The Snowfall of Spiders
When | 20 Feb 2014 - 21 Mar 2014 |
Where | Leila Heller Gallery 568 West 25th Street New York, NY 10001 United States |
Enquiry | 212 249 7695 |
Hwang will transform the main gallery into an interactive, virtual garden. Fifteen Plexiglas panels featuring cherry blossoms made of silver pins and vibrant paper buttons interlaced with delicate, sparkling crystal spider webs will be suspended from the ceiling. The panels are infused with a video projection of a snowy white forest, which morphs into red cherry blossoms that are then consumed by a scattering of black spiders. The work, an emblem for the circle of life, shows the transition from winter to spring, and the growth, evolution and ultimately death that accompany the seasonal transition.
Hwang’s motifs of blossoms, Buddha’s, and urns come from her preoccupation with Zen Buddhism. Additionally, Zen Buddhism plays a part in Hwang’s creative process. Creating hand-made paper buttons and hammering each pin approximately 25 times until it is secure are time-consuming tasks. The monotony and receptiveness of these actions require the upmost concentration and discipline, recalling the meditative state practiced by Zen masters.
Although Hwang refers to her Korean heritage by incorporating aspects of Zen Buddhism into her artist practice, she is also very much influenced by her time living in the United States. Heartney writes, “Buddhism is only part of Hwang’s heritage. As a Korean born woman who has lived in the United States since 1997, her consciousness is a mélange of influences, all of which mingle in her complexly layered work. She notes that while she was brought up in a Buddhist family, she had grown away from Buddhism until she witnessed the events of September 11, 2001. The sight of the burning buildings and falling bodies brought her back to questions of mortality, time and the fragility of life. It was after this experience that the Buddha began to appear in her work, taking his place among other less specifically Asian images. Reflecting on her bi-cultural consciousness, Hwang says, “I use Western objects with an Oriental mind.”
Born in the Republic of Korea in 1960, Ran Hwang lives and works in both Seoul and New York City. She studied at the School of Visual Arts in New York City and attended the Graduate School of Fine Arts at Chung-Ang University in Seoul. She has exhibited at several international institutions including the Queens Museum of Art, New York; The Hudson Valley Center for the Arts, New York; the Chelsea Art Museum, New York; The Seoul Arts Center Museum; and The Jeju Museum of Art, Jeju Island. Hwang’s work is also a part of numerous private and public collections including The Brooklyn Museum, New York; The Des Moines Center for the Arts, Iowa; The National Museum of Contemporary Art, Seoul; and The Hammond Museum, North Salem, NY.
Photo courtesy of the artist and organiser/s
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