February 2, 2021 (Palo Alto, CA) - Qualia Contemporary Art is pleased to present Rupture of the Mundane Plane by artist Yulia Pinkusevich. Rupture of the Mundane Plane showcases two recent bodies of work on paper from two series: Isorithm Maps and a new body of work entitled the Q-Series.  In her evolving practice, Pinkusevich has created a bold, visual language that engages interconnection, musicality, space and materiality to explore the transference of energy over time.  Rupture of the Mundane Plane contextualizes this ethos through an arresting juxtaposition of meditation, intuitive spontaneity, and gestural mark making. The exhibition is open to the public from February 11, 2021 through April 2, 2021. The gallery will be hosting a Zoom opening celebration on February 13, at 7:30 pm PST. RSVP is required*.

The Isorithm series grew out of Pinkusevich’s research on the Cold War. During this research, the artist located a declassified military manual which served as a guide to teach military personnel how to create maps that predict the casualty impact of nuclear air bursts . Pinkusevich was struck “by the immense tension between the elegant geometries and rational calculations of these maps, juxtaposed against the irrational chaos and mass destruction they represent.” The works are made up of a series of red lined grids, overlayed with topography like concentric circles and abstracted marks; all melding together in a seemingly rhythmic dance. The term 'isorhythm”is borrowed from a 13th-century musical phrase used to describe things of the same rhythm. The repetitive mapping quality of the work instantiates the exchange of energy within it, both physically and conceptually. Without knowing the work’s nuclear source, one is still able to sense its buzzing energy, ready to explode with life.

Pinkusevich’s Q-Series began while the artist was in quarantine during the COVID-19 pandemic. The small, amoebic works are made using a slow meditative process in which the artist places a single ink mark  on the paper for every breath she takes. Pinkusevich then connects these marks with fine red pencil lines as a meditation on form, social connection and biological networks. The intimate works follow an internal logic and poses a scientific visual language. Just like a physical body, they have the ability to heal, grow and regenerate a sense of being.

Pinkusevich uses materiality and process in her practice as a way to expand on the interconnectedness and historical aspects often found in her work. Both series in  Rupture of the Mundane Plane use a preservation technique the artist discovered while working with 12th century illuminated manuscripts, in which natural beeswax was used to seal  the drawings and texts. Pinkusevich not only uses beeswax as a way to seal her marks, but it also adds an interesting depth of color and a natural fragrance. All of the materials Pinkusevich uses (charcoal, ink, paper, beeswax), have a primordial feeling to them and physically connect the work to different spaces, times and energy.

The work in Rupture of the Mundane Plane is mathematical, algorithmic, geometric, all of which acts as a set of rules that guides Pinkusevich through her process. Within these limitations, Pinkusevich is able to find metaphysical networks of life, connection, rhythm, emotion and spontaneity.

To RSVP for the opening event, please visit: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/qualia-contemporary-art-exhibition-opening-night-tickets-139011269449

About Yulia Pinkusevich

Yulia Pinkusevich is an artist and educator born in Kharkov,Ukraine(USSR). Upon the collapse of the Soviet Union, her family fled the eastern bloc as refugees, immigrating to New York City in the 90’s. She holds a Masters of Fine Arts from Stanford University and Bachelors of Fine Arts from Rutgers University, Mason Gross School of the Arts, graduating both universities with highest honors. Yulia has exhibited nationally and internationally including site-specific projects executed in Paris,Franceand Buenos Aires,Argentina.

