Arts & Entertainment, The Ithaca Times, May 15, 2002
Mixing Media
By Donna Bloom
Architecture, archeology, mythology, history, science, sculpture--but above all music--feed the creative imagination of artist Syau-Cheng Lai. Eighteen large paintings, a complete survey of her work since 1998, can be seen on the pristine white walls of the State of the Art Gallery until May 26.
She entitles this exhibition "Polyphony," a term the Harvard Dictionary of Music defines as "music that combines several simultaneous voice-parts of individual design [and] is largely synonymous with counterpoint, except for a difference of emphasis.'' Lai writes, "My painterly focus on thickly detailed and complex structures results from an attempt to reflect tile broad dramatic and emotional possibilities inherent in music and its networks of texture, counterpoint, phrasing, gesture, and device." Viewers of this exhibition will find that statement a useful guide.
As one moves counterclockwise around the gallery, the paintings. although not hung in strict chronological order, do suggest Lai's progression toward ever more complex visual fantasies. They are all float matted, attached by small pieces of tape applied only lo the upper edge of the painting's back. This enables the canvas or paper to hang freely, not contained by the rigidity of a mat and able to "breathe" as temperature and humidity change.
Four of Lai's paintings are on canvas, the rest on paper, but it is often difficult to distinguish which because the surface is so highly textured. Lai originally made her own paper but now uses commercially made material built up with coats of gesso. Her interest in texture is paramount. "I have a very physical relationship with the work. It is a private experience," she says
Float matting both projects the painting toward the viewer and exposes the sensuality of the painting's edge. "Of the Riddle of Ahab" is a good example. This picture also has a great sense of depth, and having recently read both "Moby Dick" and "Ahab's Wife", I could clearly see creatures of the deep, the foam of the sea, and the appearances of the whale, but other viewers may see only an abstraction.
What we read in any painting. some say, is what we bring to it with our own experience. For example, "The Ballade of Neptune" with its jet black tracery on an orange and gold background may be full of quirky sea creatures for some, but others may read the figures as neurons.
The comfortably ample space of the State of the Art Gallery fortunately allows an appropriate distance to view the paintings (a situation not always possible in other galleries), but Lai's paintings should also be examined at close range to appreciate fully the architecture and dimensionality of the texture. Some of her geometric designs suggest a bird's eye view of ruins or possibly a city plan.
Lai often imagines places she has read about, but never seen. Taklamakhan is such a place, a desert in northwestern China on the ancient Silk Road, the route of trade and cultural and religious exchange between China and the West. Lai's painting.
'The Siege of Taklamakhan," was inspired by a legend in which General Imam Asmu was killed in a battle with Buddhist soldiers. Calligraphy is prominent. A text from the Koran is boldly set against an oxidized copper background. A closer look reveals a Chinese text inscribed in tiny red characters on an orange ground.
"The Night Watch" and "Suppose It Is Slow," paired side by side, are good examples of the artist's concern with rhythm, polyphonic strands that move from left to right, and progression through time. Both paintings are vibrant and colorful, but Lai quickly points out that "The Night Watch" was inspired by the scintillating music of Pierre Boulez while "Suppose It Is Slow" by the more strident Etudes of Gyorgy Ligeti.
Ithaca resident, artist, and musician, Syau-Cheng Lai (pronounced SHOW-CHEN LIE) was born in Taiwan to parents who fled China in 1949. She began music studies at age 5 and is today an accomplished pianist particularly interested in the music of the 20th century. When she was old enough to enter a conservatory, however, her parents preferred that she choose a more practical vocation, so in 1986 she came to Cornell and earned her doctorate in biopsychology. Her art has been exhibited in New York City, New Jersey, Corning, and Cooperstown, and she is the recipient of a Constance Saltonstall Foundation for the Arts Individual Artist Grant for 2002.
The State of the Art Gallery is located on 123 W. State Street. Regular gallery hours are Thursday 12- 6 p.m; Friday 12- 8 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday 12 -5 p.m. Call 277-1626.
