In-Between at Gana Gallery, New York
Date: 06.25.09-07.25.09
Press Release
Jenny Cho: On view from June 25 – July 25, the show will be held on the second floor of the gallery and will be comprised of seven works on canvas and linen. This exhibition will be of particular interest as it is this young artist’s very first gallery exhibition.
The concept of “in between” is central to Jenny Cho’s exhibition as she explores realms of the visible and the invisible. Cho, who is influenced by pioneers from various art historical movements who have focused on perspective, attempts to take their study of the complexity of human visual perception and perspectives one step further -- by bridging what is actually seen with our eyes and what exists in our mind. She begins this process with the modern tool of the camera, which acts as her eye in capturing, from various angles, her subject matter that exists in three dimensions. These shifts in perspective are essential to Cho’s works, as she relies on her intuition to optimize the visual experience of her artistic narration. Using photo cut-outs of these settings and floating them on various planes with wire, Jenny Cho constructs sculptural photo-relief sketches which serve in guiding her as she paints them back onto a two-dimensional surface, which represents the mind.
It is the intangible world, represented by her photo-reliefs and existing between dimensions, that most fascinates Cho. When viewing her paintings, one soon realizes that what initially appears to be a mere representation of an ordinary setting is transformed into a warped reality – a skewed play between actuality and abstraction. This ambiguity of space and time creates a heightened tension in Cho’s staged settings, further exaggerated with the use of dramatic lighting and diagonal lines that fragment her spaces. Like David Hockney’s “joiners” series, Cho’s disjointed spaces are complex labyrinths which are extended, reflected and divided with the repeated motifs of curtains, mirrors and windows. Cho’s multi-perspective view is a reflection of “chaos within harmony” and symbolizes the complex intermingling of what our eyes actually see and what are minds perceive. In so doing, Cho successfully captures a personal space that is based on her own perspectives and creates a dimension that is uniquely hers.