MEs

Artist: chaw ei thein
Title: MEs
Medium: Performance Art
Date: 2003

Review: Transformed Conversation with Chaw ei Thein and Brad Darcy

Monday, February 22, 2010

Brooklyn’s Soapbox Gallery was hopping February 19 for the opening reception for works presented by artists Chaw Ei Thein and Brad Darcy. The DJ spun some smooth tunes, curator Nunu Hung held court, and a packed house took in the striking works of the two artists coming together under the banner of “Transformed Conversation.”

Burmese artist Chaw Ei Thein’s striking installation, “Bed,” anchored the smart gallery space, doubly occupying prime retail space in front of Soapbox’s front windows. The title is simple, but the make-up and context of “Bed” require some navigation in the heart and mind of the individual. “Bed” is, well… a bed, made of rows upon rows of upside down, glossy, bright red bell peppers, surrounded by mosquito net, topped with a black pillow and enveloped in a small room of black walls, curtains, floor, and ceiling. A single bulb hangs over the bed, tossing light off the curvy, sumptuous vegetables.

In a conversation with the artist, Chaw explained the multiple levels of meaning behind the piece. Being from south east Asia, she associates red and peppers with spice and heat, and so a bed can represent the same (steamy sexual encounters for example). This viewer, though, associates red bell peppers with sugar and sweetness, so I get an entirely different vibe. In beds, too, dreams and nightmares happen, and love making and forced sex also occur. Restful and restless nights are spent in beds. In short, there’s much to ponder with the simple presentation of a bed.

The red of the produce is bold, and against the blackness of its surroundings the color pops—it is appealing to the eye no matter what you associate with the vegetable. The mosquito net is protective, when closed it keeps the occupants safe from those nasty buzzing insects. Yet Chaw kept the net open… is that to entice? Or to reveal that protection can’t always be guaranteed with the presence of so-called protective material?

What’s more, there is no preservative applied to the peppers. They remain bold and attractive now, but as the month progresses, the peppers will crinkle, shrink, rot, ending in a less-than-appealing, smelly compost heap. The impermanence of rest? Of steamy love? Of food and sustenance? Of sensuality or fear? Of…?

Numerous emotions and questions percolate from Chaw’s work. “Bed” is a meditative piece that was difficult to leave.

New York-based sketch artist Brad Darcy took a different tack with a series of blown-up sketch paintings accompanying a digital video. The silent video looped blurs and swirls and political imagery (Obama comes up, and I seem to recall Gorbachev making an appearance). The digital blips and mixes shift suddenly as if the television had just been struck by lightning.

But Darcy’s artistry really shines on the walls. Evolution is the underlying idea winding its way through Darcy’s sketch work. His canvases are a striking mix of bold lines tracing abstract figures of faces and human forms against a backdrop of an indescribably appealing orange-red balanced by grey-checks. I had the privilege and pleasure of standing with Darcy while he flipped through his sketchbook, displaying his spontaneous moments of creativity, working through subconscious themes until POW! The images that land, that resonate most with his underlying theme of development (evolution in his work, thinking, humanity) end up (blown up) on the canvases punctuating Soapbox’s walls.

Darcy admitted he doesn’t imagine himself as a painter. He’s at home with his sketchbook. I admit that I was immediately taken by Darcy’s color schemes and bold abstracts on canvas. I would happily hang any (all) of his works in my own home and get hours of pleasure from their subtle energy. As a sketcher, however, most of his material can only be revealed to a select few. I personally hope he’ll continue to take his most inspired drawings and blow them up for the rest of us to enjoy.

Kudos goes to curator Nunu Hung for finding two disparate artists working in opposite mediums, but who bring freshness and relevance to the New York art scene. I look forward to more of her shows.

Transformed Conversation runs at Soapbox until March 18^th. www.soapboxgallery.org.

Shaun Randol

http://www.mantlethought.org

Shaun Randol is the Founder and Editor of The Mantle, as well as an Associate Fellow at the World Policy Institute in New York City.

Chaw Ei Thein's up coming show in April

Fardom Gallery

presents


Bedtime Stories, Monotone Dreams

Curated by Helen Homan Wu



Exhibition Dates: APRIL 9 to MAY 2, 2010

Reception: Friday, APRIL 9, 7 – 9 PM

Press Preview: Friday, APRIL 9, 6 – 7PM



Artists

ALIONA YURTSEVICH,
CARISSA PELLETERI,
CHAW EI THIEN,
KATJA LOHER,
KELLY STURHAHN,
SOL KJØK

Long Island City, NY – The Space (Fardom Gallery) is pleased to present a female group show exploring the human consciousness that exists in-between our sleep and wake states of mind. Bedtime Stories, Monotone Dreams curated by Helen Homan Wu, opens on April 9th and runs through May 2nd, 2010. Bedtime Stories will present works in various media by six contemporary female artists, both national and international, ranging from Kelly Sturhahn’s mirrors and reflections to Aliona Yurtsevich’s intricate sound compositions.

We all have at one time or another, been paralyzed during our sleep. Modern science calls it Sleep Paralysis and eliminates any possibility of it being linked to a different realm. In truth, the reality of each experience is relative and unique to the sleeper. This in-between state of consciousness is a phenomenal experience that calls for attention. For an artist, it is an inspirational moment of truth that for an average folk often it gets ignored.

