"Three Printmakers"
October 7-22, 2005
Gallery Korea at the Korean Cultural Center New York
(460 Park Ave. 6th Floor, New York, NY 10022)
Opening reception: Friday, October 7, 2005 - 6-8 pm
An exhibition of highly expressive prints by New York artists Jahee Yu, Bruce Waldman and Sarah Sears will be on display at Gallery Korea, 460 Park Avenue at 57th Street, from October 7-22, 2005.
The artists have been exhibiting in and around New York for years, most recently with the New York Society of Etchers, where Mr. Waldman is a board member. Their works are found in the permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York; the Library of Congress, Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC; the Housatonic Museum of Art in Connecticut; the New York Transit Museum; and the Hackley Museum of Art in Michigan, along with many other public and private collections.
This is their first exhibition together, and it is also the first print show Gallery Korea has ever hosted. Many of these prints were executed at the printmakers' West 38th Street studio, dubbed 3 Vision Press. This name was intended to convey the bond that exists between these artists whose styles are distinct, yet share striking characteristics. Draftsmanship is essential to all of their work. Many of the pieces are figurative, while others contain animals and anatomical references. Most are black and white, drawing on the inherent high-contrast drama unique to printmaking. The result is a room that vibrates with intensity.
In Jahee Yu's prints, people intertwine with trees or hide among buildings, their bodies obscured by shadow, their faces asking questions no one can answer. What got them into these strange situations? Her drawing is elegant and flawless, yet her figures appear to have been deliberately destroyed. In Waldman's large monoprints, strong black lines delineate lonely, massive beasts or people in moments of extreme passion. His etchings are delicate but no less powerful. His pieces quiver with life. Sarah Sears' etchings and woodcuts delve into the contradictions, mystery, and tragedy of the human condition. These searing images that deal with a universal groping for meaning and a struggle against loneliness touch the viewer with emotional impact and a nuanced poignancy. Both Sears and Yu admit to working their plates fiercely, battering their surfaces before dunking them many times into the acid bath. By contrast, Waldman's etchings are simply executed in line and aquatint. He says that he has distilled his method down to the essence of pure expression, which is his intent.
The artists of 3 Vision Press agree that it is invigorating to share space with others whose approach to art is so similar. They feed off of each other's ideas. The three got together, however, quite by accident. Sears and Waldman both worked at The Printmaking Workshop in the early 1980s and then lost touch with each other, reconnecting at an opening in 2001. Bruce needed a place to work because the Printmaking Workshop had closed after the death of Robert Blackburn; coincidentally, Sears had just lost a studio-mate. Yu joined them in late 2003 on the recommendation of a mutual artist-friend.
Jahee Yu both studied and taught art in her native Korea, receiving a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Se-Jong University. After moving to New York in 1997, she studied first at Parsons and later at the Art Students League with Michael Pellettieri. Yu attends life drawing classes religiously, and many of her prints are based on drawings she makes there.
Bruce Waldman has been teaching at the School of Visual Arts since 1978, receiving his Master of Fine Arts from the State University of New York at Buffalo, where he studied under Harvey Breverman. Waldman often gets his inspiration from sketches or photographs he makes at the Bronx Zoo, or from drawings he executes in his classes.
Sarah Sears moved to New York in 1980 from Arkansas, where she studied at Arkansas State University under Evan Lindquist and received a Master of Arts. Sears comes from a family of scientists and is also a volunteer scuba diver at the New York Aquarium. At the moment, these are her two main sources of inspiration.
For more information on this exhibition contact Eugine Hwang at 212-759-9550 or e-mail her at nyarts@koreanculture.org.