Cynthia Reeves Presents Jonathan Prince & Wang Tao 4/1-5/8

On Thursday evening, April 1st, CYNTHIA-REEVES opens an exhibition of contemporary abstraction in two media: Jonathan Prince's black granite sculptures, and Wang Tao's acrylic, decoupage and calligraphy paintings.

Jonathan Prince's sculptures simultaneously evoke the work of 20th century fine art masters like Constantin Brancusi and Jean Arp, and ancient archeological artifacts. Principally, his work is concerned with exposing the stone's latent power through large-scale, universally iconic forms. Ellipses, spheres and cubes are intentionally interrupted by the artist's hand to infer a sense of discovery of something ancient.

Prince refers to this body of work as "Fragments". In this series, he suggests a form, but does not fully fabricate the piece. Rather, his partial articulation allows the mind to complete the universally recognizable shapes, asking his audience to be active, rather than passive, viewers. He often exaggerates the "broken" edges by adding gold and palladium leaf. The highlighted texture creates a dynamic tension with the highly polished, sumptuous black stone--Prince's medium of choice. His interest is in creating forms that are a visual marriage of the archaic and the contemporary.

In Wang Tao's New York debut at CYNTHIA-REEVES, a select series of his signature Chinese acrylic and collage works on canvas will be on display. Tao draws from his
lineage for iconography, incorporating universally recognizable Chinese motifs that resonate with his cultural sensibilities and traditional identity. His rich, warm palette further recapitulates the legacy of Chinese lacquer and ink scroll painting, which offer an interesting foil for Prince's powerful, dark, sleek pieces.

To create the textured and evocatively textile-like surface, Tao begins by affixing a decoupage of vintage book leaves from the Qing Dynasty and Early Republic Period (1912 - 1949). The book pages serve as the background, on which Tao adds layers of acrylic paint, building up the surface texture and developing the visual motifs. Rather than appropriating lauded 20th century works from Western cultures, as has been repeatedly seen in Contemporary Chinese painting, Tao looks to China's culture and history as his subject.

CYNTHIA-REEVES is located at  535 West 24th Street, Second Floor in New York, NY. The exhibition will be open from 10AM to 6PM Tuesday through Saturday. For more information, visit www.cynthia-reeves.com.

CYNTHIA-REEVES is a contemporary art space which features artworks with strong conceptual foundations and technical prowess. Represented artists evince powerful mark-making and textural concerns, impeccable craftsmanship and, often, an innovative use of everyday materials. Much of the art reflects an ongoing inquiry into the use of natural media and its transformation into unexpected and extraordinary sculptural works or environments. The gallery director, Cynthia Reeves, maintains that art is intellectual and aesthetic and includes both visual and visceral experiences.