New Image Art presents Leisure Time by Kristen Liu Wong and Jangalang by Monica Kim Garza

New Image Art presents Leisure Time by Kristen Liu Wong and Jangalang by Monica Kim Garza

Kristen Liu Wong – Leisure Time

New Image Art is pleased to present LEISURE TIME, a solo project with Los Angeles based painter Kristen Liu Wong featuring a series of new works.

Born and raised in San Francisco, Kristen Liu-Wong left home at the tender age of 17 for Brooklyn to attend Pratt Institute where she would major in Illustration. Since graduating in 2013, she has shown extensively in numerous galleries on the East and West coasts and some places in between and beyond.

Kristen’s work blends everyday occurrences from her own life with abstracted elements of fantasy worlds and crude humor. Trained as an illustrator, Kristen tries to tell a story with every piece she makes, developing a personal and slightly sinister narrative within each painting. Using candy colors, heavy patterning, and tight compositions, the work draws inspiration from American folk art, the cartoons she watched as a kid, and her appreciation for architecture. She is always striving to make work that is highly personal but altered enough to allow individual interpretations to be applied to every story she paints.

Kristen’s exhibition will feature an immersive mural in the project room resembling one of her paintings bringing the viewer into her art. A collection a newer paintings will be featured within the installation creating a unique experience within the space.

Monica Kim Garza – Jangalang

New Image Art is pleased to present JANGALANG, a solo painting exhibition (in the main gallery) featuring Atlanta based painter Monica Kim Garza.

Stemming from her own image and cultural heritage (Mexican/Korean), Monica Kim Garza creates work that celebrates the female form and various interactions within the world. Painting and sculpting women, primarily in the nude, Monica draws from her own memories and cultural artifacts, often placing her dark skinned full bodied models in contemporary situations. The characters are at play in a variety of reoccurring scenes based on the artist’s own memories and fantasy of the mundane and minuscule aspects of life she finds interesting and relatable.

Monica’s latest series of work draws influence from Monica’s time spent home in Atlanta, Georgia, capturing images of strip clubs, exercise gyms, religion, family, sports, and nature. Outside of the figure, color and shapes continue to play a central role in her practice. The works in this show are much larger than previous works allowing her to open up the paint strokes and gesture more freely. Mishaps that naturally occur during painting process become a means of inventing original images. “I find new aspects of painting through the exploration of paint and mixed media while still working with the same female figure over and over again. It is my intent to continue to explore and push shapes, colors, and the human form through my lens”, remarks Garza.

Show runs: April 22, 2017

New Image Art
7920 Santa Monica Blvd. West Hollywood, CA 90046
(323) 654-2192
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