BRIDGES

Sept 20 - Oct 12, 2019, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA), Philadelphia

“Bridges” is a yearly juried exhibition that honors the skills of community college student artists from PAFA’s partner institutions nationwide, as well as the influence of their educators. The event also showcases the artwork of PAFA undergraduates who launched their artistic journeys in community colleges.

My artworks were honored to be selected by the juries. Most of them are sculptures crafted from paper, depicting the evolution from simple forms to elaborate, intricate, and complex shapes and structures.

Artworks

Particles of Messier 42
(Orion Nebula)

This lantern combines organic and biomorphic forms to create a hybrid translucent volume of light similar to the Orion Nebula. Its twisted structure, decorations (pearls, turtle figurines), and metallic details refer to the style of Art Nouveau.

The idea of combining colors of light was influenced by Dario Argento’s “Suspiria,“ which features expressive lights, and by Fauvism, which features areas of vivid color. The large octahedron increases the drama and contrasts with the lantern’s strong organic structure.

I added even more octahedrons and decorative found objects (beads, crystals) to represent my ideas of “seamlessness” and “maximalism.” Moreover, this work is designed to be collapsible and portable.

I am fond of jellyfish, octopuses, Art Nouveau, and outer space, and I try to include those things in my art as my signature. This object looks like a jellyfish from deep space, and it emphasizes the ethereal drama that I think light can present better than any substance.

Black Hole Ctenophora

This object incorporates both organic and geometric forms, and it is designed to hang both horizontally and vertically. It resembles an animal from the phylum Ctenophora, (marine invertebrates also known as “comb jellies”), as well as the elementary particles that burst out of black holes in space.

I often challenge myself to create versatile sculptures that depict both jellyfish (my favorite animals) and objects from outer space.

The main structure is very durable and can support swirly lines and other details that can extend to a maximum of two times its volume. This supports my ideas of “seamlessness” and “maximalism.” I attached octahedrons, icosahedrons, and spiked icosahedrons in order to establish a connection between organic and geometric forms and express the drama of particles exploding out of a black hole.

Sculptures: "The Elysian Family"

This project shows the evolution of cylinder forms. Each one contains a feature that is inherited from its predecessors, creating an “evolutionary tree.”

All sculptures in the series were made in response to different verbs. This process was influenced by Richard Serra’s “Verblist,” which contains 107 verbs used to make a connected series of artworks.

For example, “Father” represents a combination of the verbs “crease,” “fold,” and “curve,” and “Mother” adds the verb “weave” to the list. “Brother” inherits these verbs from both and adds the verb “droop.” “Twin Sisters” inherits all of these verbs, and adds the verbs “detach” and “attach.” Finally, “Hybrid” has all of the verbs from the previous sculptures. Setting the “Verblist” as my rule for making this series was challenging, but the most important part was that each sculpture also had to present my favorite style, Art Nouveau, and to show “maximalism.”