Jongwang Lee

Escape, mixed media on wood panel, abstraction, space, 84" x 60"

2016

The discipline of creating a drawing each day is a process, like a written diary, to clear the mind, to declutter thoughts, and to observe patterns. It is a method that allows the mind a freedom to wander and drift. A visual journal becomes a safe space for personal reflection–a self-awareness fueled by the opportunity for contemplation and immersion. The painted surface for the drawings was created by dividing five large paintings into 40 separate pieces. I chose five paintings from my Perspective Series (1993-94), which relied on day-to-day imagery that narrated a story about shifting time and how time anchors our day. The brush strokes of Perspectives are fluid, with muted colors – moving from deep blacks to taupe whites. Dividing these pieces was a means for me to rethink ideas and recurring images in my older work. The very thin gold leaf applied to each piece has a wonderful amber tone. This gold leaf is from Myanmar, where it is used as decoration for Buddha or for the dome of a temple or monastery. In the drawings, the gold element relates to the sense of infinity – like the sky in an enclosed courtyard. An architectural element is a critical component in my studio work that I wanted to carry over into these pieces. I envisioned a courtyard–a safe space that opens up to the sky. Unfolding circles define the beginnings of an open interior space. The process felt open-ended. It was an opportunity to get lost in thought and to give me an opportunity to reflect, muse and declutter my thinking. Then repeat. 40 days...

Jongwang Lee's paintings challenge a dormant potential he believes lives within all humans. Inspired by Buddhist philosophies of space, Korean ideas of communication with the soul, a...

Jongwang Lee's paintings challenge a dormant potential he believes lives within all humans. Inspired by Buddhist philosophies of space, Korean ideas of communication with the soul, a...

Jongwang Lee's paintings challenge a dormant potential he believes lives within all humans. Inspired by Buddhist philosophies of space, Korean ideas of communication with the soul, a...

Jongwang Lee's paintings challenge a dormant potential he believes lives within all humans. Inspired by Buddhist philosophies of space, Korean ideas of communication with the soul, a...

Jongwang Lee's paintings challenge a dormant potential he believes lives within all humans. Inspired by Buddhist philosophies of space, Korean ideas of communication with the soul, a...

Interior design paintings. Abstraction art, made in yellow, black, white and turquoise blue. Can be positioned in horizontal or vertical mode. Lena Chernyavskaya / LENA CHER Born i...

Interior design paintings. Diptych. Each work is 30 by 40 inches in size. Rosy Water (Diptych)- abstraction art, made in black, rose, salmon red, white and beige on canvas. Lena C...

Swipe 3 (Abstract painting) Sumi ink and paint on paper. Unframed. For Russinof, everything begins with color. She begins a painting by applying color in lyrical, gestural marks. T...

Swipe 3 (Abstract painting) Sumi ink and paint on paper. Unframed. For Russinof, everything begins with color. She begins a painting by applying color in lyrical, gestural marks. T...

A painting on paper set in a white shadow box frame, 51.5x50" framed, protected by an acrylic glazing. Known for his erratic and expressive abstract works, Daniel Diaz-Tai uses vari...

