“Prickly?” Exhibition

Causey Contemporary

poster for “Prickly?” Exhibition

This event has ended.

Causey Contemporary presents the opening of Prickly? curated by Tracy Causey-Jeffery and featuring works by Ayad Alkhadi, James Balmforth, Jordan Eagles, Norman Mooney, HyunJu Park. and Zane York.

Curator, Tracy Causey-Jeffery had the following to say about her reasons for the exhibition:
“Everyone knows the old saying, ” Beauty is in the eye of the beholder” but does that hold true when the beholder is viewing art? It has been my observation that often viewers initially describe an artwork as beautiful only to change their minds once they find out more about the materials used to create it, the concept behind it or the physicality of the piece. With the added knowledge, the viewer is then faced with deciding whether or not they can live with this more uncomfortable aspect of the work and indeed whether or not they can still consider the beauty of the piece or whether it has become too “prickly” for them to live with.

With this exhibition, Prickly? I have included works created from blood, from gallium and fat, from sharped polished aluminum spires and jagged polished steel, from hair and nails and from a combination of words and sword images. The works by Ayad Alkahdi (on loan from Leila Heller Gallery), James Balmforth (on loan from Hannah Barry Gallery), Jordan Eagles, Norman Mooney, HyunJu Park and Zane York are all lovely in appearance but each may, depending on the viewer, provoke a sense of unease with regards to their material usage, concept or physicality. My hope is that the exhibition will invoke a dialogue on why one viewer is uneasy while another sees the inherent beauty and how some overcome their initial reactions and are either able or unable ultimately to live with such beautiful but challenging works of art.”

The artists included are all contemporary artists working in varying parts of the world: Korea, London, the Middle East and New York.

Ayad Alkadhi’s work focuses on cultural and political topics of Iraq and the Middle East. The work is mainly biographical and sometimes incorporates his painted image. His use of Arabic newspaper on mixed-media canvases, as well as his use of calligraphy, connects elements of traditional medium to contemporary art. The collision produces images that ultimately express the artist’s perceived existence at the crux of East and West polarities.

James Balmforth’s work has a basic interest in chemistry and physics. He often exploits the physical properties of materials and their interactions to accumulate meaning around the physical metaphors produced by the materials.

Blood, procured from a slaughterhouse, is the primary medium in Jordan Eagles’ works. Through his experimental, invented process, he encases blood in plexiglass and UV resin.

Norman Mooney’s work from the Wall Flowers and the Sun series feature pigmented aluminum or polished steel formed into beautiful natural shapes but with a sharp physical presence. His works explore the elemental and cyclical synergies of nature.

HyunJu Park’s works are created from hair, tiny nails, sumi ink and are occasionally subjected to burns. She began by using her own hair to make a self- portrait. To HyunJu, hair became an intensely physical thing, but one that outlasts the rest of the physical body. At the same time, it evokes the spiritual qualities of a human being, thereby transcending physical existence.

Zane York’s beautiful still lifes from his Transmography series of paintings while resembling old floral illustrations evolve on closer look into tiny insects

Media

Schedule

from March 05, 2015 to April 06, 2015

Opening Reception on 2015-03-07 from 10:00 to 13:00

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