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Qualia Contemporary Art is pleased to announce two new exhibitions, on view from March 24 through May 6, 2022, with an opening event on March 26 from 4:00 - 7:00 PM. In the main gallery, Here to There is a solo exhibition by South Korean-born, Oakland-based painter, Younhee Paik. The artist’s surreal, often abstract paintings combine symbolism, celestial imagery, and strong feminist undertones. Paik’s work tells the story of her life, touching on themes of immigration, motherhood, and the artist’s connection to nature. The exhibition features a selection of works made within the last decade from her series “Golden Climb,” “City Awaken,” “Ancient River,” and “Ascending.” Paik will be present at the opening event on March 26. Alongside Here to There, the gallery is pleased to present Things Far Held Near, a solo exhibition of acrylic paintings by Canadian-American artist, Ilana Manolson. Drawing from her professional background as a naturalist for Parks Canada and avid outdoorsperson, and inspired in part by traditional Chinese painting, her richly expressive artworks aim to make visible the connections and interdependencies between all elements in nature. In doing so, she hopes her work offers an occasion to cherish the joys of the natural world, and, at the same time, to seriously consider the present threat of environmental destruction and the difficult choices that lie ahead. Both Paik and Manolson draw inspiration from nature, each creating unique works of abstraction that relate to their distinct cultural, generational, and personal influences.
Artist:
Younhee Paik was educated first in South Korea, and later in San Francisco where she received her M.F.A. and resided as an active artist for over thirty years while continually revisiting her homeland. For the past twelve years, she has held a studio and exhibited in New York, San Francisco, and Seoul. She is a passionate, expressive painter whose feelings assume a masterful presence in large, dynamic paintings.
The Asian attributes of Paik’s work are reflected by subject and method as her pieces are about transformation and transition between the material and spiritual worlds. Her choice of symbols represents both the work of nature and man: water and bridges, forests and ships, stars and ladders. Her sky paintings are filled with motifs that have both universal meaning and human reasoning. Her metaphors can be extended to her most recent development on large, unframed canvas and aluminum plates. Most important of these metaphors are the lights she uses in various ways. Light, here, signifies the beyond—spiritual beyond—light of heaven. Paik’s strength as an artist is that she continues to paint her wonder, throwing aside a certain regard for life as it is.
Works by Paik are held in the permanent collections of various public and private institutions across South Korea and the United States, including the National Museum of Contemporary Art, Korea; the Seoul City Museum, Seoul; Samsung Museum, Seoul; TOTAL Art Museum, Seoul; Whanki Museum, Seoul; Soowon City Museum, Soowon; Seoul National University Museum, Seoul; Korean National Consulate, New York, NY; Korean Cultural Service, New York, NY; Bank of America, Sacramento, CA; Triton Museum, Santa Clara, CA; San Jose Museum of Art, San Jose, CA; Sonoma County Museum, CA; and the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, CA. She has also shown her work in over 40 solo exhibitions at institutions such as the Korean National Museum; the Institute of Contemporary Art San Jose; and the Staller Center for the Arts at Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY; and was featured at the 1995 Venice Biennale.
Qualia Contemporary Art
328 University Ave
Palo Alto, CA 94301
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