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MICHAEL SUNDRA
SUNDRA PHOTOGRAPHY
P.O. Box 616
Unionville, CT 06085

  tel: 860-673-5957
mobile: 860-558-1922
www.sundra.com
michael@sundra.com
EXHIBITS | GUEST LECTURER | GUEST JUROR | CORPORATE COLLECTIONS | PRIVATE COLLECTIONS | SPECIAL COMMISSIONS | BIBLIOGRAPHY
1948 Born Cleveland, OH, November 3
1966-1970 Military Service, US Marine Corps, one year tour of duty in Vietnam
1970 Apprenticeship with Wetzler Studio, Cleveland, OH (advertising photography studio)
1970-1972 Paier College of Art, New Haven, CT, Photography major
1971 1971 Began pursuing Fine Art Photography
1972-1973 1972-1973 Assistant Photographer, US Forest Service
1974 1974 Assistant Photographer, International Silver Company, Meriden, CT
1974-1982 1974-1982 Assistant Photographer, Commercial/Advertising Photography Studio, Color Teknika, West Hartford, CT
1982-Present Own commercial/advertising photography studio
  Resides in Farmington, CT
 
EXHIBITS  
   
2009

Third Annual Splendor Gala, Wadsworth Antheneum Museum of Art, Susan Talbot, Director, Capitol Fund Raiser. Silver Gelatin Print.

Marie Louise Trichet Art Gallery, 15th Anniversary Retrospectives, Wisdom House, Litchfield, Connecticut. Acrylic on canvas. Various Gallery artists.

Spring Gala Art Auction, New Britain Museum of American Art, New Britain, Connecticut. Douglas Hyland, Director. Silver Gelatin print.

Art League of New Britain Spring Juried Show, New Britain, Connecticut. Liza Statton, Juror, Curator, Artspace, New Haven, Connecticut. Acrylic on canvas.
2008

Faculty Art Exhibit, Fisher Gallery, Farmington Valley Arts Center, Avon, Connecticut. Acrylic on canvas, mixed media. Farmington High School Faculty Art Exhibit. Dr. Augustine Co Francesco, Director.

Members Exhibit, New Britain Museum of American Art, New Britain,Connecticut, Douglas Hyland, Director.         

Dr. Thomas Bruhn, Juror, William Benton Museum, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut.
2006

Peeling Back the Curtain, Colin Rhys, Rhys Gallery, Boston, Massachusetts, Curator, T.T.Baum. Collaboration with fiber artist Zoe Sundra’s installation Living Room. For BFA, Massachusetts College of Art, Boston Massachusetts. Silver Gelatin prints.
2006
2005		 Circles, Gallery on the Green, Canton, Connecticut. Photography Collective Group Exhibits. Silver Gelatin prints. (reviewed)
2005
2004

Gallery Artist, Deborah Johnston, Chamaileon Gallery, Bantam, Connecticut. Group and Thematic Exhibits. Paintings, Silver Gelatin prints.
2004

Ten Years at 100 Pearl, 100 Pearl Gallery, Hartford, Connecticut, Janice Lamotta, Curator. Gallery Artists Retrospective. Mixed Media Painting.
2004
2003		 Sundra and Simoes, Red Dot Gallery, Louis Valentin, Curator. Paintings.
2003

Michael Sundra & Mark Swerdloff, 100 Pearl Gallery, Hartford Connecticut, Janice LaMotta, Curator. Mixed Media Paintings. (reviewed)
2002

Sixth Annual Juried Exhibition, Artwell Gallery, Torrington, CT. Douglas Hyland, Director, New Britain Museum of American Art, Juror. Mixed media on canvas.

Miracles, Silent Auction and Art Exhibition, 100 Pearl Street Gallery, Hartford, CT. Proceeds to benefit Saint Francis/Mount Sinai Regional Cancer Center, Hartford, CT. Selected Connecticut artists. Silver gelatin print.

Annual Small Works Juried Art Exhibition, Gallery on the Green, Canton, CT. Rachel Rosenfeld Lafo, Director of Curatorial Affairs, DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park, Juror. Mixed media on wood.
2001

34th Annual Juried Exhibition, Canton Artists Guild, Gallery on the Green, Canton, CT. Richard S. Field, Associate Director, Yale University Art Gallery and Curator of Prints, Drawings and Photographs, Juror. Second place prize winner. Mixed media on canvas.

