Fragile Metaphors shows at Luce Gallery Jan. 11-Feb. 8

MOUNT VERNON – Works by ceramics and installation artists Sukjin Choi, AL Holen, and Ying Zhu will be exhibited at the Peter Paul Luce Gallery at Cornell College, Jan. 11 through Feb. 8, 2009.

An artist’s reception will be held Sunday, Jan. 11, from 2-4 p.m. Gallery hours are Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday 2 to 4 p.m.

Admission is free and open to the public.

In Korean artist Sukjin Choi’s work there is a delicate balance between traditional Korean surfacing methods, and references to contemporary objects. She has exhibited nationally and internationally in numerous solo and group shows, and teaches as an assistant professor at James Madison University in Harrisburg, Va. Choi received her master of fine arts degree from Ewha Womans University in Seoul Korea before continuing post-graduate work in ceramics at Virginia Commonwealth University, Rhode Island School of Design, and Cranbrook Academy of Art. Her work deals with memory and the tracing of time.

AL Holen’s installation at Cornell College deals with the toil and pleasure of labor, as well as the fragility of both the artist and artisan’s role in a consumer-driven society. Her opulent presentation strives to romanticize the objects, changing their context, and giving them a metaphorical, if somewhat ironic resonance. Holen received her master of fine arts in ceramics from the University of Iowa in 2004, and has since then taught as visiting assistant professor at the University of Nebraska and the University of Iowa, among other schools. Holen now serves as assistant professor at Mississippi University for Women. Her

Chinese artist Ying Zhu chooses labor-intensive processes in her work to demonstrate the timeless, tedious, and tiresome facts that everyone faces. She removes ordinary materials from their original context to evoke metaphorical, emotional and symbolic connotations. Zhu is a master of fine arts candidate at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln. Zhu has shown regionally in the United States, most recently at the Bemis Underground, Omaha, Neb.

This exhibition is funded through the generosity of the Henry Luce Foundation, Inc. For more information contact Sue Coleman at scoleman@cornellcollege.edu or (319) 895-4491.

Image shown above: Recollection, Sukjin Choi, mixed media installation