Hidden Meanings
Robeson Center Art Gallery, Rutgers University, Newark, NJ
1997

Studies
The process to create the Hidden Meanings installation began with paintings which explored the landscape of my own body. This was a progression from my previous works which used Sung and Yuan Dynasty fan-shaped landscape paintings as their departure point. I turned to the Chinese fan format as a departure point for my own internal exploration in that the semi-round shape of the fan constantly brings the viewer back into the center of it's orbit-a contained world or an eye. The early Chinese ink on silk fans are no more than 10" in diameter, however, in pursuing my idea I enlarged the scale to 42" in diameter to provide more surface area in which to layer acrylic paint on a hemp paper. Tape line is juxtaposed with brush line.

The techniques of Chinese calligraphy and Chinese scroll-mounting, print-making and etching all inform my artistic process: continually working towards a layered image, I use both sides of the paper, allowing each side to dry against a wall. This not only gives the front residual color from the back side of the paper, but the final image has a randomness otherwise absent.

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