Ventana Capital, 17th West 24th Street, New York, NY. Selected works from the Venice Beach Series, and mixed media paintings.

Final Thoughts; An Encore Exhibition of Selected Artists, Wood Memorial Library, South Windsor, CT. Susan Cromby, Lucy Sceery, Curators. Mixed media on wood panels.

 The 41st Anniversary Show; A Juried Members Show; Canton Artists Guild, Gallery on the Green, Canton, CT. Walter Kendra, Judith McElhone, Jurors. Prize winner. Silver gelatin print.

Fifth Annual Open Juried Exhibition, Artwell Gallery, Torrington, CT. Richard Klein, Assistant Director, Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art, Curator. Prize winner. Mixed media on canvas.
2001 6 X 6, Small Walls Gallery, Hartford, Connecticut, Susan Scott, curator. Invitational. Mixed Media Paintings.
2000

ASMP: A View of Two Cities, Promenade Gallery, Bushnell Memorial, Hartford, CT. Invitational organized by the CT Chapter of the American Society of Media Photographers. Exhibition celebrating the diversity and cultural heritage of Hartford and New Haven. Silver gelatin prints.

  Cow Parade New York, 2000, New York City, NY and surrounding burroughs. Public art exhibit and benefit auction, during summer, 2000. 500 life-size, painted cows by various artists. After Rauschenberg, mixed media, 230 Park Ave., NYC, NY.
  Perceptions of Light and Space II, Gallery on the Green, Canton, CT. Christine Breslin, and Marcia Reid Marsted, Curators. Mixed media on canvas.
  Stark Naked/Banned in Hartford, Artspace Gallery, Hartford, CT. Judith Green, Director, Artworks Gallery, Hartford, Curator. Invitational exhibit devoted exclusively to the nude/figurative genre. All mediums. Silver gelatin prints, digital quadtone print. (article)
  New Members Show, 2000, Gallery on the Green, Canton Artist Guild, Canton, CT. Mixed media on canvas.
  33rd Annual Open Juried Show, Gallery on the Green, Canton, CT, Patricia Rosoff art critic, The Hartford Advocate, Juror. Mixed media on canvas.
  Painting studies continue with artist Zbigniew Grzyb, New Britain, CT.
   
1999 Art, Wine & Love, Wadsworth Atheneum Art Club, Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Hartford, CT, Amy Ellis, Assistant Curator of American painting and sculpture, Curator. Invitational, silent auction. Venice Beach, CA series featured. Silver gelatin prints.
  Art for the Parks, Hartford Seminary, Hartford, CT. Silent art auction and exhibition to benefit Knox Park Foundation, Hartford, CT, an organization that seeks to improve the quality of life in Greater Hartford. Silver gelatin prints.
  Pleasing Green, Smallwalls Gallery, Hartford, CT, Susan Scott, Curator. Invitational, new mixed media work.
  Citywide Open Studios, New Haven, CT, Marianne Bernstein and Helen Kauder, Curators. Invitation to exhibit in alternative space for open studio weekend. New mixed media work on canvas and selected black and white imagery.
  Miracles, silent auction and art exhibition, 100 Pearl Street Gallery, Hartford, CT. Proceeds to benefit the St. Francis Care Health Learning Center, St. Francis Hospital, Hartford, CT. Invitational extended to select Connecticut artists.
  6 x 6, Smallwalls Gallery, Hartford, CT, Susan Scott, Curator. Invitational, new mixed media work.
  32nd Annual Open Juried Show, Gallery on the Green, Canton, CT. Hugh O'Donnell, Prof. of Painting, School of Visual Arts, Boston University, Boston, MA., Juror. New mixed media.
  Miniatures, Gallery on the Green, Canton, CT. Small works, holiday show. Mixed media
   