Presenting an immersive visual environment that stays true to an architectural design methodology is an ongoing pursuit for Pinkusevich. It is ever present in her installations using common materials and found objects, it is how she guides her examination of urban and natural systems. Pinkusevich’s work is in the public collection of the DeYoung Museum, Stanford University, Facebook HQ, Google HQ and the City of Albuquerque. Yulia has been awarded residency grants from Gray Area Arts Foundation, Wildlands, Lucid Arts Foundation, Autodesk Pier 9, Facebook, Recology (San Francisco Dump), Cite des Arts International (Paris), Headlands Center for the Arts, Redux, Goldwell Open Air Museum and The Wurlitzer Foundation. She was also the recipient of The San Francisco Foundations Phelan, Murphy & Cadogan Fellowship in the Fine Arts as well as numerous other awards. Yulia’s work has been widely written about in various publications, including New American Painting, Stanford Magazine, DeYoung Magazine, VICE, The Miami Herald, Dwell, Adbusters, KQED, Rhizome. Yulia has lectured at Stanford University and is currently Associate Professor at Mills College in Oakland  California, she lives and creates her work on unceded Ohlone land.

February 2, 2021 (Palo Alto, CA) - Qualia Contemporary Art is pleased to present Internal Landscape, a solo exhibition by Chinese-American artist, Stella Zhang, featuring paintings, mixed media works and installation. The artist continues her ten-year exploration of the body with new works that act as a meditation on Zhang’s acute awareness of the internal and external body and how it not only carries consciousness, but intuition. Internal Landscape is open to the public from Feb. 11, 2021 through April 2, 2021. The gallery will be hosting a Zoom opening celebration on Feb. 13, at 7:30 pm PST. RSVP is required.

The exhibiting works in Internal Landscape were created while the artist was in quarantine for the COVID-19 pandemic. Like many, home became Zhang’s refuge and in her solitude, she began to notice the quiet tension that exists between the physical and the emotional. More tuned in to her sensitivities and energy, Zhang’s work in Internal Landscape focuses on how the body can be a grounding and reliable source of information. There is a flow of energy found not only between the works in the exhibition, but between those physically and metaphysically present.

Zhang has long used the body to explore identity, power, and equality however this exhibition marks a departure in her practices as the artist uses the quieting of external forces to strengthen her own sense of intuition and inner power. In her headlining work, Internal Landscape - Dorsa #1 -#9, Zhang combines nine smaller pieces into one large work that from a distance, looks like a Chinese ink painting. As one gets closer, the work’s spine and nervous system begin to reveal themselves, but like flowing ink, there are many parts of its internal body you can’t grab, but can feel. The works have an almost ephemeral quality to them, but are strengthened by the sharp tension and sense of life careening below the surface.

Materiality and process are extremely important in Zhang’ s practice. Classically trained, Zhang is known for her mastery of techniques used in atypical ways. Using Chinese brush painting and Japanese painting on fabric and rice paper, Zhang captures both a macro and micro view of the body in her work. Fabric and rice paper are often found in the artist’s practice because of their ability to be fragile, yet enduring, malleable, yet tough. The minimal works maintain a colorfield of black, white, red and tan, due to the artist’s desire to keep the focus on the subject matter.

The works in Internal Landscape are cathartic manifestations that use Zhang’s practice as a method of self-discovery. Zhang’s works tap into an ‘unspoken wisdom’ of her own body and to find peace and strength, we must listen and tune inwards.

To RSVP for the opening event, please visit: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/qualia-contemporary-art-exhibition-opening-night-tickets-139011269449

About Stella Zhang

Stella Zhang’s art expresses hidden conflicts that challenge our ability to connect to our shared struggles with power; inequality and identity. Her starting point is the human body and all aspects of human nature—the most basic truths. She chooses familiar and ordinary materials, that activate our memories and connect us with universal fears and desires. Stella’s work subtly engages viewers, stimulates conversation; and challenges us to question the boundaries and rules we accept.

Stella’s work has been exhibited in MainlandChina, Hong Kong,Taiwan,Japanand theUnited States; and is in the collections of the National Art Museum of China, in Beijing; The Xinxiang Museum, Henan, China; Tan Shin Fine Arts Museum, Tokyo,Japan; and numerous public and private collections. Seven monographs have been published about her works, and she has received many awards. Stella has been an Artist-in-Residence in Stanford University, and is a guest lecturer at Stanford  University. She continues to teach at the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing.