Chip Hooper
ABOUT IMAGES
bio
Chip Hooper was born in 1962 in Miami, Florida and was raised in the suburbs of Chicago. In his seventh grade art class, he stepped into a darkroom for the first time and immediately felt a strong affinity for the process of making images. Soon after, he discovered a reproduction of the iconic Ansel Adams photograph 'Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico, 1941'. He was deeply moved by the sight of a wider and more beautiful world than he had yet experienced, and was transfixed by the ability of a single image to convey powerful emotions to the viewer. He began photographing extensively and built himself a small darkroom in the basement of his family's home. He particularly enjoyed photographing the watery expanse of Lake Michigan, experiencing a sense of connection to his subject that he would rediscover years later. He spent countless hours printing and assembling a portfolio of images which he still keeps as a reminder of his early inspiration.
In 1988, at the age of 26, Hooper moved to California's Monterey Peninsula, settling in Carmel Valley. He found himself drawn strongly to the ever-changing display of light on the waters of the Pacific Ocean along the Big Sur coast. Hooper experienced once more the profound sense of peace and connection— with himself and the world around him—that he had glimpsed many years earlier.
Invigorated by his new choice of subject matter, Hooper also made great strides in his technical skills as an artist. He began to work exclusively with a large-format 8x10 inch view camera, and also designed and built a studio on his property. He challenged himself to achieve greater technical quality in his prints than those produced by the master photographers of the twentieth century that preceded him.
Hooper began to envision his photographs of California's Pacific as the first chapter in a larger project. He has since made it his goal to photograph every major sea and ocean in the world. Although thousands of miles separate these bodies of water, Chip Hooper's photographs remind us that they all flow into one another - that they, like us, are connected by the flow of time. In his images, the ever-changing waters of the ocean reflect the deeper emotional states of the human experience.
dates
1962 - 2016
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2021
Celebrating Chip Hooper, Robert Mann Gallery, NY
2019
From the Edge, Robert Mann Gallery, NY
2016
California's Pacific 2nd Set, Robert Mann Gallery, NY
2014
Surf, Weston Gallery, Carmel, CA
2013
Surf, Robert Mann Gallery, New York, NY
2010
California's Pacific, Studio 391, Gualala, CA
2009
Dual Purpose: The works of Chip Hooper and Robert Weingarten, Weston Gallery, Carmel, CA
2007
New Zealand's South Pacific & Tasman Sea, Robert Mann Gallery, NY
New Zealand's South Pacific & Tasman Sea, Weston Gallery, Carmel, CA
New Zealand's South Pacific & Tasman Sea, Joseph Bellows Gallery, La Jolla, CA
New Zealand's South Pacific & Tasman Sea, Robert Klein Gallery, Boston, MA
2005
California's Pacific, Kim Young Seob Gallery, Seoul, Korea
2004
California's Pacific, Robert Mann Gallery, New York, NY
California's Pacific, Joseph Bellows Gallery, La Jolla, CA
California's Pacific, Weston Gallery, Carmel, CA
California's Pacific, Robert Klein Gallery, Boston, MA
California's Pacific, Tatar Gallery, Toronto, Canada
2001
Silver Light, Alinder Gallery, Gualala, CA
2000
Chip Hooper: Light, Land and Sea, Highlands Inn, Fireside Gallery, Carmel, CA
1999
California Dreamin', Edward Carter Gallery, New York, NY
1998
A Radiant Light, Alinder Gallery, Gualala, CA
Chip Hooper: Photographs, Ansel Adams Gallery, Pebble Beach, CA
Chip Hooper, Photographic Image Gallery, Portland, OR
1997
Chip Hooper, Ansel Adams Gallery, Yosemite, CA
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2023
Summer Lovin’, Robert Mann Gallery, New York, NY
2011
At The Water's Edge, Robert Mann Gallery, New York
2010
Epilogues 2, Robert Mann Gallery, New York, NY
2009
Photographs: In Conversation with Robinson Jeffers, Center for Photographic Art, Carmel, CA
2008
New On the Wall: Recent Photography Acquisitions in Photography, Portland Art Museum, Portland, OR
2006
Ingenuity, Photography & Engineering 1846-2006, Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, Portugal
2004
Scenic Beauty, Tokyo Photographic Culture Centre, Tokyo, Japan
The Monterey Photography Tradition, Museum of Art, Nanao, Japan
2003
Rocks & Stones, Forum Eugenio de Almeida, Evora, Portugal
Rocks & Stones, Photographic Archives of the City of Lisbon, Portugal
Terrain, Tatar Gallery, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Outside, Joseph Bellows Gallery, La Jolla, CA
California Photography: The Monterey Legacy, Monterey Museum of Art, Monterey, CA
2002
Photographs from the Permanent Collection, Portland Art Museum
The Great American West, Brigham City Museum, Brigham City, UT
Summer, Robert Klein Gallery, Boston, MA
2001
Night Light, Robert Klein Gallery, Boston, MA
Selected Artists, Weston Gallery, Carmel, CA
Digital Printmaking at Singer Editions, Davison Art Center, Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT
American Beauty, Mumm, Napa, CA
2000
New Definitions in Photography, Photographic Image Gallery, Portland, OR
From the Permanent Collection, Monterey Museum of Art, Monterey, CA
Surf's Up, Edward Carter Gallery, Gualala, CA
Summertime, Robert Klein Gallery, Boston, MA
California Photographers, Tokyo Photographic Cultural Center, Tokyo, Japan
1999
The Language of Light, Mumm Vineyards, Napa Valley, CA
Gallery Artists: New Work, Photograpic Image Gallery, Portland, OR
Gallery Artists, Alinder Gallery, Gualala, CA
1998
Gallery Artists, Alinder Gallery, Gualala, CA
Center Awards, Center for Photographic Art, Carmel, CA
1997
Works on Paper: Iris Prints, Robert Klein Gallery, Boston, MA
Center Awards, Center for Photographic Art, Carmel, CA
1993
Juried Exhibition, Center for Photographic Art, Carmel, CA
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
Chip Hooper: New Zealand's South Pacific & Tasman Sea, 2007
Chip Hooper: California's Pacific, 2004
Rocks & Stones, Jorge Calado, IFT Press, 2003
Oceans, Sue Hostetler, Rizzoli Publications, 2002
Chip Hooper: Photographs, 1997
COLLECTIONS
Monterey Museum of Art, Monterey, CA
Tokyo Photographic Cultural Center, Tokyo, Japan
Portland Art Museum, Portland, OR
Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Santa Barbara, CA
Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA
Microsoft Collection, Seattle, WA