ANNE CHU UNDERSTUDIES
Reception for the artist on Friday, November 15, 5:00-7:30 PM
Exhibition runs through January 2003

Sculptures in this exhibition include three marionettes hung from the ceiling, and a coarsely carved wooden bear. In two life-size figures the rough and expressive surfaces of the marionettes’ carved wooden heads, hands, and feet, reflect Chu’s earlier bodies of work. The solidity of the carved forms contrasts with the delicate wire armature and richly textured fabrics. The bear, having appeared in earlier work, is an archetype that has saturated the public imagination. Much like Chu’s earlier paper bears, this example gives the initial appearance of strong solidity, yet upon further viewing, the discovery that the massive form is actually hollow adds a sense of fragility to the figure. The landscape marionette is made with computer manipulated embroidery, emphasizing her continued interest in the conflation of drawing and sculpture.

Also included in the exhibition are watercolors that inform the sculptures. In these works, men and women delicately drawn and loosely painted are paired with gestural abstract landscapes. In reference to her works on paper, Barry Schwabsky wrote, “she uses line to carve the form out of a space which it somehow does not fully occupy, always remaining tentative and off-kilter in its gravity.”