We are pleased to present work by gallery artists who offer a glimpse into our diverse programming. Working across a variety of mediums, each of the artists takes a process-driven approach. Whether it’s yarn on canvas or fibers plucked from handmade Japanese paper, the materiality of the work is immediately apparent.
At a time when most of our interaction with images takes place in a flat, virtual realm, viewing such tactile pieces in person is impactful. Seen together, the works offer a distinctly corporeal experience that engages the senses and invites viewers to take time away from the bustle of daily life to pause, slow down and reflect.
The Artists
New York artist Miya Ando (b. 1973, Los Angeles) has achieved critical acclaim for her luminous paintings and large-scale installations that articulate transient aspects of the natural world. Ando layers inks, dyes, resins and often micronized pure silver on metal canvases. Recent works center on fugitive imagery of clouds captured at precise moments in the twilight hours of dusk.
Inspired by the use of yarn in African culture, Nigerian-American artist Osi Audu (b. 1956, Nigeria) creates works that explore “the skin of things.” Part of the New York artist’s larger investigation into human consciousness, the canvases on view—made using an intricate needlework technique—explore the body’s visceral and physical response to experiences that create goosebumps.
Hiroshi Senju (b. 1958, Tokyo) is widely recognized for his immersive waterfall paintings. He applies pigments often derived from natural materials onto mulberry paper using a minimalist language rooted in Abstract Expressionism. His intensely physical process involves pouring pigments downward from the top of paintings mimicking the trajectory of gushing water. He also uses spray guns and airbrushes to create a sensation of mist.
Intricate paper constructions by Detroit-based artist Neha Vedpathak (b. 1982, India) are the result of a painstaking yet meditative process. She plucks handmade Japanese paper with a pushpin, separating the fibers until the paper is transformed into a lace-like material that she then stitches together and stains with pigments.
Robert Yasuda (b. 1940, Hawaii) is known for his luminous multi-panel works on sculpted wood panels that transmit and transform light. The New York-based artist begins by shaping the panels, which are up to two inches thick, with chisels and grinders. Softening harsh vertical lines, he introduces bowed, gently sloping edges and upturned corners. He wraps the wood in diaphanous cotton, adding as many as forty layers of pearlescent acrylic paint, suspending the fabric amid layers of luminous color.
Beijing artist Zheng Lu (b. 1978, Inner Mongolia) creates gravity-defying sculptures of splashes of water captured in midair. Pulsing with movement, their fluid, animated forms are charged with the energy (qi) of the universe, belying their steel composite. Water, a shapeless medium that can be potent or supple, dynamic or latent, can take on abundant meanings and serve as a tangible model embedded with ideas. For Zheng, it is a substance symbolic of change, self-reflection and the passage of time.