1998 Michael Sundra, Black and White Photographs, West Street Bistro and Gallery, Ellington, CT. Selected imagery from UConn exhibit. Silver gelatin prints.
  Art for the Parks, Hartford Seminary, Hartford, CT. Silent art auction and exhibition to benefit Knox Park Foundation, Hartford, CT, an organization that seeks to improve the quality of life in Greater Hartford. Silver gelatin prints.
  Michael Sundra, Thirty Year Portrait Retrospective, 1968-1998, 100 Pearl Street Gallery, Hartford, CT. Janice LaMotta, Paesaggio Gallery, West Hartford, CT, Curator. Exhibit focusing on portrait genre of work beginning in DaNang, South Vietnam, 1968 through the present. Chromogenic and silver gelatin prints, mixed media. (reviewed)
  Miracles, silent auction and art exhibition, 100 Pearl Street Gallery, Hartford, CT. Proceeds to benefit the St. Francis Care Health Learning Center, St. Francis Hospital, Hartford, CT. Invitational extended to select Connecticut artists.
  6 x 6, Smallwalls Gallery, Hartford, CT, Susan Scott, Curator. Invitational, new mixed media work.
1997 Nudes, Farmington Art Guild, Farmington, CT. National juried exhibit, John Thatcher Frazer, Prof. of Art, Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT, Juror. Silver gelatin prints. (reviewed)
  Art for the Parks, Hartford Seminary, Hartford, CT. Silent art auction and exhibition to benefit Knox Park Foundation, Hartford, CT, an organization that seeks to improve the quality of life in Greater Hartford. Silver gelatin prints.
  Miracles, silent auction and exhibit. 100 Pearl Street Gallery, Hartford, CT. Proceeds to benefit the St. Francis Care Health Learning Center, St. Francis Hospital, Hartford, CT. Invitational extended to select Connecticut artists.
  Michael Sundra Photographs, Stevens Gallery, Homer Babbidge Library, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT. One person exhibit, featuring new work from the Venice Beach, CA series and new portrait series. Silver gelatin prints.
  Americans on Americans, Museum of Art, Kiev, Ukraine, August 1997 through September 1998. Tom Caravaglia, Prof. of Photography, Fashion Institute of Technology, New York, NY, Curator. Invitational organized by US State Department and sponsored by America House, Kiev, Ukraine, Victor Kytasty, Director. Endorsed by US Ambassador William Green Miller. Exhibit featuring photographs by prominent American photographers. Opening in Kiev and touring Ukraine for one year in celebration of the country's sixth anniversary of their independence. Work selected from Venice Beach, CA series. Among other artists featured were Bernice Abbot, Walker Evans, Alan Ginsberg, Dorthea Lange, Annie Liebowitz and Robert Mapplethorpe. Silver gelatin prints. (catalogue)
   
1996 Trees, 100 Pearl Street Gallery, Hartford, CT. Interpretation of tree imagery by five artists using various mediums. Janice LaMotta, Paesaggio Gallery, West Hartford, CT, Curator. Silver gelatin prints. Selected works including two new pieces. (reviewed)
  The Artist's Self-Portrait, Farmington Art Guild, Farmington, CT. Open juried show, James Rondeau, Assistant Curator of Contemporary Art, Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford, CT, Juror. Black and white, silver gelatin prints. (reviewed)
  Artists Against AIDS, Hartford Stage, Hartford, CT. Benefit auction for area and statewide AIDS organization.
  Miracles, silent auction and art exhibition, 100 Pearl Street Gallery, Hartford, CT. Proceeds to benefit the St. Francis Care Health Learning Center, St. Francis Hospital, Hartford, CT. Invitational extended to select Connecticut artists including Sol Lewitt. Janice LaMotta, Paesaggio Gallery, West Hartford, CT, Curator.
  Continued studies in painting with Zbigniew Grzyb.
   
1996-1995 Sundra in Venice, Connecticut Photographers Gallery, Danbury, CT. Selected photographs from the Venice Beach, CA body of work.
   
1995 Circles at the Wood, Wood Memorial Library, South Windsor, CT. Group show with Connecticut photographers' collective 'Circles of Confusion.' Exhibited new portrait work. (reviewed)
  Began studies in painting with Connecticut painter Zbigniew Grzyb, New Britain, CT as interest in mixed media continued to grow. Works on canvas now begun.
  Sundra in Venice II, Zuzu's Gallery, Hartford, CT. Selected photographs from a series- in-progress of characters and street life along Ocean Front Walk, Venice Beach, CA.
  Cultural Diversity in Art, Wood Memorial Library, South Windsor, CT. Selected pieces from the Unsung Heroes body of work commissioned by the Institute of Living for their 1993 Annual Report, including photography, drawings and collage. Exhibited with acclaimed Swedish-born textile artist Helena Hernmarck.
   
