Chip Hooper
(AMERICAN, 1962 - 2016)
Chip Hooper's photographs of the Pacific Ocean and Tasman Sea capture transient moments when light and water coalesce in transcendent beauty. Hooper felt a kinship with the ocean from a young age; he began making prints at age 12 and constructed a darkroom in the basement of his childhood home. Through his work with a large-format 8x10 inch view camera, he embraced the patient and meticulous approach that it demands and achieved a high degree of technical mastery that is exhibited in his flawless and highly detailed prints. His subject matter joins him with a lineage of artists who have been profoundly inspired by the Pacific Ocean, including Ansel Adams and Minor White. Yet Chip Hooper developed a unique, contemporary vision of his own, refining the expressive power of landscape photography through his meditative studies of sea, sky, and light. California's Pacific is the first installment, and last, of a series of photographs that Chip Hooper made of oceans around the world. New Zealand's South Pacific and Tasman Sea was his most recent publication consisting of works from 2003 to 2005. The "Surf" series was exhibited at the Weston Gallery in February, 2014. Works from California's Pacific 2nd Set was on view both in New York City and at the Weston Gallery in 2016.
Hooper passed away on March 5, 2016 at his home in Carmel, CA. Though he was not granted enough time to visit all of the world’s oceans, he was able to perfectly capture the ocean and his relationship with it. Although the world suffered a great loss with Hooper’s passing, his spirit will live on through his artwork. Per Hooper’s wishes, his daughter, Valerie, is now managing his photography and honoring his legacy through his stunning works of art.
