{"id":27326,"date":"2015-02-25T21:03:12","date_gmt":"2015-02-26T02:03:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artoronto.ca\/?p=27326"},"modified":"2015-02-28T14:14:21","modified_gmt":"2015-02-28T19:14:21","slug":"being-krista-arnold-chen-cao","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/v2.artoronto.ca\/?p=27326","title":{"rendered":"Being \/ Krista Arnold & Chen Cao"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Artists, Chen Cao (left) and Krista Arnold (right). Photo: Courtesy of Project Gallery.<\/p>\n

Project Gallery\u2019s current exhibition Being<\/em> is an exploration of the body and the soul featuring two young artists, Krista Arnold and Chen Cao. Both artists explore similar topics in their artistic practices, and believe in the\u00a0importance of spirituality. Arnold\u2019s work is featured in the front of the ample gallery space, while Cao\u2019s paintings are displayed beautifully in the back.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\u00a0Krista Arnold, “Backdrop“<\/em>, oil on canvas, 40\u201d x 60\u201d, 2014. Photo: Courtesy of the artist.<\/p>\n

Krista Arnold\u2019s work is a series of reflections on body and soul as separate entities that are at the same time connected, and meet at the line that separates life and death. Arnold was inspired by her trips to Israel and India, where she noticed how impotant\u00a0the\u00a0spiritual buildings were for people who lived there. Those\u00a0temples and synagogues are\u00a0more than simple physical\u00a0buildings\u00a0since they\u00a0are elevated to a\u00a0spiritual place when worshippers reach out to transcendent powers. Arnold’s got interested in the relationship of the\u00a0physical and the spiritual and their interactions. The spiritual bodies of her figures closely move in harmony with their physical bodies, connected to each other by only a touch or a gaze. We notice their relation to each other, yet realize that they are still separated.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\u00a0Krista Arnold, “Stand“<\/em>, oil on canvas, 36\u201d x 48\u201d, 2014. Photo: Courtesy of the artist.<\/p>\n

Arnold allows herself to be inspired by mandalas, Islamic architecture and the Notre-Dame cathedral to create an extra layer of pattern over some of her pieces. The paintings are vibrant, but the colors aren\u2019t as important to her as the intensity they bring; the vibrancy is used to emphasize and to differentiate movements of energy. Arnold enforces the idea of the unity of body and soul, the fact that we all possess these physical and spiritual aspects which, in a way, makes us all similar.<\/p>\n

Chen Cao\u2019s work also allows us to connect to one another through his attempts to universalize certain issues of spirituality. For Cao, spirituality is connected to his painting technique. His definition of \u201ctechnique\u201d is more of a way of transpiring a message than a method of actually painting it. His\u00a0canvases\u00a0in this show are mostly filled with portraits of people he knows personally. The most striking works are his two largest pieces, “Gathering of Light” and “Disability”.\u00a0Cao is inspired by eastern philosophy of Buddhist and Daoist origin.\u00a0Leonardo da Vinci’s\u00a0“The Last Supper” <\/em>also influenced him, but mainly the composition. The story behind his painting is very different, it\u00a0is the “universalization of holiness”.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\u00a0Chen Cao, “Gathering of Light“<\/em>, oil on canvas, 75\u201d x 35\u201d, 2015. Photo: Courtesy of the artist.<\/p>\n

“Disability” is about suffering. Through this dual-self-portrait Cao\u00a0depicts two different identities. One of the figures represents Cao on the surface, who has a tough time expressing himself through words, not an easy feat. The other figure is Cao on\u00a0an unconscious (non-physical) level, who seems to be more at ease. I think the sense of discomfort that the viewer feels in this piece is what makes it\u00a0appealing.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Chen Cao, “Disability“<\/em>, oil on canvas, 72\u201d x 48\u201d, 2014. Photo: Courtesy of the artist.<\/p>\n

We all have these two parts of ourselves: physical and spiritual –\u00a0and this exhibit creates a potential platform to talk about it, if one chooses to. If the chance comes up, I highly recommend talking with these two artists if spirituality, the\u00a0body and\u00a0the soul are topics that interest you because they have very interesting perspectives. Furthermore, it was a relief to be in the presence of art that holds intricate meaning and\u00a0meet artists who have something to say.<\/p>\n

Jos\u00e9phine Mwanvua<\/p>\n

*Exhibition information: February 19 \u2013 March 4, 2015, Project Gallery, 1109 Queen Street East, Toronto. Gallery hours: Tue \u2013 Fri, 2 – 8; Sat \u2013 Sun, 12 \u2013 6 p.m.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Jos\u00e9phine Mwanvua<\/strong><\/p>\n

I highly recommend talking with these two artists if spirituality, the body and soul are topics that interest you because they have very interesting perspectives.<\/p>\n

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