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Press Release

COUPLES January 9 - February 17, 2001 Mitchell-Innes & Nash is pleased to announce the opening of their exhibition "Mariana Cook: Couples" which is scheduled to run from January 9 through February 17, 2001. The exhibition presents a selection of photographs from Cook's "Couples" series recently exhibited at the Center for Creative Photography at the University of Arizona in Tucson. A theme, on which Cook has developed from as early as 1983, this is the first time these works will be presented in New York. The "Couples" reflect a marked change in the content of Mariana Cook's work. Previously, Cook focused on the relationships between family members. Her "Generations of Women," "Mothers and Sons" and "Fathers and Daughters" have all been exhibited in New York. "Couples" however, presents the known (such as Elaine and Willem de Kooning, Philip Johnson and David Whitney, Tony and Heather Randall, Maya Lin and Daniel Wolf) as well as the unknown whose captivating faces reveal their individual personalities and histories. As Paul Ricoeur notes in the catalogue introduction for "Couples:" The degree of intimacy remains very mysterious not only to others, but even to those who live together and form what we commonly call "a couple."...It is precisely the function of the photograph, accompanied by the story of a life, to pierce a little through the couple's layer of secrecy. A fully illustrated book, Couples: Speaking from the Heart, with an introduction by philosopher Paul Ricoeur has been published by Chronicle Books. This extensive catalogue features narratives written by the sitters themselves and the majority of the photographs in the series. The book will be available through the Gallery. An opening night reception will take place at Mitchell-Innes & Nash on January 9, 2001, from 6 to 8 pm. For further information or images please contact Adrian Turner of Mitchell-Innes & Nash at adrian@miandn.com.