Colored pencil and gouache on indigo Japanese paper
24 x 38 in to 32 x 92 in
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For this body of work, I used gouache and pencil on Japanese handmade paper. The compositions consist of layers of scanned brush strokes from abstract expressionist paintings. I used preexisting historical abstract gestural marks to keep the heartbeat of the abstract expressionist gestures in my work. The drawings in the final stages were traced by hand onto rice paper and joint points were added using small square templates.
The square points/dots are filled in with gouache brush strokes and exist wherever there are two lines that merge. This is done to mimic the “highlight” function in the Adobe Illustrator program. This work was inspired by the fragility and strength of the rice paper I saw in Korea during my first visit back since leaving in 1974. I was inspired to combine old and new materials using current tools (digital imaging) to bring traditional Asian aesthetics into my work.
INSTALLATION VIEW
Danese Gallery, New York City
2007 and 2010
CATALOGS
Holly Johnson Gallery, “Theresa Chong: Drawings,” 28 pages, 2013, essay by Mark Harris (PDF)
Danese/Corey Gallery, “Theresa Chong,” 24 pages, 2010
Danese/Corey Gallery, “Theresa Chong: Etudes,” 2007, essay by John Yau (PDF)
PRESS
Purcell, Janet, “Artists redefine 'drawing' in Princeton arts center exhibition,” The Times of Trenton, April 6, 2012 (PDF)
Wasserman, Nadine, “Strong work explores variations of 'Abstraction',” Times Union, February 18, 2009 (PDF)
Leffingwell, Edward, “Theresa Chong at Danese,” Art in America, May 2004 (PDF)