The Dennos Museum Center
ORNA BEN-AMI
ENTIRE LIFE IN A PACKAGE February 3, 2019 - May19, 2019
Entire Life in a Package is the story of millions of refugees with millions of packages, suitcases...sacks. “Life packages” that hold the desire to survive. In it, they pack both hopes and pains. Behind every package there is someone looking for a place. The objects that people take, in one package, represent their identity and sense of belonging, their memories and hopes for the future.
Iron expresses the will to hold on strongly to the identity which the objects symbolize. It renders them eternal and meaningful, like metal monuments. Iron brings out the physical and emotional weight of the journey. Orna Ben Ami softens the iron by cutting and welding it in her own hands, like we attempt to soften life, but the message remains charged both on the personal level and the collective.
The combinations that Ben-Ami creates between the images taken by Reuters’ photographers and her iron sculptures, are the heart of this exhibition. “'Artists,' she says, 'have to donate their part, through their artistic skills, for designing a better future.'"
SOO SUNNY PARK
UNWOVEN LIGHT June 12, 2016 - September 5, 2016
Korean-American artist Soo Sunny Park is best known for using everyday building materials to create large, experiential installations that rely on repetition and the interplay of light. At the Dennos, Park has recreated a version of her installation Unwoven Light that is suspended as a sculptural composition of chain-link fencing and iridescent Plexiglas formed in organic shapes in the Schmuckal Gallery — transforming it into a shimmering world of light, shadow, and brilliant color. A graduate of the Cranbrook Academy of Art, she is Associate Professor of Studio Art at Dartmouth College.
ILHWA KIM
SEED UNIVERSE June 12, 2016 - September 4, 2016
Ilhwa Kim hand-dyes, cuts, and rolls thousands of sheets of Korean mulberry paper to form colorful, three-dimensional works of art that form vibrant patterns and shapes. The artist developed this nearly sculptural way of creating artworks using layers of paper, which she calls “seeds,” to make the surface and sense of her images change from morning to night. Depending on the angle, distance and light situation, each of her pieces transforms in a constantly shifting wave of texture, dimensions, depth, and color while the viewer can spot subtle impressions of eyes, hearts, human figures, and more in the densely packed images.
JAE YONG KIM
CAN’T STOP THINKING ABOUT… January 25, 2015 - May 15, 2015
Jae Yong Kim, born in South Korea, spent much of his childhood living in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia before returning to South Korea as he finished high school. In 1994 he moved to the United States to pursue university studies. These early experiences with moving abroad are explored throughout his work as an artist.
Jae Yong Kim’s work is rooted in his desire to understand and find his identity and the meaning of ‘Home.’ He explores these issues through the use of surrogate subjects in his work, such as donuts or snails. He is recognized and noticed for his quirky, eclectic, and humorous renditions of these subjects, and for his ability to create a relatable language for the viewer in order to deal with human issues such as cruelty, pain, anguish, joy, love, and friendship.
This exhibition, titled Can't Stop Thinking About..., features ceramic donuts from his Lusting after Donuts project.
Kim received his Bachelors of Fine Arts at the Hartford Art School at the University of Hartford, and his Masters of Fine Arts in Ceramics at Cranbrook Academy in Michigan.
JINWON CHANG
HWEH-GEEH, RETURNING AGAIN December 14, 2014 - October 3, 2015
Responding to three near death experiences in water, Jinwon Chang's works on paper and sculptures of bamboo and paper involve marine animals, vessels, and other water related imagery as subject matter for his work.
Of his work on this project Chang says,"Hweh-Geeh is “to return again” in Korean, as we are born we are destined to return to the source...Using the traditional and natural elements of bamboo strips and Korean Kozo paper, each vessel is symbolic of our naked selves on this journey. The present state of duality is revealed in the microcosmos of the vessels in relation to the macrocosmos of its environment."
Jinwon Chang was born in South Korea in 1967. He holds two MFAs - 1996 Chung Ang University, Seoul, Korea; 2006 SUNY New Paltz University, New Paltz, New York.
The Dennos Museum Center
1410 College Drive
Traverse City, MI 49686
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