'Entwined Excess' Solo Exhibition by Phillip Hua at Hang Art Gallery September 1, 2011

Exhibition Dates: September 1-15, 2011; Artist Reception: Thursday, Sept 1, 6-8pm

"Entwined Excess" is an exploration into the intermingled themes of nature, commerce, and industry. In Bay Area artist Phillip Hua's first solo exhibition with Hang Art, Hua displays new artistic advances by drawing upon his cultural heritage and incorporating Asian motifs into his works on paper and sculpture. Continuing to work with his chosen artistic references to commerce and industry, Hua's newest body of work looks towards the relationships between the economies of the east and the west.


Works on Paper

Hua's featured works on paper, from his re:action series, are created through a process of printing and painting on segmented portions of individual financial newspaper pages, after which Hua systematically laminates each individual page with packaging tape and assembles them to create a complete work. Likening the process of creating each piece as a part of the "engine of economy," notes Hua, "the works on paper at first look are images of nature, however they're fused in paper and plastic, similar to being packaged and manufactured for consumption, and over time, dependent on their exposure to sunlight, the works will age and yellow, reflective of environmental decay, while remaining intact in their packaging." In this new collection of works, including a large scale work at 80" x 40", Hua draws from Chinese brush painting imagery, incorporating birds, flowers, and trees.


Sculpture

Introducing sculpture into his artistic dialog, Entwined Excess includes "Bull Market", a mixed media sculpture consisting of a rusted bull skull brandishing golden tree branches in place of horns. Sprouting from the 'horn' branches, Hua has fashioned leaves made from li xi envelopes, a symbol of prosperity, traditionally used for handing out money during the Lunar New Year.

Official Website: http://hangart.com