Tableau, Zelene Jiang Schlosberg
Tableau. Wood, thread, canvas and acrylic. 20 x 18 x 2.8 inches
There is something uncanny about water in motion, its ability to convey succinctly and profoundly the passage of time. I am not the first to notice this of course. Here is Heraclitus: “No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man.” Confucius had an opinion, too.
My work dangles precipitously between painting and sculpture, bringing the viewer the silent but palpable experience of being between forms, with attention to line and architecture always present.
The extended techniques I employ include cutting, wrapping, stitching and crocheting. Holes in panels, pieces of rice paper, simple nails, dangling stones and the canvas itself are time-honored techniques and materials that function not ornamentally but rather centrally in addressing issues of objecthood, of transience, as well as the powerful aesthetics of fragility. It is not an accident that these very themes, not to mention the materials themselves, are essential to certain streams of Eastern philosophy. The latest pieces, all of which are mixed media and in black and white, affirm a preoccupation with these subjects, suggesting an elemental aesthetic, both modern and timeless. Also at work is the idea of canvas as corporeal presence, and here the small scale contributes to a sense of physical intimacy and immediacy.