| Karen
Tang |
| Toile de Dexion |
| 12
June - 14 July 2006 |
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| ©
Karen Tang, Toile de Dexion, Economist Plaza,
2006 |
| An
abstract geometric form, with an Art Deco aura of elegance and
purity, is presented at the Plaza, its silver bolts proudly
exposed, displaying its basic fabrication process with bold
Constructivist confidence. Dexion steel racks, usually
employed for shelving units, have been adapted to create an
arrangement of parallelograms and voids. As the viewer walks
around it, the sculpture morphs into multiple compositions and
interweaves a new blend of backdrops. |
| Wrapped
in the ornate cream, blue and white pattern of Toile de Jouy
wallpaper, from afar, the work exudes a porcelain-like
delicacy and becomes camouflaged, merging with the tonalities
of the surrounding glazing, bricks and stone. On closer
inspection the Toile De Jouy design come into focus,
presenting idyllic rural scenes that jar with the formality of
the out-door corporate city environment. |
| Karen
Tang’s sculpture idiosyncratically portrays a fusion of
references from Asian and European decorative arts,
architecture and popular culture. Toile de Jouy,
manufactured in France
from around 1780 following the French prohibition of trade
with India, is here combined with Dexion, a British mid 19th
Century invention. Both these materials continue to appear in
modern day homes, offices and fashion. |
| Tang
explains: “My
sculptures aim to disturb expectations... Industrial
structures are combined with unlikely surfaces or imagery…
Jolting expectations in this way prompts alternative
narratives and understanding of the elements selected ”. |
|
click
here to download press release (pdf format) |
| Karen
Tang |
| Four
Green Horsemen |
| 24
May - 11 June 2006 |
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| ©
Karen Tang, Four Green Horsemen installation at the
Economist Plaza; original design for Four Green Horsemen ,
2006 |
| Karen
Tang’s sculpture draws inspiration from St James’s rich
history of gambling dens, gory duels, gentlemen’s clubs and
merchant activity, and in particular the famous scales at
Berry Bros & Rudd, one of the oldest wine merchants in
London. |
| Tang’s
hybrid sculptures are permeated with a Baroque style and
ethos. Cross-cultural and historical motifs are fused to
create sensuous objects with contradictory and slippery
possibilities, revelling in multiple ideas and
interpretations. Tang’s work plays with the idea that
appearances can be simultaneously simple and complex. |
|
Tang
uses a steel silo of the type used by farmers to store grain.
It is metamorphosed into lace-like tracery that depicts
swirling patterns appropriated from The
Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, Albrecht Dürer’s
woodcut of 1498. Brandishing
swords, scales, and bows and arrows the horsemen are part of
an ominous apocalyptic scene that symbolises the threat of
forthcoming plague, war, hunger and death.
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| The
imagery from Dürer’s original woodcut has been expanded and
manipulated into a three-dimensional looping sculpture. This
subversively camouflages the hellish scene by using
excessively ornate and intricate filigree. By making the work
“dollar green”, the artist interweaves connotations of
wealth and capitalism with references to ecology,
conservation, and regeneration. |
| The
result is a commentary on civilisation throughout history. It
is depicted as a continuous battle against the violence,
corruption and misery that effects everyone. |
| The
artist: |
| Karen
Tang graduated with distinction from the Slade School of Art
in 2004 with an MFA in Sculpture. Since then she has won
several awards, including the Duveen Travel Bursary, enabling
her to travel to Italy and Mexico to research the multiple
cultural interpretations of the Baroque. In 2005 she completed
a commission for Underbelly in Hoxton Square, London, and the
Chinese Arts Centre in Manchester awarded her a “Breathe”
residency for 2006-07. |
|
Previous
shows:
ARTfutures,
Contemporary Art Society at Bloomberg Space, London, November
2005; and
Wunderkammer:
The Artificial Kingdom,
the collection, Lincoln Museum, 2004. |
|
click
here to download press release (pdf format) |