1994 Unsung Heroes, City Fare, Hartford CT. Mixed media installation of work commissioned by the Institute of Living for their 1993 Annual Report, including photography, drawings and collage. (reviewed)
   
1993 300 Photographers, The Fashion Institute of Technology, New York, NY. International invitational auction exhibit to benefit FIT's photography student endowment fund. Selected photographers exhibited were Cornell Capa, Bernice Abbot, George Tice, John Szarkowski, Walker Evans and Francesco Scavullo, among others.
  Sundra in Venice, The Promenade Gallery, Bushnell Memorial Hall, Hartford, CT. Solo exhibit, featuring work begun in 1987 that concentrates on the characters and street life in Venice Beach, CA. (reviewed)
   
1992 Featured artist at The Hotchkiss Gallery, The Hotchkiss School, Lakeville, CT. Solo exhibit, conceptual portraits and mixed media.
  Michael Sundra, Photographs, Picasso's Gallery, Hartford, CT. Black and white portraits and mixed media. (reviewed)
   
1991 Bodyworks: Points of Departure, Artworks Gallery, open juried show. Ethan Karp, OK Harris Gallery, NYC, Juror, Artworks Gallery, Hartford, CT.
  York Square Cinema, New Haven, CT. Selected new conceptual portrait series.
  22nd Friends Exhibition, New Britain Museum of American Art, New Britain, CT. Mixed media photography/painting; first place award, first acknowledgement of new approach/concept to work. (reviewed)
  Faces and Figures, 100 Pearl Street Gallery, Hartford, CT. Multi media show for Connecticut artists. (reviewed)
  For Love or Money II, More Love, More Money, 100 Pearl Street Gallery, Hartford, CT. Fine art and commercial work. (reviewed)
   
1990 The Nude: Classic & Erotic, an international invitational. First West Coast show. Exhibited with Robert Mapplethorpe, Imogen Cunningham, Helmut Newton and many other notables. Silver Image Gallery, Seattle, WA.
  Portraits in Silver and Steel: New Works by Michael Sundra, Photography & Karen Rossi, Sculpture, Newspace Gallery, Manchester Community College, Manchester, CT.
  Daufuskie Gallery, Daufuskie Island, South Carolina, group invitational.
   
1988 Other Times, Other Places, new work of four Connecticut Gallery artists, Connecticut Gallery, Marlborough, CT. (reviewed)
1986 Four CT Photographers, invitational, M.S. Gallery, Hartford, CT. (reviewed)
   
1985 For Love or Money, group invitational, M.S. Gallery, Hartford, CT.
  Wintonbury Art League, group invitational, University of Hartford, Joseloff Gallery, Hartford, CT.
   
1982 Mystic Art Association, Mystic, CT. Juried show by the late Lee Witkin from Witkin Gallery, New York City, and George Tice.
   
1981 1981 Michael Sundra Photographs, one person show, Paul Mellon Art Center, Choate Rosemary Hall, Wallingford, CT. First solo exhibit. Reginald Bradford, Curator.
   
1980 Connecticut Photographers Exhibition, Carlson Gallery, University of Bridgeport (reviewed)
   
1976 Hartford Art Festival Award Winner
   
GUEST LECTURER
   
1976 Creative Arts Workshop, New Haven, CT.
1982 Fairfield University, Fairfield, CT.
1989 University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, MFA program, Prof. Deborah Muirhead.
1990 Manchester Community College, Manchester, CT, Department of Humanities.
1991 Farmington High School, Farmington, CT.
1992 The Hotchkiss School, Lakeville, CT.
  Studio of Sundra Photography, Hartford, CT, presented to the American Society of Magazine Photographers, Advertising and Art Directors.
1994 Farmington High School, Farmington, CT, open studio and lecture presented to art department.
1996 Master printing seminar and workshop, University of Hartford, Hartford Art School, Hartford, CT. Lecture and hands-on printing demonstration in school darkrooms, followed by visit to artist's studio for further printing demonstration.
  Discovering the Person Behind the Portrait, Exposures '98 workshop, West Hartford Art League, West Hartford, CT. Slide lecture focusing on conceptual and psychological portraiture.
  Marketing Your Art, Farmington Valley Arts Center, Avon, CT. One of five panelists in discussion with art center potters and art students. Tim Skull, Director of Pottery, Moderator.
   
