Press Release
Newly
renovated QCC Art Gallery / CUNY is proud to announce Marlene Yu’s
exhibition:
a fascinating selection of 60 paintings presented by decade to show the
progress
of her creativity over the past 40 years, featuring: 1) Forces of
Nature, a
major series developed since 1965, that combines abstraction and
natural
phenomena, and 2) Dream Series (1984-1986), a minor series that depicts
a love
story between figurative female body with various animals symbolizing
the
male.
The
oversized, monumental paintings of recent years have been hailed the
climax of
her artistic creativity. Examples: the
36-foot-long,
12-foot-high Song of the Universe
(2003); the mural-sized Turquoise
Floating triptych (2003), totaling 18 feet high and 30 feet across;
and the Elements of Life paintings (representing
water, air, earth, fire),
which surround the ancient Khabouris Codex showcase on a rotational
basis. The paintings transform a viewer
from passive
observer to active participant in the world of Yu’s imagination. By mastering control of giant canvases and
skillfully manipulating acrylic, she conveys her deep affinity and
reverence
for the power and beauty of the forces of nature: “I hope to capture
the spirit
of the universe, its rhythm and movement, its quiet and angry moods,
and its colors
and forms, and to create my own style, on the borderline of realism and
abstraction.”
Yu
came to the U.S.
from Taiwan for her
MFA degree over 40 years ago, and
has been a resident artist of SoHo. She has had 52 one-person exhibitions since
1964, in Europe, Asia, and the U.S. Nearly
twenty years ago, Harold Hart foresaw:
“In her persistent confrontation upon thematic borders and in her
expression of
various dualities, Ms. Yu serves as a catalyst for a new expression,
which is
created in combining Eastern and Western traditions, forecasting a new
art.” She is also considered a pioneer of
a new art movement that responds to today’s environmental concerns as
well as
one of its leading interpreters.
Concurrently,
a “Poetry Reading in Praise of the Forces of Nature” will be held on
October 21st
at 6 PM, by Donald Kuspit, James Mann, Robert C. Morgan, Cynthia
Nadelman,
Carter Radcliff, and Jeffrey C. Wright. For
more information, photo slides or video requests, please contact the QCC Art Gallery
at www.qccartgallery.org
or (718) 631-6396.
QCC Art Gallery
Queensborough Community College,
The City University of New York,
(718) 631-6396, www.qccartgallery.org