Katja Loher, born in Basel, Switzerland, now based in Brooklyn, NY, will draw the viewer into her medley of universes from videos projections in sculptural objects. Carissa Pelleteri’s nostalgic stills taken from super 8 footage, feel almost as if you have been pulled into someone’s lost memory. Working with the media of traditional lines, Sol Kjøk explores the human form in every possible angle, embedded with it are deep questions about existentialism. Kelly Sturhahn tells her story in a set/stage-like manner with deliciously dark installations that has romantic notions at first glance, but on close inspection reflects another dimension. Chaw Ei Thien’s site-specific piece – The Bed – is not to be missed. Her choice of materials directly reflects the moment in flux, something so beautiful that can decay into ugliness within a blink of an eye. Inspired by technology, data bits, and nature, Aliona Yurtsevich will present an abstract composition that evokes sounds of the soul, dreams, lost memories, desires, fear, hope, movement, and emotional stillness.

Fardom Gallery, part of The Space collective, is conceived by Long Island City artist and current Space executive director Kristy Schopper. She is dedicated to maintaining and expanding the artistic community in the Long Island City, Queens area. The Space takes advantage of previously underutilized property in Long Island City, New York, to provide work space for artists, and a venue for community involvement in the arts, and works with developers and planners to ensure that there are affordable places for artists to live and work in Long Island City as our neighborhood develops and grows

FARDOM GALLERY

25-17 41st Avenue

Long Island City, NY 11101

www.Licspace.org

licspace.blogspot.com


Press Contact:

Helen Homan Wu

wu.homan@gmail.com

Mind Your Own Business!!!!

Title: Mind Your Own Business!!!!
Medium: Installation
Materials: Clay, Tooth Brushes, Teeth
Year: 2010

Transformed Conversation

Chaw ei Thein & Brad Darcy

February 19-March 18 2010

Opening Reception: February 19, 6-9pm

636 Dean Street, Brooklyn, NY 11238

Soapbox Gallery is pleased to present the two person exhibition "Transformed Conversation" with New York based artist Brad Darcy and Burma based artist Chaw Ei Thein. In "Transformed Conversation", Mr. Darcy and Ms Chaw Ei Thein explore the artist's self conscious role in the engagement of social and political issues, and the responsibility to communicate perspectives on an aesthetic level.

Mr. Darcy has been concentrating on human evolution as the central theme of his work, and for "Transformed Conversation" his exploration consists of abstracted cyclical interpretations. Through sketches, animations, and paintings, his physically charged lines and manipulated imagery touch on various themes including mass media, connectivity, as well as natural phenomena.

Ms Chaw Ei Thein : In her latest work, "Bed", Chaw Ei Thein transforms her bittersweet memories and emotions of her exiled hometown into a meditative installation.

"Transformed Conversation" is curated by Taiwan and NY based curator NuNu Hung

Soapbox Gallery is found by sculptor James Greenfield and dedicated to providing a forum for visual artists to engage in the issues of our time and express themselves publicly without censorship. In the tradition of the humble yet mighty soapbox that encouraged free speech and played a role in the development of our social contract, provocative work can stir public debate, raise consciousness, and even spur social evolution. Too many of us despair at the lack of content in work celebrated by the ART world. Soapbox Gallery challenges artists to speak out and be relevant.

For further information please contact NuNu Hung at

nunuhung@gmail.com or 646.520.8388

Chaw Ei Thein's Performance in Grace Exhibition Space

Chaw Ei Thein's Performance in Grace Exhibition Space

2010 begins with performance art from ChAw Ei [Burma] and 3 artists from Boston [Boston, Mass + Burma] chaweithein.blogspot.com/ "2010 at Grace Exhibition Space Begins" Friday, February 12 8:30 - 11:30 pm Free with donations accepted Free beer & wine + live sound art by Jeremy Slater http://www.jeremyslater.net/cv.html Chew Ei Thein [Myanmar/Burma] Faith Johnson [Boston,Mass] sandrineschaefer.com/artwork/303372_Faith_Johnson_Boston_Nothing.html Bryce Kauffman [Boston,Mass] www.spock.com/Bryce-Kauffman-XUr071mx Dirk Adams [Boston,Mass] www.breathmarks.com also co-founder of MEME Galllery, Boston meme.templeofmessages.com/index.html plus Chaw Ei Thein [Burma] In connection with a residency from the Asian Cultural Council CHAW EI THEIN [BURMA] Chaw Ei is a performance artist, painter and sculptor. She has been making performance art for years, and I first saw her at the NiPAF - Japan International Performance Art Festival - in 2006. Her work deals with her life experiences, especially her feelings towards her home country. In �Transformed Conversation�, a two person exhibition, New York based artist�Brad Darcy and�Burma based artist Chaw Ei Thein explored the artist�s self conscious role in the engagement of social and political issues, and the responsibility to communicate�perspectives on an aesthetic level. c/o www.soapboxgallery.org/ Chaw Ei Thein: chaweithein.blogspot.com/

Contemporary Burmese art: Idea & Ideal