Date:Posted By:Category:Chin Yuen, Joan Wortis, Lauren Iida

As part of our Season Partnership with Seattle Public Theater, ArtXchange Gallery presents a mini-exhibition in their lobby curated especially for SPT’s new production of “The Liar.” Featuring works by Chin Yuen, Joan Wortis and Lauren Iida, this exhibition adds a colorful 60s vibe for this fantastic production of David Ives’ play.

About the Production: For audiences who love wit, wordplay, and savvy reinvention of the classics comes THE LIAR: a sparkling urban romance, reinvented by David Ives with contemporary flair. Ives’ “translaptation” of Pierre Corneille’s 17th century comedy follows Dorante, a young Frenchman and pathological liar whose outlandish stories become the talk of the capital, but for every problem he solves with his deception, he creates two new ones in its place. What is truth in an urban landscape of rumor, innuendo, and the formidable power of a fabulous story?

Featured Artists:

Labyrinth of the Extraordinary |  acrylic and collage on canvas | 36″ x 24″ | $2350

 

Chin Yuen, an internationally recognized and award winning painter, was born in Malaysia and studied in Singapore and England before moving to Canada. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts with Honors from Vancouver’s Emily Carr University of Art and Design and a Master of Arts from the University of Victoria, Canada. After graduation, she moved to Japan and Italy, where she taught English and Fine Arts for several years.

Yuen continues to travel extensively for work and pleasure. She sees her diverse cultural exposures as an artistic asset and finds inspiration everywhere, from pop-culture to decaying wood. For over 20 years, she has exhibited internationally. Her dynamic abstract paintings are on the covers of international textbooks and the walls of residential homes, hotels, health care centres, and corporate buildings around the globe. View more of Chin Yuen’s artwork here!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Echoes | monotype collage on panel | 30.25″ x 22.5″ | $900

Joan Wortis refers to herself as having had many lives, all of them in worlds of art. Her first career as a modern dancer and choreographer was followed by a new direction into the field of fiber art. For many years she participated in prestigious competitive shows with her woven textiles. After studying with the renowned textile designer, Jack Lenor Larsen, she went on to design woven fabrics for major companies and taught weave design at Philadelphia College of Textiles and Science.

After a period of living and traveling in Asia, Joan began to open up new creative possibilities using paper. Free from the geometry of the loom, she worked with monotype, collage and assemblage. This work of the past 15 years has been exhibited at galleries and museums across the country and abroad. Her work in printmaking, collage, and mixed-media reveals sensitivity to line, rhythm and asymmetry, as well as evoking the lyrical qualities of dance. The use of color, contrast between form and background, and her use of pattern and texture are clearly influenced by a deep appreciation of fiber traditions from around the world. View Joan Wortis’ artwork here!

 

 

 

 

 

Such a Lovely Place (Such a Lovely Place), Such a Lovely Face | hand-cut paper,ink,oil pastel,aquarelle,(framed) | 12″ x 16.5″ | $450

Lauren Iida was born in Seattle and is a Cornish College of the Arts graduate (2014) where she focused on video while also developing her “paper cutaway” technique. Her current work is mainly intricately cut, highly detailed figurative compositions which she embellishes with whimsical line drawings, watercolor and Sumi ink washes, layered translucent papers, and collage pieces. Much of Iida’s work is influenced by Cambodia where she lived for many years working on various non-profit and social entrepreneurship projects beginning in 2008. Most recently she spent a year teaching art and English in a remote rural area of the country.

Another major influence is her Japanese American heritage which she explored through a series of paper cutaways based on her family’s photo collection of their incarceration during WWII. This series is called “Castle Rock is for Lovers” and was completed and exhibited in 2014. She has recently exhibited her work at ArtXchange Gallery, The Mayor’s Gallery at Seattle City Hall, Shoreline City Hall, Gage Academy of Art, Cornish College of Arts, West Elm, and Bocz Salon. She was nominated for 2016 Best Asian Pacific Islander local artist by Seattle’s International Examiner. Upcoming solo exhibitions include the Confluence Gallery, ArtXchange Gallery, and The 1961 in Phnom Penh. View Lauren Iida’s artwork here!