"Here Between"

AAWAA Gallery Alternative Space, 136 15th Street, Brooklyn, NY 11215
June 23 to July 17, 2005

Press Release (For immediate release)

FOR INFORMATION CONTACT:
ASIAN AMERICAN WOMEN ARTISTS ALLIANCE
YAN KONG
TEL(FAX) 718-788-6170

www.aawaa.org

An Asian American Women Artists Alliances Group Exhibition

To document this exhibtion an online catalog with literary contributions has been published. Please click here to access the online catalog.

The Asian American Women Artists Alliance (AAWAA) is pleased to present "Here Between", a group exhibition of seventeen artists at AAWAA Gallery/Alternative Space, 136 15th Street, Brooklyn, New York City. At the opening reception, on Friday, June 24 at 7:00 p.m., AAWAA will present a Tai Chi demonstration by Master Kwok Kay Choey followed by a performance of Chinese folk music by the members of The Chinese Music Ensemble of New York. Admission is free.

"Here Between" examines the multicultural experiences of our artists, many of whom are immigrants or first generation Americans. They share a common struggle of trying to preserve their heritage in an ever-changing American culture, and the artworks in this exhibition are informed by the individual's collective experience in a cultural limbo to transport the viewers to an intangible space to ask, "Where are you?" and "Who are we?" We are not only the color of our skin, the shape of our eyes, or the languages we speak. We are also the stories we tell, the mistakes we've made, and the passions we pursue. These seventeen artists will engage in a multicultural dialogue, and the works they present will become artifacts of a particular time and space of creation while inhabiting these ambiguous spaces. Who we are is not a one-word answer; it is an amalgamation of thoughts and experiences, and we are pleased to present the ideas our artists have on living—here, but also somewhere in-between.

Artists: Jacie Lee Almira, Mija Jung Bryan, Hwa Young Caruso, Seema Christie, Paula DeLuccia, Shin Jeung Jang,, EunKyung Jeong, Suejin Jo, Soonok Jung, Hee Jung Kim, Haeley Kyong,, Yan Kong, Tracie Lee, Fannie Lee, Chie Nishio, Sungsook Setton, Sisun Song.

In her recent self-portraits, Jacie Lee Almira records her late-night anxiety and listlessness to highlight the unseen lulls of everyday life. Mija Jung Bryan uses her visual language of architecture and food to make sense of her new and changing environments. Hwa Young Caruso raises questions about moral issues involving human identity by commenting on the practices of cloning and genetic engineering. Seema Christie's paintings are informed by her Indian heritage as well as her ongoing life practice of yoga, meditation and holistic healing, and her recent work explores the true nature of self as being within, not without. Paula Deluccia approaches painting in a nonrepresentational manner, and her recent paintings are presented in the shape of a diamond, where the color is layered in loosely formed lines and shapes, one on top of another, with a final color application in off-white. Shin Jeung Jang's sculpture integrates discarded, man-made objects with dead, organic material in order to reflect on ideas on what it means to exist in the world today. EunKyung Jeong's mixed media work is created through the layering of textures and colors in an endeavor to embrace and respect life. In her drawings, Soonok Jung explores the balance between tradition and innovation and represents the idea of technology through lines that follow the artist's touch. Hee Jung Kim, is influenced by her personal imagination and Eastern philosophies, and in her recent series, she presents an ark, as a symbol of Samsara, the mundane world. Haeley Kyong's paintings investigate the chasm between different people in our society as a validation of the way we live. Yan Kong expresses in her painting a sense of immediacy, impulse, taking risks, and discoveries, and her working process strives for freedom within a boundary. Tracie Lee, inspired by stories that have connected generations of women in her family, transforms the duality between cultural and ethnic identity into a more flowing sense of self. Coming from a weaving, sewing and three-dimensional fiber sculpture background, Fannie Lee's fiber collages evolve through transparent and opaque layers, transfer techniques and the addition of photographic images. After many years as a photojournalist, Chie Nishio has found new subjects and new concepts and considers photography a perfect tool to express her feelings and satisfaction. Using the traditional East Asian water-ink painting technique, Sungsook Setton, inspired by chamber music, applies powerful brushstrokes to depict what she sees and experiences in her current surroundings. In her recent series, Sisun Song comments on humanity by creating stories of the lives of her small baby dolls. The exhibition will also feature paintings by Suejin Jo.

An online catalog of the exhibition will be launched on June 23, 2005, at www.aawaa.org. The catalog will document the artwork in the exhibition, provide backgrounds on each artist, and will present literary works by Asian-American women writers. This year's literary contributions include short stories by Erica Han Jin (The Right Way) and Meng Luo (Beyond the Imagination).

AAWAA is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that supports and promotes Asian American Women Artists in the visual, literary, and performing arts by organizing exhibitions, performances, readings, and by sponsoring educational workshops and seminars that help artists develop their careers. AAWAA was formed in 1998 to create an intergenerational, Pan-Asian network for emerging and established women artists. Every year, AAWAA showcases a diverse group of artists of all ethnicities. Please visit our web site at www.aawaa.org for additional information about the organization.

This program is made possible in part with funds from BAC/NYSCA, The Puffin Foundation, and The Open Meadow Foundation.