 |
Megaxiscape (installation view) |
||
 |
Megaxiscape (detail) |
||
 |
Megaxiscape (detail) |
||
MOTI HASSON GALLERY is very pleased to announce the opening of MEGAXISCAPE, a special project by JIHA MOON that takes place from March 20 to May 4, 2008 and will be held in conjunction with Asian Contemporary Art Week 2008. Please join us for the opening reception on Thursday, March 20, From 6 to 8 PM
Known for her range of intimate to large-scale works on Hanji paper, Moon literally expands on her visual vocabulary for her special project at Moti Hasson Gallery, where she will unveil a 32 foot-long painting that drapes down from the ceiling and across the floor, with the addition of sculptural elements.
"Jiha Moon's lyrical ink-and-acrylic paintings are," as critic Nord Wennerstrom states, "remarkable balancing acts that choreograph a maelstrom of lines and shapes to conjure imagery that is both familiar and alien, abject and beautiful" (Artforum, December 2007). This time, Moon combines her experiences living within diverse cultures ranging from her native Korea to Atlanta, Georgia, where she currently resides, to create her largest and most ambitious work to date.
Incorporating her trademark style and using Asian scroll painting as her inspiration, Moon expounds upon this form to create a waterfall-like vista that can be observed from multiple perspectives. Helping to extend her lush visual landscape into the reality of the viewer's experience is Moon's introduction of sculptural components into her work. In MEGAXISCAPE, visible markers that reference ceramic figures through material and color—specifically 12th century Korean "Goryeo" celadon porcelain and 18th century Chinese blue and white porcelain—are used to anchor her scroll onto the floor. Also reminiscent of scholar's rocks, animated shapes and brushstrokes, the addition of sculptures not only extend Moon's visual lexicon but also showcase how her hybrid style provides viewers with the opportunity to bear witness to the process of the work's creation.
Moon, who was trained in both the east and in the west, exemplifies a generation of artists of Asian descent whose work span iconography from both worlds. As Wennerstrom further notes, Moon's work "eschews the warmed-over Pop imagery that characterizes some contemporary Asian art, which makes [her work] arresting and amusing, a discreet but effective cipher for unbridled cultural cross-pollination". Closer examination of MEGAXISCAPE evidences the complex relationships between a multitude of influences, most notably, the history and impact of Asian landscape painting on western abstraction and the "reversal of fortune" given the current interest and rising market value of contemporary Asian art. Ultimately, through MEGAXISCAPE, Moon reflects upon the challenges that come from living within transitory states of being. By testifying to the ongoing challenges eschewed through cultural identities claimed or assigned, Moon's project reinforces how our status as "global citizens" is merely relative and just how easily this position can shift depending on where you stand. -IC
JIHA MOON received her Master of Arts from the University of Iowa in 2002. Her work has been showcased at premier New York venues including Asia Society, The Drawing Center, and White Columns, and in other solo and group exhibitions worldwide. Her work is currently being featured in VantagePoint VII: Jiha Moon at The Mint Museum (Charlotte, 2008), and has been showcased in recent exhibitions at Moti Hasson Gallery (New York, 2007), Curator's Office (Washington, 2007), and Miki Wik Kim Contemporary (Zurich, Switzerland, 2007), among others. She has been selected for international residencies at Art Omi, Acadia Summer Art Program (Kippy Kamp), Singapore Tyler Print Institute through the Asia Society, and The Headlands Center for the Arts, among numerous grants and awards. Moon, whose work is part of such prestigious collections as the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington; Asia Society and Museum, New York; The Mint Museum, North Carolina; and the Virginia Museum of Fine Art, Virginia, has been critically acclaimed by Artforum, The New York Times, Art Papers, The Washington Post, and The New York Sun, among many international publications. Born in 1973 in Taegu, Korea, Jiha Moon currently lives and works in Atlanta, Georgia.
Gallery hours are Monday from 10am - 6pm
Tuesday to Friday from 10am - 8pm
Saturday from 10am - 6pm
Sunday from 12pm - 6pm, and by appointment.
For more information or to receive images, please contact the gallery at 212-268-4444 or email info@motihasson.com.