loop Gallery is pleased to present Chinoiserie, a
new exhibition by guest artist, JJ Lee and Paper Works by Robyn Thomas.
July 18 - August 9, 2015
Reception:
Saturday, July 18, 2-5PM
chi·noi·se·rie ËŒ noun (shÄ“nˈwäzÉ™rÄ“)a decorative style of Western art based on imitations of Chinese motifs
especially popular in 18th century Europe
This
body of work is based on blue and white china patterns such as “Blue Willow”
that depict an imagined Chinese scene. The increased importation of authentic
blue and white porcelain from China in the 1700’s into Europe spawned a fervour
for anything “oriental” and a longing for anything “exotic”. As a result,
fantastical versions of the original pottery were created by Europeans of an
imagined China. With round canvasses alluding to plates, Lee
explores the “chop suey” culture that is created when East meets West through
migration.
JJ Lee’s
(BFA, NSCAD ‘92, MFA, York University ‘99) mixed media paintings explore the
intersection of Chinese and Canadian cultures by appropriating images from a
variety of sources. She has exhibited extensively across Canada and has
been featured in The Globe and Mail. Lee is the recipient of several
awards (e.g. Canada Council, Ontario Arts Council, RBC /Canadian Art
Foundation’s New Canadian Painting Competition, Asian Canadian Artists Fund for
Visual Arts). She is included in the Magenta Foundation’s “Carte Blanche:
Painting, a survey of contemporary Canadian painters”. Lee is an
Assistant Professor and Director, First Year at OCAD University.
In Thomas’s new exhibition, the ancient process of weaving is used
to inspire reflection on the present value of paper as a means of record
keeping. Printed pages are used as fibre, ceasing to function as a means of
recording and informing. Woven together and divorced from their original
contexts, the pages begin to tell another story. Thomas’s woven
sculptures allow us to pick out snippets of information from each page, while
simultaneously approaching the reworked papers as objects of aesthetic
contemplation.
