From the graceful waterfalls and misty mountains of June Chao that remind us of our heritage to the kaleidoscopic, futuristic photo montages of Elizabeth Molnar Rajec, respect and inspiration are keystones in this exhibition. This year, all of the exhibitors are practicing artists who have reached their eighth decade. Such a milestone is a grand occasion for mounting an exhibit of seasoned, accomplished artists.
The opening reception for this exhibition is on Friday, September 28, 2018 at Rainforest Art Foundation in Long Island City from 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM. The exhibition runs from September 28, 2018 to November 27, 2018.
This exhibit presents a wide range of media, offering a broad perspective of styles and concerns. Some of the artists themselves pursue varying aesthetic strategies. Gaby Chien for instance, paints in an abstract manner that she finds “therapeutic.” She also works with traditional landscape on ceramic. Further, she displays a satiric and playful side, as in “Mother and Child,” in which a penguin balances the world on its nose.
Bill Creston is represented by “Thirty Landscape Paintings in 15 Frames.” His oil on cardboard paintings are painted with verve and surety. Creston is also a multi-media practioner. His videos were recently featured at the Museum of Modern Art.
Chuan Teng has refined traditional Chinese calligraphy to perfection. Recently he added acrylic on canvas to his ink-and-brush-on-paper repertoire.
Guo-Dong Li is one of the leading contemporary Chinese calligraphers in the world. He won the “Lifetime Achievement Award” from the Chinese American Arts Council of U.S.A. His large brushes are tools to produce enormous energy and dynamism in his depiction of characters.
Jen-Jen Liu started out as a chemistry teacher. Liu took to oil painting in the early seventies, and she paints abstract geometric compositions as well as landscape paintings.
Min-Tsu Tseng uses actual plants and flowers in her works in an effort to draw attention to nature in hopes of preserving it. In contrast to Tseng’s intimate, charming constructs, Marlene Tseng Yu paints immense canvases that showcase nature’s dynamic forces. Yu’s work is a tribute to our natural world as well as an alarm.
The mission of Rainforest Art Foundation is to increase appreciation through art. Founded by Marlene Yu in 2001, it is dedicated to defending nature by raising consciousness about the perilous state of our environment. The octogenarian artists in this show express their affinity for the natural world in representational and abstract forms.