Virtual Reception: July 10, 7 pm
Target Gallery is tentatively re-open for public viewing Friday – Sundays. We are closely following the guidelines for Virginia’s COVID-19 re-opening phases. Schedule subject to change. Target Gallery will be closed, Saturday, July 4 in observance of Independence Day.
Exhibition Catalogs
In this nationally competitive opportunity, one artist is selected by a panel of experts to mount a solo exhibition in Target Gallery . In 2020, Tai Hwa Goh creates site-specific floral paper sculptures that bloom, but warp over time, much like artificial selection compared to the wild. She explores the historical, sociological, and psychological influences that have shaped floristry and human desire to mold the environment.
Goh’s layered installations are meticulously crafted from printed and cut wax paper, creating large buoyant blooming shapes, mimicking flowers or plants. In Target Gallery’s site-specific installation, these paper constructions burst from the walls and piping. Goh configures her delicate forms to embody a metaphor on human’s desire to construct their environments and how under these constructs, nature will inevitably find a way to continue flourishing.
Goh creates artificial floral and botanical “arrangements” as exaggerated unnatural forms, inspired by the historical and psychological influences of traditional floristry. ”Human desires have distorted the naturalness of organically grown plants, because humans select only the most beautiful and glorifying plants. This artificial selection resulted in the monstrous, unnatural and asymmetrical entities that were undistinguishable from their natural cousins in wildlife,” she said.
As a result, this installation reflects the tension of human’s desire to beautify their interior spaces with nature versus the wild and uncontrollable forms that burst and bloom from these environments.
Goh was selected from more than 150 North American applicants as part of Target Gallery’s annual nationwide competition, Open Call for a Solo Exhibition. The jurors were: Maryland-based artist and curator Isabel Manalo; Baltimore-based artist and curator Jackie Milad, and Don Russell, university curator and director of provisions research for arts and social change at George Mason University.
According to Manalo, “Her printed paper grows like moss or mold, and oftentimes merges with mechanisms that allude to a science lab or workshop. The work subtly raises questions about the state of our environment in their playful and ironic approach in regards to color choice, mark making and scale.”
“Her otherworldly landscapes and forms, although beautiful, also poetically call attention to the oddity of human-designed nature. She examines the tension between ‘natural vs manufactured’ through her use of color and material choices,” said Milad.
“The use of printmaking and paper shapes is challenging and requires skill to help the viewer to make the visual leap from natural to artificial. The uniqueness of the materials and their construction are in themselves engaging and lead the viewers into unusual visual experiences,” said Russell.
Tai Hwa Goh runs through Sunday, July 26, 2020 in Target Gallery, located in Studio 2. There will be a virtual reception via facebook.com/targetgallery on Friday, July 10, at 7 p.m., with an in-depth walk-through video tour by the artist.
Tai Hwa Goh Virtual Exhibition Tour
Tai Hwa Goh Virtual Tour Script
Tai Hwa Goh’s DIY Home Art Installation Project
https://www.facebook.com/TargetGallery/posts/10158303368314321
About the Artist
Tai Hwa Goh is a Korean-born artist who primarily works with printmaking and paper installation. Goh received a MFA degree at the University of Maryland specializing in printmaking and sculpture. She also received a MFA in printmaking at Seoul National University in Korea.
She built a strong career as a professional artist and a lecturer in Washington D.C. area during 2000-2007. She actively interacted with local artists and gallery curators to explore new idea of merging printmaking with sculpture.
She moved to New York Metropolitan area in 2007, and continued to present her art works in numerous shows. Her exhibitions including Wave Hill, William Paterson University, IPCNY, DUMBO Art Festival, Islip Museum , Gallery Aferro, AIR Gallery, Snug Harbor Center for The Art and many more, have been highlighted in the local media and art community. In the mean time, she has also invited to have exhibitions in D.C. area, including Johns Hopkins University, Flashpoint Gallery, and Korean Cultural Center.
She has been awarded grants and residencies from Museum of Art and Design, Lower East Side Print Shop, Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts, Aljira A Center for Contemporary Art, and Vermont Studio Center, to name a few.
