Curated by Eun Young Choi
March 7 – March 29, 2009
Exhibiting Artists:
Lisha Bai, Ivin Ballen, Ethan Greenbaum, Geujin Han, Benjamin S. Jones,
Sandra Eula Lee, Zaun Lee, Aurora Robson, Aili Schmeltz, Sun Youa
Abstractions and Contractions brings together ten exciting artists whose work deal with the complex process of creating varying degrees of abstract work. The word abstraction may bring to mind the act of considering something as a general characteristic, a secret removal, or an unrealistic and visionary idea. Contraction may refer to a shortening or thickening of muscle fibers, a stage in wound healing, or a decrease in economic growth. Although they are two very different words the result
of abstracting or contracting something may converge on some common ground, an end product that is more constricted, reduced, and condensed yet more compelling, expanded and intensified.
Abstraction in art may refer to work that seem detached and uninvolved on the one end and emotionally charged and lyrical on the other. It exists along a continuum where the departure from realistic depiction can be slight to complete. The artists in Abstractions and Contractions examine color, line and form from their surroundings like the hills of Los Angeles, vinyl kitchen floors, Formica countertops, Lego blocks, and toilet paper rolls to compose fascinating compositions that transform the ordinary into an interplay between the real and the surreal while referencing a long history of abstract art.
Abstractions and Contractions is part of an annual exhibition program sponsored by the AHL Foundation and is being hosted by Lumenhouse this year. The AHL Foundation was established to support cultural and artistic events with the purpose of building a wider public awareness of the contributions of Korean-American artists to contemporary art. It aims to discover talented artists and provide them with an opportunity to further their creative activities by providing grants and exhibitions. While the Foundation concentrates most of its resources to build awareness and support for artists of Korean descent, the goal of this exhibition is to foster the exchange of ideas between artists of Korean and non-Korean heritage and to nurture all underrepresented artists at large regardless of their cultural background.
