Creatures

Creatures
Sculpture installation by Alex Abajian + J. Lin-Hsien Kung
Process drawings by Beili Liu
Together these artworks employ wind, even breath, as a means to create the work.
OSOTRASPARENTE sculpture to wear by Paola Mirai

 August 1 - September 1

Vessel Gallery, 471 25th Street, Oakland, CA 94612, 510 893 8800  
Gallery Hours:  Tuesday through Saturday, 11-6PM

CREATURES

STATEMENT Those Creatures… Heat is the life force of motion...Gravity is the inescapable specter that’s always in need of persuasion...Breath is the invisible structure setting things in place.We wanted to take a snapshot of breath and movement frozen in time and governed by a limited process.We're really happy for the residency at the Tacoma Museum of Glass.  With some luck and grace the residency appeared allowing us to create this body of work. 

 "I've waited nearly six years to present this installation. These 'Creatures' have morphed and changed.  In fact, they've multiplied into an enormous, elegant herd.  This work by Jerry and Alex has developed through their time at the recent exceptional residency program at The Tacoma Museum of Glass. The duo has worked tirelessly and in beautiful sychronicity to encapsulate the grace of their vision into the life of these two, sometimes three-legged creatures, most with snouts that bend and curve to examine their surroundings, you, and one another.  The wait was well worth it - as great work takes time!  

In Chinese thought, the world of nature and the world of man are linked, reflecting each other in ways large and small. In Chinese, 'feng' means 'breath, the wind we breath.' Through Abajian, Kung and Liu's work I can put forth a visual representation of these ideologies." - Lonnie Lee

Beili Liu
PROCESS DRAWINGS Beili Liu is a multidisciplinary artist whose artwork has been exhibited and published extensively both nationally and internationally. She has held solo exhibitions at venues such as the Hå Gamle Prestegard, Norwegian National Art and Culture Center, Galerie An Der Pinakothek Der Moderne, Munich, Germany, Elisabeth de Brabant Art Center, Shanghai, Asia Unlimited Gallery, Berlin, Germany, Nordisk Kunst Plattform, Brusand, Norway,  Hua Gallery, London, and the Chinese Culture Foundation, San Francisco. Liu has participated in group exhibitions at the Museum of Art and History, Santa Cruz, the Austin Museum of Art, Art Museum of Southeast Texas, Urban Institute of Contemporary Art, San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art, Granary Gallery, Fiskars, Finland and the Kaunas Biennale—a survey of international cotemporary fiber art, hosted by the National Art Museum in Lithuania.

  
Paola Mirai 
OSOTRASPARENTE "It is with great honor we debut Italian designer Paola Mirai's jewelry. After eight years of testing and formulation, this medium is a creation of her very own; it is transparent like glass, but not.  She creates a beautiful glistening surface that has mystery and the depth of a mythical tale set in the future." - Lonnie Lee