary photographs subverts perception and forces the viewer to question what they are seeing and contemplate the creation process. Quiescence is an exhibition of subtle beauty, as well as mystery and dark pleasures.

2011 ”Dartmoor “depicts the wild ponies of Dartmoor National Park in Devon, England. The dedicated exhibit reflects Patricia's life-long love affair with the area and its inhabitants—the semi-feral native ponies that have roamed the moors for centuries. Whether from negative or digital, they are printed on canvas that has been distressed to take on a worn, slightly damaged texture and then stitched to another piece of canvas with horsehair. Through tearing, staining with archival inks, charcoal and graphite. She was inspired by the Dartmoor Pony Heritage Trust (DPHT), whose mission it is to save the indigenous pony from extinction. It is estimated now that there are as few as 1500 ponies kept on the moors. Steven Spielberg's 2011“Warhorse” was filmed in Dartmoor
“I have never before, in my long and eclectic career, been gifted with such an abundance of natural beauty as I did while filming “Warhorse” in Dartmoor.” —Steven Spielberg, 

2014 “Finding Peabrook” Patricia Heal documents a visual narrative of her enchanted home in upstate New York. The name Peabrook comes from a babbling brook running through her property. The classic architecture of the house is offset by uniquely quirky interiors, which generate an otherworldly existence within the estate. "Peabrook is my Neverland," Heal states, in reference to J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan. "It is a fictional place often described as a metaphor for eternal childhood."

2024 Recent Collaboration Patricia Heal x Martin Bourne 
Heal says:  "Martin and I have worked together professionally for many years. Both being avid garden lovers, we decided to embark on a collaborative and creative project that has become a body of multi-disciplinary pieces, a passion project that is an anthology of flower and plant imagery, including photography, textiles, and ceramics. The new work hopes to blur the lines between photography and paint and offers a group of new images that reveal a perspective on nature when not constrained, trimmed or orderly…a little chaos." Martin is a prop stylist and set designer. 

Patricia Heal was born in England, where she studied art and theater. After receiving her degree in photography, she moved to New York City. Heal works for leading editorial and commercial clients She has received numerous awards, including the Society of Publication Designers Award for Photography, the Communication Arts Photography Award, a Nikon/PDN Award, the IPA Lucie Fine Art Award, and a Fuji Film Promotion Award. This retrospective will be Patrica Heal’s tenth solo show at the Robin Rice Gallery. To view the exhibition go to https://robinricegallery.com/exhibitions/2025/patriciaheal