the moon, the womb, and they remember on exhibit at Angels Gate Cultural Center through April 26th is a delicate, beautiful series of individual works and installatations that both enchants and calms the spirit. Curated by Ann Shi, artists include: Flora Kao, Sheng Lor, Victoria May, Sandeep Mukherjee, Kyong Boon Oh, Snežana Saraswati Petrović, and Stella Zhang.
Each work is lyrical, lovely, and forms a cohesive and flowing exhibition from a soft curved curtain of red by Kao through the rich oceanic mix of sculpture and video by Petrovic, with these works anchoring each end of the gallery.
Oh’s steel and wire figurative sculpture serves almost as a stand-in for the viewer, beckoning one within what Shi describes as a “container that holds matter in transition, allowing transformation without resolution. The moon is a regulator of cyclical time, governing tides, illumination, recurrence, and withdrawal.“
Gestation in all its forms is key here, shimmering through May’s lustrous organza and complex rubber material wall sculpture, and dancing in the weave of Lor’s loom and yarn chair.
From Lang’s luminous screen…
…to Mukherjee’s resonating acrylic on Duralene universe, the exhibition is a standout awash in poetry.
Petrovic’s immersive installation is in part created to reference Indra, a forgotten Hindu god, holding “the universe in a net, each planet a jewel representing a different universe,” Petrovic says.
Indra was incorporated into the Buddhist religion where her form as a “very powerful net that holds life together in every universe,” was embraced, the artist explains.
Petrovic’s installation signifies “birth, the beginning of the universe, rebirth and feminine energy,” she says.
Bougainvillea petals on the ground evoke life, blue pillowed sea creatures on the floor invite viewers to relax and cast their gaze upward, connecting earth and sea to the galaxy above.
The artist has dedicated the exhibition to the memory of mentor Ulysses Jenkins.
Entering the wonder of Petrovic’s space, which comprises the back length of the gallery —
—as well as the exhibition itself, is an experience not to be missed.
And, in the downstairs gallery, Species of Magic: From the Studio of W. S. Milner is another slice of joy.
Honoring the work of late AGCC Studio Artist W. S. Milner, curated by Phoebe Barnum and Susan Davis, the exhibition sparkles with whimsy, delight, and pleasure.
- Genie Davis; photos by Genie Davis