Chinese American Arts Council Gallery 456 (NYC) is pleased to present Flâneur Redux, a solo exhibition by Zelene Jiang Schlosberg from December 18 to January 14, 2022.
Nous sommes tous des flâneurs. After lockdowns and quarantines, the ability to cast about city streets with no clear purpose in mind other than moving one’s body and observing one’s surroundings is not to be taken lightly. And while it is still possible to assume the air of a dandy (Baudelaire) or a critic of modern life (Benjamin), wanderings during These Times seem to propose a new paradigm, one in which one scurries away from a fellow ambler, and in an urban environment decidedly devoid of bustle. Given such an anxious context, the vibrancy of Zelene Jiang Schlosberg’s latest works might seem surprising, even welcoming. A general sense of abstraction under closer scrutiny leads to observations of helicopters, cats, doors, flora and most tellingly, alien(ated) creatures, which may or may not be self-portraits. Whether these icons constitute figurative comfort food or something more apprehensive and conceptual is up for grabs. Jiang Schlosberg begins her art making process with sketches and then proceeds to cut canvases before applying acrylic paint and deciding on an ordering scheme. The idea of stacking, juxtaposing, and layering responds to her intense study of Old Master paintings, including triptychs, as well as the Eastern influence of Chinese ink paintings. The effect also responds to the sense of general repetition our recent times have produced: patterned itineraries without end, with discoveries made daily, even if in a desultory fashion.
Please RSVP your visit to this exhibition: https://forms.gle/L3i7yssEwJsmSbR36
Opening Reception, December 18th, 1-5PM: 2:00 Conversation between Zelene Jiang Schlosberg and Prof Miki Kaneda (Boston University) 2:45 Performance/Improvisation by Jamie Jordan, soprano
“CAAC | Gallery 456 Visual Arts Exhibition Series” is made possible by the New York State
Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State
Legislature.
