The title of Karen Halverson's show Survey, which opens next week at Robert Klein Gallery in Boston, bespeaks the breadth of the photographer's subject matter. The true project of Halverson's art—which appears, at first glance, to be merely a collection of colorful landscapes—is to expose and explore the many facets of human relationships to the land. Her photographs, particularly those of the American west—a region with a long history of human settlement and expansion—raise questions about our discovery and occupation of the spaces in which we live, work, and travel. While some of Halverson's images show industrial development overshadowing natural beauty, others highlight the insignificance of human life. Ultimately, what emerges is a picture of both the scope of our ambitions and the limits of our control.
