PRESS RELEASE
“Tis true without lying, certain and most true. That which is below is like that which is above and that which is above is like that which is below.” – Isaac Newton
Margaret Thatcher Projects is pleased to present As Above So Below, the gallery’s second solo exhibition with Korean-American artist, Cathy Choi. Like a mirror, water seductively reflects the sky or heavens above. Similarly, Choi’s work reflects their environment and the presence of the viewer in front of them, elegantly commanding attention and observation.
Choi paints with pigmented resin, pouring thin layers of color. The luminosity and fluid, changeable shape of water is recalled in areas of cascading color floating atop one another. The artist does not intend for the work to be a literal representation of natural elements. Instead, Choi uses these references to point toward spiritual notions of purity and cleansing. Choi’s process of selecting colors and parameters for her work is balanced by the quick decisions necessary when working with resin. Since the material dries quickly, the artist has described the medium as one that stimulates an impulsive drive, facilitating an intuitive response that “flows from within and becomes an innate response with no predetermined end.”
Cathy Choi was born in Seoul, South Korea. The artist currently lives and works in Brooklyn. New York. Choi received her BFA from University of Washington, Seattle, WA and her MFA from American University in Washington, DC. Her works have been exhibited nationally and internationally at the UMASS Herter Gallery (Amherst, MA), D.U.M.B.O. Arts Center, (Brooklyn NY) and Galerie Karrer (Zurich, CH). Her work in graphic design has recognized with awards from AIGA (1993, 1994) Art Director’s Club of Philadelphia (1994) and I.D. Magazine (1993, 1994).
In the Project Room: Raymond Saá
Raymond Saá’s collages are made of hand-painted paper, cut into various shapes that are then sewn together. The end result is an overlapping shingle-like pattern of color, shape and form. The work is very process-oriented. While Saá has no definitive image or composition in mind, he uses the Xacto blade as a performative tool to rhythmically implement his drawings. The tension and unexpected consequences between the different color schemes and shapes yield to exciting and playful compositions that echo textile designs, reassembled and stitched back together.Saá was born in New Orleans and raised in Miami. His Cuban-Miami heritage is reflected in his foliage-like tracings and color choices. It is his mother who taught him to use a sewing machine. The artist received his BFA from The Maryland Institute College of Art and his MFA from Parsons School of Design and currently lives in New Jersey. His works
Raymond Saá was born in New Orleans and raised in Miami. His Cuban-Miami heritage is reflected in his foliage-like tracings and color choices. It is his mother who taught him to use a sewing machine. The artist received his BFA from The Maryland Institute College of Art and his MFA from Parsons School of Design and currently lives in New Jersey. His works has been exhibited nationally and internationally at Court Gallery William Paterson University, (Wayne, NJ), White Columns, White Room (New York, NY) and the Museum of Art Puerto Rico (San Juan, PR). He is also the recipient of the Joan Mitchell Foundation Award and the Pollack-Krasner Foundation Grant.