Graphic abstract painting on paper in in complementary hues of red-orange, dark teal and yellow "Duo" by Jenny Kemp, painted in 2020 acrylic on linen over panel 14 x 11 inches Signed, verso Jenny Kemp’s abstract paintings are inspired by the artist’s desire to represent unseen phenomenon. With intricate and calculated line-work, the artist builds parallel layers against opaque backgrounds, while shifts in color and shape call attention to organic forms that give reference to the human body or atomic structures. Precise lines in light green arc over a layer of opaque moss green before colliding with forms of bright red-orange. A serene layer of dark teal complements these contrasting colliding forms, allowing a visual reprieve. The gouache painting on paper is complimented with a light wood frame, protected by non-glare glass. Wire is installed on the back for seamless hanging. About the artist: Jenny Kemp received a BS in Art from the University of Wisconsin - Madison and an MFA in Painting from the University at Albany. Her work has been exhibited in galleries and museums across the country, most recently at Gold/Scopophilia* in Montclair, NJ and the Mandeville Gallery at Union College in Schenectady, NY. She has been featured in publications such as 100 Painters of Tomorrow published by Thames & Hudson, New American Paintings, The Huffington Post, Seattle’s City Arts, New York Times, and The New England Review. Kemp is also a recipient of the 2015 NYFA fellowship in painting and the 2015 Emerging Artist Award recipient from the Art Center of the Capital Region in Troy, NY. She sits on the board of Collar Works, an art space dedicated to the support of emerging and under-represented artists exhibiting challenging and culturally relevant contemporary artworks in Troy, NY where she lives and works. EDUCATION MFA - Painting, University at Albany, SUNY 2012 BS - Art, University of Wisconsin, Madison 2002 EXHIBITIONS 2019 Gold / Scopophilia* Art on Paper, Pier 36, NYC Steady Curve Gold / Scopophilia*, Montclair, NJ (solo) 2018 Slow Grow Mandeville Gallery, Union College, Schenectady, NY (solo) FENCE + ECHO, Far x Wide, Brooklyn, NY (curated by Jes Cannon) Crazy Beautiful III, Kenise Barnes Gallery, Larchmont, NY Three Square, Geoffrey Young Gallery, Great Barrington, MA (curated by Phil & Sue Knoll) 2017 When We Were Young: Rethinking Abstraction from the University at Albany Art Collections (1967-present) University at Albany Art Museum, Albany, NY Surface 4, ARENA at Brooklyn Dermatology, Brooklyn, NY (curated by Renée Riccardo) The Whitney Houston Biennial: Greatest Love of All, Chashama, NYC (curated by Christine Finely) 2016 Reality is Wrong, Dreams are Real, David&Schweitzer Contemporary, Brooklyn, NY (curated by Phil and Sue Knoll) Squared, Geoffrey Young Gallery, Great Barrington, MA (curated by Phil & Sue Knoll) Something Else, The Painting Center, New York, NY (curated by Dee Shapiro and Miriam Brumer) Living Color, Art Center of the Capital Region, Troy, NY (2 person) 2015 Howdy Doody, Collar Works, Troy, NY (curated by Leona Christie) Remains to be Seen, Geoffrey Young Gallery, Great Barrington, MA (curated by Phil & Sue Knoll) Painting Parallels, GRIDSPACE, Brooklyn, NY (solo) Double Vision, Laffer Gallery, Schuylerville, NY (2 person) Mohawk Hudson Invitational Albany Center Gallery, Albany, NY Snowbirds Kenise Barnes Gallery, Larchmont, NY Valentine’s Day Cardiovascular, Geoffrey Young Gallery, Great Barrington, MA (curated by Phil & Sue Knoll) Variations in Paint (invitational), The Painting Center, New York, NY 2014 100 Painters of Tomorrow: New York Exhibition, One Art Space, New York, NY Mohawk Hudson Regional, Albany Institute of History and Art (juror: Stephen Westfall) Tracery, PS209 Gallery, Stone Ridge, NY Connections Todd Art Gallery at Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, TN (2 person) Perceptions Opalka Gallery at Sage College, Albany, NY Modern Artists Carrie Haddad Gallery, Husdson, NY 2013 Second Nature Albany Airport Gallery, Albany, NY Admit One Collar Works Gallery, Troy, NY Works by Jenny Kemp and Richard Harrington Gallery 105, curated by MCLA Gallery 51, N. Adams, MA An Early Spring Carrie Haddad Gallery, Hudson, NY 2012 Recent work and new paintings on paper Fulton Street Gallery (solo) FISSURE GalleryEll online exhibition, curated by Amanda Kates In Orbit Little Gallery at Sage College of Albany. Albany, NY. Works on Paper Carrie Haddad Gallery, Hudson, NY MFA National Competition First Street Gallery, NYC. Juror: John Yau BioLogical Salem Art Works Carry House Gallery, Salem, NY MFA Thesis Exhibition University at Albany Art Museum, Albany, NY 2011 Back to School Fulton Street Gallery, Troy, NY Fence Select The Art Center of the Capital Region, Troy, NY. Juror: Carrie Haddad Honorable Mention Chain Letter Samson Projects, Boston, MA SUNY Best of Show New York State Museum, Albany, NY Members Only Collar Works Gallery, Troy, NY Fountain Art Fair Pier 66, New York, NY Nathan Meltz with Jenny Kemp and Doug Holst...