Spotlight on Intersections@5: Jae Ko

The Phillips celebrates the fifth anniversary of its Intersections contemporary art series with Intersections@5, an exhibition comprising work by 20 of the participating artists. In this blog series, each artist writes about his or her work on view.

Ko_installation view

Installation view of the Intersections@5 exhibition, with Jae Ko’s Black #22, 2014; Black #23, 2014; Black #24, 2014 at right. Photo: Lee Stalsworth

I wanted to make a reduction in scale from my large paperwork, and as we all know when we reduce the scale of large objects, detail is increased. What I’ve done here is a very large reduction resulting in a very large introduction of hyper detail. The vinyl has allowed me to introduce this hyper detail by its flexibility; I am able to form, bend, and cut it to achieve a state of detail that is unattainable at a large scale. In addition to the change in detail there is an obvious change in form, from biomorphic to rigidly geometric…I enjoy playing with these disparities.

Jae Ko

Spotlight on Intersections@5: Alyson Shotz

Shotz_Allusion of Gravity

Installation shot of Alyson Shotz’s Allusion of GravityPhoto: Lee Stalsworth

The Phillips celebrates the fifth anniversary of its Intersections contemporary art series with Intersections@5, an exhibition comprising work by 20 of the participating artists. In this blog series, each artist writes about his or her work on view.

The structure of this sculpture is inspired by looking at diagrams of space, mass, and how they interact to create the gravity we experience. I hope to allow the viewer to think about space in a different way: what is empty space, what does it look like, what shapes can it take?

Allusion of Gravity is made with clear, round glass beads which reflect the light and let the sculpture transform with the changing natural light during the day. Each bead also acts as a magnifying glass for all the other beads, creating many mini-sculptures within the larger sculpture.

Allusion of Gravity is one version of what I imagine empty space to be like. It was my first sculpture exploring the structure of space itself, and began a series I am still working on today.

Alyson Shotz

Spotlight on Intersections@5: Kate Shepherd

The Phillips celebrates the fifth anniversary of its Intersections contemporary art series with Intersections@5, an exhibition comprising work by 20 of the participating artists. In this blog series, each artist writes about his or her work on view.

Shepherd_Chrysanthemum

Kate Shepherd, Chrysanthemum, 2010. Oil and enamel on paper, 28 x 38 in. Purchase, The Hereward Lester Cooke Memorial Fund and Gift of C. Richard Belger and Evelyn R. Craft, 2010

While it seems to be a relatively small task to make a “medium-sized” work, it is a surprisingly hard challenge. My work tends to be door-like. The figures (however you define that term) inhabit a space that echos real life—with a gravity and stance that living beings share. On the other hand, the smaller painting puts us in a position of looking upon an image, or in the case of Chrysanthemum, upon a mere idea of an object, a geometric “absolute” construction. I wanted to point to Mondrian’s copious flower studies; my yellow made that connection clear.

Black Tiles is a lyrical optical trick, a graceful linear movement to behold. How do those straight lines billow? Unlike the paradigm of a painting acting as window, we look upon this image and not through it.

Kate Shepherd