GUEST JUROR
1998 Connecticut Scholastic Arts, Connecticut Art Education Association. Jury individual and portfolios of high school students for scholarships and special awards. University of Hartford, Hartford, CT.
1999 Connecticut Scholastic Arts, Connecticut Art Education Association. Jury individual and portfolios of high school students for scholarships and special awards. University of Hartford, Hartford, CT.
CORPORATE COLLECTIONS
   
Aetna Insurance Company
Bank of Boston, Chicago
Bingham, Dana & Gould
Brickwalk Bookshop
Franklin Trust Federal
Hartford Hospital
Liberty Insurance
Northeast Savings & Loan Association
Paesaggio Gallery
St. Francis Hospital
 
PRIVATE COLLECTIONS
Anne Broadhurst
William DeLottie
Helen Fusscas (formerly Connecticut Gallery)
Scott Goldman
Zbigniew Grzyb
David Hayes
Chet Kempczynski
Walter Kendra
Karen Rossi
Phil Schonberger
Michael Shortell (formerly M.S. Gallery)
Walter and Linda Wick
Kitty Winslow
 
SPECIAL COMMISSIONS
1987 CT Gallery, Marlborough, CT. Commissioned still life to commemorate opening of new contemporary art division, limited edition of 200 original, signed silver gelatin prints.
Charles Ethan Porter, The Connecticut Gallery, Inc. Book on the paintings of Charles Ethan Porter, 113 pages.
 
1991 Intriguing People, Hartford Monthly magazine. Color, black and white portraits of the people who contribute to the quality of life in the Capitol Region.
   
1992 Urban Assets, Five of Hartford's Most Noteworthy, Hartford Monthly magazine. Mixed media portraits.
   
1993 Institute of Living, Hartford, CT, 1993 Annual Report. Unsung Heroes, a portrait study of the behind-the-scene workers who are instrumental in the day to day operations that make the Institute of Living a success. Silver gelatin prints.
   
1994 Institute of Living, Hartford, CT, 1994 Annual Report. Landscape photographs of the many mature and exotic trees that occupy the Institute of Living campus, several of which are the state's champion trees. Silver gelatin prints.
   
1995 Institute of Living, Hartford, CT, 1995 Annual Report, Cover. Mixed media (silver gelatin prints, alkyds and oil paint.)
  Doors of Farmington, a 6-color commemorative print depicting historic homes and doors in Farmington, CT, in celebration of the town's 350th anniversary. Received CT Governor John Rowland's official proclamation. On permanent display in Governor's office at the State Capitol Building, Hartford, CT.
  Dennis Hersh. Mixed media portrait. (commissioned)
  Harvard University School of Business. Subject of a special project and study of middle manager/artist as entrepreneur for an MBA program. Published by 1996 MBA's Kidd and McLean under the direction of Prof. Hugo Utterhoven, Harvard University School of Business. Copyright 1995 by Bret Kidd, Andrew McLean and Harvard University.
   
1996 Susan and Stephen Gass. Mixed media portrait (commissioned)
   
1999 Anne Broadhurst, portrait commission. Photographic session to promote people physically challenged with Down Syndrome who were photographed as models in the fashion/modeling industry. Silver gelatin prints.
  Connecticut Public Television, capital fundraiser. 8"x10" signed, color Polaroid portraits of Julia Child and Jacques Pepin with CPTV philanthropists.
   
