Albany, NY - The Albany Heritage Area Visitors Center is proud to host a new exhibit, "Cityscapes - Paintings and Photographs" by David Hinchen. Hinchen specializes in "Architectural Art" which celebrates the built environment that carries our "cultural memory."

"For me, buildings are the significant carriers of cultural memory. Surviving the builders and residents, they are reminders of remoter lives and times," says Hinchen. "Over the years, a city takes on an almost geological aspect, with successive generations leaving behind a layering of architectural styles."

Hinchen's work is characterized by these carefully constructed layers, remarkable for their complex details. In Hinchen's work, each stone and leaf is enumerated, each window lovingly detailed. In fact, Hinchen's buildings take on a human quality. He imparts these structures with an air of nobility, of quiet grace and dignity, befitting their cultural status. "There is a hard, beautiful dignity in weathering all those years - pure to themselves and uncompromising," says Hinchen. But if the buildings have a human quality, they also have the ability to impact humanity, says Hinchen. "The enduring physical makeup of a city directly influences its culture as well as its ability to survive as a place people care about."

Hinchen was born in Schenectady, but grew up in Manchester, CT. He attended Drew University and Columbia University. Essentially self-taught, Hinchen was surrounded at a young age by artwork. His mother, Gail Hinchen was a mixed-media collage artist who had her own gallery for 30 years. Initially, Hinchen worked in pen and ink, but then he pioneered a new technique whereby acrylic color is painted over ink images in thin layers to produce a smooth, matte finish.

Hinchen is a full-time artist whose work has appeared in exhibitions at the Albany Institute of History & Art, New York State Museum, the Provincetown Art Association and Museum, University Club of Albany, the Stockade Inn, the New York State Capitol, and as part of Historic Albany Foundation's Built Show. As part of the upcoming exhibit, Hinchen's limited edition prints will be sold in the Albany Visitors Center Gift Shop.

For more info, please visit www.davidhinchen.com

David Hinchen's "Cityscapes - Paintings and Photographs" will be on display at the Albany Heritage Area Visitors Center, located at 25 Quackenbush Square, Albany, September 15 through November 2. Opening reception will be held Friday, September 15, 5pm-7pm.

About the ACCVB
The Albany County Convention & Visitors Bureau, Inc. was established in 1976 to promote the civic and commercial progress of the community through increased development of conventions and tourism. ACCVB currently represents more than 300 member businesses and assists each year in hundreds of regional meetings. ACCVB also operates the Albany Heritage Area Visitors Center, Henry Hudson Planetarium, and the Albany International Airport Information Center. For more information, call 518-434-1217 or 800-258-3582 or visit www.albany.org.
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