"The Self - War"
Curated by Mija Jung and co-curated by Inkyung Oh
Friday, October 10-24, 2014
Opening Reception: Friday, October 10th, 7-9pm
Location: 208 East Broadway, New York, NY
Performance by: Concetta Abbate on Violin and Josh Martin
H2O NY is pleased to present an exhibition by the artists Alice Sfintesco, Mija Jung, Kenny Cole, Sunyoung Seo, Margaux Maeght and Marcellus Hall. "The Self-War" is about feminism, politics, and the self as an object of expression. H2O represents both home and water. It is what is inside us, private, but also what is around us, social. It is an expression of both personal and external. This group of artists project images of themselves as a way to manifest social justice. Each artist reveals themselves as characters in a social and historical arena.
Alice Sfintesco is a French painter whose work questions the image and place of women in the world today. She paints women who are free about glamour, traditions, nudity, and fashion. They are feminine women, asserting their presence here in the world.
Mija Jung is from New York. She juxtaposes images of western luxury brands with propaganda and iconography from terrorist organizations and war-torn nations. Her recent work is about surveillance, how we are always being spotlighted like you are on a stage. She makes portraits, impersonating traditional Asian male roles as a way to reinterpret the feminine role in our culture.
Kenny Cole is based in Maine. He is an activist artist questioning the phenomenon of “technical arrogance” with regard to the development of weapons technology, the arms race, or the “inevitable” march of it, all driven by an infatuation with technological devices.
Sunyoung Seo is from Korea. She paints human nature, representing symbols of who we are. Her work is of playful imaginary that incorporates typical things, the ordinary. She shows contradictory relationships between the material world and art culture.
Margaux Maeght’s installations are based on theatrical plays. She choses a character from the text and build his stories in a space. Her sculptures and photographs are used in the installation and can be taken apart as objects.
Marcellus Hall is a New York based illustrator. His work has appeared in The New Yorker, The Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, and Time, as well as in American Illustration, the Society of Illustrators, and Communication Arts annuals. His first cover for The New Yorker was published in 2005. He has self-published books of drawings and writings, including Hard Luck Stories and Legends of the Infinite City. In recent years Hall has illustrated several children’s books. He is also a musician.
H2O NY focuses on the effort for survival, overcoming the conflict between what is inside the artist and what is outside, in the world. It shows how art can mirror society and expand people’s perspectives.
For more information on H20 NY contact: davidbryen@gmail.com
