Karen Jiang
One line, two lines, two hundred lines pulsing. In my practice, I research a timescale beyond the human: ecological elements that existed before and will continue after human existence. The line becomes the convergence and threshold of two opposing forces, inside which more lines—literally, then metaphorically—unify and divide the space towards a suggestion of the infinite.
Vertical lines create an atmospheric vibration articulating distinct rhythmic qualities: additive placement of mineral pigment accumulates to build and negate forms; subtractive marks let fluid forms surface like shafts of sunlight. This gradation between presence and absence of line and pigment examines notations within a microseason as part of a continual energetic unfolding. A curved line, breathing.
Each phenomenon within linear space is distinctive—highlighting the relative rather than the absolute. The paintings are between stillness and motion, whole and divided, painted and bare, but never either. Line and form outline a landscape, yet do not depict land or sea in the seemingly monochromatic palette of each painting. The practice evolves through structural and calligraphic lines, pigmented forms adding and negating presences to chronicle the self-similarity of fractals within our ecosystem.
This examination of fractals also extends from the macrocosm into the microcosm of human experience. Poetry approaches the weight of a single human microsecond through seasonal and material practices. Subject matter is placed inside objects being held, practiced, and tended. The emotional architecture each gesture carries illuminates fragility, growth, and patience. Words weave East Asian cultural traditions and imagery through specificity and restraint—each poem builds upon and refracts particles of light, questions, and interiority.
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