Jae Ko: 漂流 Drift

Heather Gaudio Fine Art is pleased to present, "Jae Ko: 漂流Drift,” the artist’s first solo exhibition at the gallery.   In addition to showcasing recent wall and free-standing sculpture, Ko will create a site-specific installation consisting of 50-60 industrial sized rolls of recycled paper.   The public is invited to witness the artist at work beginning January 3^rd and view the installation as it takes form.  An opening reception will be held on January 5^th, 4-6pm and the show will run through February 23^rd.

Born in Korea, Ko grew up in Tokyo and was formally trained as an artist at Wako University before moving to the United States.  She earned her MFA and went on to develop a highly personalized technique to create the sculptural work for which she is today known.  Early explorations working with water and paper (submerging utilitarian Kraft paper into ocean-soaked sand) led her to test the physical properties of the material and combine these with traditional paper techniques used in Japanese, Korean and Chinese cultures.   Her geometric shapes and concentric circles referenced nature, such as waves, ripples in sand and water rings.  As her process evolved, Ko turned to rolls of adding machine paper or cash register tape, immersing these into black Sumi inks and coiling them into different forms. These were set with a glue resin resulting in spirals and twisting contours that became three-dimensional calligraphic gestures. Her palette also ventured beyond black and white into more vibrant colors obtained from natural sources such as saffron or indigo.

Trips to the American West and Newfoundland and Labrador would take Ko’s work to a monumental scale.  From these experiences came large site-specific installations evoking the landscape of these regions, such as canyons, geological strata and icebergs.  The show will feature one such oversized installation made of recycled paper reaching the gallery ceilings alongside a selection of recent work from her other series.  Ko’s site-specific installations have been created in notable institutions such as the Phillips Collection and the Hirshhorn Museums in Washington, D.C. and most recently at the Powerlong Museum in Shanghai.  Her work has been widely exhibited and is included in many public and private collections including Grounds for Sculpture in New Jersey and Facebook Headquarters in Washington, D.C.