Mixing Media
By Donna Bloom
Architecture, archeology, mythology, history, science, sculpture--but above all music--feed the creative imagination of artist Syau-Cheng Lai. Eighteen large paintings, a complete survey of her work since 1998, can be seen on the pristine white walls of the State of the Art Gallery until May 26.
She entitles this exhibition "Polyphony," a term the Harvard Dictionary of Music defines as "music that combines several simultaneous voice-parts of individual design [and] is largely synonymous with counterpoint, except for a difference of emphasis.'' Lai writes, "My painterly focus on thickly detailed and complex structures results from an attempt to reflect tile broad dramatic and emotional possibilities inherent in music and its networks of texture, counterpoint, phrasing, gesture, and device." Viewers of this exhibition will find that statement a useful guide.
As one moves counterclockwise around the gallery, the paintings. although not hung in strict chronological order, do suggest Lai's progression toward ever more complex visual fantasies. They are all float matted, attached by small pieces of tape applied only lo the upper edge of the painting's back. This enables the canvas or paper to hang freely, not contained by the rigidity of a mat and able to "breathe" as temperature and humidity change.
Four of Lai's paintings are on canvas, the rest on paper, but it is often difficult to distinguish which because the surface is so highly textured. Lai originally made her own paper but now uses commercially made material built up with coats of gesso. Her interest in texture is paramount. "I have a very physical relationship with the work. It is a private experience," she says
Float matting both projects the painting toward the viewer and exposes the sensuality of the painting's edge. "Of the Riddle of Ahab" is a good example. This picture also has a great sense of depth, and having recently read both "Moby Dick" and "Ahab's Wife", I could clearly see creatures of the deep, the foam of the sea, and the appearances of the whale, but other viewers may see only an abstraction.
What we read in any painting. some say, is what we bring to it with our own experience. For example, "The Ballade of Neptune" with its jet black tracery on an orange and gold background may be full of quirky sea creatures for some, but others may read the figures as neurons.
The comfortably ample space of the State of the Art Gallery fortunately allows an appropriate distance to view the paintings (a situation not always possible in other galleries), but Lai's paintings should also be examined at close range to appreciate fully the architecture and dimensionality of the texture. Some of her geometric designs suggest a bird's eye view of ruins or possibly a city plan.
Lai often imagines places she has read about, but never seen. Taklamakhan is such a place, a desert in northwestern China on the ancient Silk Road, the route of trade and cultural and religious exchange between China and the West. Lai's painting.
'The Siege of Taklamakhan," was inspired by a legend in which General Imam Asmu was killed in a battle with Buddhist soldiers. Calligraphy is prominent. A text from the Koran is boldly set against an oxidized copper background. A closer look reveals a Chinese text inscribed in tiny red characters on an orange ground.
"The Night Watch" and "Suppose It Is Slow," paired side by side, are good examples of the artist's concern with rhythm, polyphonic strands that move from left to right, and progression through time. Both paintings are vibrant and colorful, but Lai quickly points out that "The Night Watch" was inspired by the scintillating music of Pierre Boulez while "Suppose It Is Slow" by the more strident Etudes of Gyorgy Ligeti.
Ithaca resident, artist, and musician, Syau-Cheng Lai (pronounced SHOW-CHEN LIE) was born in Taiwan to parents who fled China in 1949. She began music studies at age 5 and is today an accomplished pianist particularly interested in the music of the 20th century. When she was old enough to enter a conservatory, however, her parents preferred that she choose a more practical vocation, so in 1986 she came to Cornell and earned her doctorate in biopsychology. Her art has been exhibited in New York City, New Jersey, Corning, and Cooperstown, and she is the recipient of a Constance Saltonstall Foundation for the Arts Individual Artist Grant for 2002.
The State of the Art Gallery is located on 123 W. State Street. Regular gallery hours are Thursday 12- 6 p.m; Friday 12- 8 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday 12 -5 p.m. Call 277-1626.