The Rotary Ice House Gallery celebrated its first art exhibition of the year with a reception hosted at 5 pm on September 12. This collection was created by the artist Zaun Lee and will be on display until November 15. Numerous professors attended with their classes, though other patrons were simply curious students eager to see this new display. Refreshments were served until the event ended at 7 pm.
Entitled “My No-Man’s Land,” this was a series of paintings, drawings and multimedia works depicting a combination of geometric grid shapes and the exposed muscle or bone structures of the human body as well as other nature-themed images.
According to literature distributed by the Monmouth University Center for the Arts, these were designed to “highlight the role senses of emotion” and show “a journey into the trans-dimensional dynamic of one’s own understanding on the internal logic of senses in decomposed narratives.”
Upstairs, one can see a series of large, overlapping images painted on translucent Mylar sheets, showing the geometric nature of the human body. Some images included a circle of six hands, drawn so that the muscle and bone was visible, all stretching away from the center, as well as numerous power symbols and lines arcing off into the distance. Smaller pieces were a variety of shapes drawn on a nature-themed color scheme, paint running down from the top.
“I chose it so you can see the movements,” Lee said about her choice in using Mylar. “I really like to play with those images. I really like the subtlety.”
Downstairs, there are a number of small multi-media pieces displaying various body parts arranged in precise ways. In one, skeletonized hands clasp around the back of someone’s head. In another, feet are shown as if rising from the ground, their bones arranged like flowers.
Amanda Stojanov, senior graphic design major, said, “It’s a unique form of collage, very striking. The mixed-media she uses give it a sense of texture. It seems very dark but the uniqueness and details draw you into every piece. It’s wonderful that the University can support artists from all over.”
The artist was more than happy to discuss her creative process. “I was working with the grid system and the human body,” she said.
Zuan said, “I was interested in seeing the relationship between these two. To me, the grid system is the God’s perspective of life, so I thought it was really interesting to see how my two ideas connected. And I’ve always been interested in the human body, [though] I was more interested in how it functions – how there are layers in the body.”
Mike Richison, specialist Professor of Art and Design, thought it was a great first exhibition for this artistic season. “I’m teaching motion graphics right now, so I stopped class to bring my students,” he said. “It’s fun to look at and beautiful work. I like the variety – she used graphite paper, canvas, [and] multimedia resin.”
“It’s important to get involved in gallery events,” he added.
Mark Ludak, specialist Professor of Art and Design, agreed that her style is very intriguing. “I like the way she layers her work, how she deals with seemingly opposing processes, how sometimes she’s pouring paint and other times a grid system,” he said. “There is an imposed tetrahedral structure, a level of scientific investigation that’s very interesting. There are these washy scenes overlapping on very rigid compositions.”
Dr. Paul Brown, President of the University, made an appearance as well. “It’s a beautiful space. The height of both floors is very dramatic. I can tell it adapts well to modern art,” he said, going on to add that she “has a gift.”
“I wanted to make sure I saw it. You can tell it’s very personal which makes the artist’s work very special,” said Brown.
This current exhibition is just one of the many gallery showings the University hosts throughout the year. In addition to the Rotary Icehouse, artwork can also be seen in Rechnitz Hall and the Pollak Gallery, each changing periodically to display new work.
Be sure to get out there and not only engage these elements of the artistic community but also to support the University and its students. The Icehouse is open from 9 am to 5 pm Mondays through Fridays, so there’s plenty of time to appreciate this particular artists work before the exhibition closes.
IMAGE TAKEN from monmouth.edu
