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Jiha Moon artist talk at Saltworks

By Serene Al-Kawas

Atlanta based artist Jiha Moon is currently showcasing her latest body of work Blue Peony and Impure Thoughts at Saltworks Gallery. During an artist talk last Saturday, Moon spoke of her concepts and process, shedding light on her imagination and method as an artist. The talk, though brief, held none of the trappings of elitist or esoteric art, rather a very interesting and relatable Moon spoke candidly of her life experience and how it has informed her artwork.

The exhibition consists of vibrantly colored paintings, prints and one installation piece. It is at once both engaging and difficult. Moon’s paintings feature swirling and almost mythical looking figures layered upon one another, creating an Asian aesthetic true to her Korean roots. Hidden within these layers is slightly more unusual imagery, pulled from different parts of Moon’s imagination and life experience. The installation piece included in the exhibition relates directly to the imagery and ideas in her work, and serves as a three-dimensional retrospective of Moon’s inspirations.
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“The Art of Seduction” Abstract Designs by C. Pyle

DeFoor Centre is in the mood for love in all of its myriad forms from passionate, to flirty to wildly tempestuous with the work of Caroline Pyle’s solo show at the Forum Gallery, will be aptly named The Art of the Seduction. Her presentation of paintings, complete with her wide array of colors, shapes and textures take art lovers from the flirting stage, to the seductive smile to the full love affair! The show starts January 10h through March 19th.

After surviving a life threatening automobile accident that took years of physical therapy to recover both her cognitive and physical functions, Caroline’s innate, artistic talent exploded on the canvas. “It was part healing process as well as my motivation to face therapy and to regain my sense of self again,” says the artist. This enlightenment showed her that life itself is a creative process that ebbs and flows. A Yale University graduate with a long standing career in the field of health care, she has pulled the two together, mind and body are now one.

Being self-taught, she has conquered the main elements of painting; form, color and placement very naturally. Her organic forms, along with a colorist mind imbue her work with power and passion, evoking emotion from the viewer. “Color represents life in its fullness and I use it liberally and intensely,” says the artist, “vivid color combinations are the hallmark of my dramatic works.”

She will have an array of large, medium and small paintings to view. Some of these are from the depths of her soul to the excitement of her brushstrokes.

The DeFoor Centre
1710 DeFoor Avenue
Atlanta, GA.

Parking for the event is available on site.

Even though the Zhang sisters grew up in Northeast China during the time of the Cultural Revolution when things like basic necessities were sometimes scarce, their memories are of a happy childhood raised by parents who were Fine Arts Professors from the Lu Xu Academy of Fine Arts in Shenyang. Now all three sisters are practicing artists with advanced degrees in Fine Arts. Ling Zhang received an M.F.A. from the Central Institute of Nationalities in Beijing and has now settled in Atlanta, Georgia as a professional artist. Hong received an M.F.A from University of California and currently lives and works as a professional artist in Lawrence, Kansas. Bo received her M.F.A. from Georgia State University in Atlanta and currently lives in Beijing and as art director of Onemoon Gallery while teaching part-time at Beijing Central Academy of Fine Arts. Although each sister expresses herself through diverse artistic medium, “all three artists have responded to the dynamics of contemporary Chinese and global history” using a common theme of duality throughout their works.

With influences from the Tibetan Autonomous Region and Buddhist ideals, Ling Zhang’s works are rich in color conveyed through mediums such as ink, pencil, charcoal and watercolor on paper, as well as, oil on canvas. She explores many themes in her works such as spirituality and introspection, dreams versus reality and the complexity of human emotion. In a drawing Ling created in 2003 based on an outdoor installation by Hong Zhang, the sense of duality in nature and culture is beautifully symbolized by tree branches growing from a desk.

In Bo Zhang’s works, she utilizes printmaking techniques such as etching, lithograph and photo-transfer to express “a cultural mix of traditional and modern contradictions in contemporary China”. She combines treasured objects with that of everyday items and through her imagery explores opposing ideas such as clean and dirty, in and out, high and low. For example, in one image, she sets precious hand-painted china atop a PVC pipe from a sink leaving the feeling of tension and unease.

Hong Zhang is trained in traditional Chinese painting and utilizes her techniques to explore personal identity and culture. Since 2002, Hong has been using hair as a metaphor to reflect her personal life, she creates drawings of hair appearing in unexpected configurations. Hong states; “To me, long hair not only looks beautiful, but sometimes it can be very unattractive in particular settings. I combine hair and everyday objects to evoke different feelings and emotions through a surrealistic approach.”

Through April 3.

Whitespace Gallery
814 Edgewood Avenue in Inman Park
Atlanta, Ga.