BIBLIOGRAPHY of PUBLISHED WORK, REVIEWS and ARTICLES
Heyward, Barbara, and Yarber, Robert E., Breakthrough, second edition, college textbook, Cummings Publishing Co., Menlo Park, CA. Portrait: Man on a Motorcycle, p. 74, 1973
Artists in Connecticut, promotional engagement calendar. Hull Printing, publisher. Portrait: John Revill, 1989, week of November 22, 1993
Hanson, Bernard., Photographhy at M.S., The Hartford Courant, September 21, 1986, p. G4. Review of four CT photographers exhibit at M.S. Gallery
Theater, Photos and Sculpture at Newspace Gallery, The Cougar, (arts) Manchester Community College, November 6, 1990, Volume 90F Number 5. p. 6. (Rossi and Sundra exhibit)
Exhibit of Photos, Sculpture Opens Friday, Journal Inquirer, November 8, 1990, p. A16, (Rossi and Sundra exhibit)
Pappas, Nancy A., Intriguing People, Hartford Monthly magazine, March 1991, Michael E. Parker, publisher, pp. 3, 26-34. (Editorial commissioned work. See also Special Commissions section.)
Jackson, Wendy, Among Friends, The Hartford Advocate, July 11, 1991, p. 19 (Friends exhibition at NBMAA)
Plaganis, Margaret, Artists at Work, The Hartford Advocate, September 19, 1991, p. 34 (For Love or Money II exhibit)
Pappas, Nancy, Urban Assets; Five of Hartford's Most Noteworthy, Hartford Monthly magazine, May 1992. Michael E. Parker, publisher, pp. 24-29. (Editorial commissioned work. See also Special Commissions section).
Schwendenwien, Jude, Michael Sundra: Photographs, The Hartford Courant, June 1992. (Picasso's exhibit)
Schwendenwien, Jude, 100 Pearl Street Gallery/Hartford. Faces & Figures, Art New England, June/July 1992, p. 37.
Schwendenwien, Jude, Picasso's/Hartford, Michael Sundra: Photographs, Art New England, February/March, 1993. p. 38 (Picasso's exhibit)
Chestler, D.H., Into Michael Sundra's Lens, Farmington News, January 21, 1993, pp. 1, 6. (Sundra in Venice exhibit)
Schwendenwien, Jude, Photographer Sundra Captures Wacky Life on California Coast, The Hartford Courant, February 21, 1993. p. G5, (Sundra in Venice exhibit)
Mitchell, Pamela, Exhibit Chronicles Unsung Heroes, The Hartford Courant, April 8, 1994, p. D7. (Unsung Heroes exhibit)
Bloom, Larry, Olmsted's Law: At the Institute of Living, Where Beauty is a Matter of the Troubled Mind, Northeast Magazine, The Hartford Courant, October 15, 1995. pp. 12-13 (Tree photographs from the Institute of Living exhibit)
Connecticut Artists, 96, Promotional engagement calendar, Hull Printing, Publisher. Week of March 11, 1996.
Rosoff, Patricia, Mirror, Mirror on the Wall, An Intimate Look at How Artists See Themselves, The Hartford Advocate, February 25, 1996, p. 16, Art Section (Self portrait exhibit, Farmington Art Guild)
Zimmer, William, Trees That Could Hold Up In Any Weather, The New York Times, Connecticut Section, March 31, 1996, p. 24.
Fox Press/American Society of Media Photographers, CT Chapter. National printing poster-ad campaign for Fox Press, Windsor, CT. Over 300 entrants, ten selected. 2 photographs selected, one published: Margo, Peer Isle, Maine. Silver gelatin print, 1997.
Picture Perfect, article focusing on imagery from Fox Press, ASMP National poster-ad campaign. Connecticut Magazine, May 1997, p. 44.
Americans on Americans, Kiev Museum of Art, Kiev, Ukraine (catalogue). Traveled, 1997.
Reyna, Bessy, Michael Sundra, A Connecticut Photographer Selected for International Photo Exhibit. El Extra News, August 29, 1997. p. 7
Charles, Eleanor, Photographs by Sundra, The New York Times Connecticut section, March 22, 1998. Connecticut Guide (Portrait retrospective)
Edelson, Shereen F., Sundra Communicates Through the Camera, The Farmington Valley Post, October 15, 1999. pp. 1, 6.
Levine, Dan, Defining Good Taste; St. Francis and the Naked Truth, The Hartford Advocate, November 25, 1999, p. 8. (censored photograph)
Hornblow, Deborah, Shamelessly Riding the Banned Wagon, The Hartford Courant, May 20, 2000, p. G1 (Stark Naked/Banned in Hartford exhibit)

 
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