UNNATURALLY OCCURRING:
SALT, SAND, BRONZE, GOLD

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Exhibition:
UNNATURALLY OCCURRING:
SALT, SAND, BRONZE, GOLD

Dates:
March 2nd-April 6th, 2006

Reception:
Thursday, March 2nd, 2006, 6 to 8pm

Sara Tecchia Roma New York is proud to present UNNATURALLY OCCURRING: SALT, SAND, BRONZE, GOLD, a group show of painting and sculpture with an alchemical twist.

CLEMENT PRICE-THOMAS presents paintings and sculptures created with SALT, using a self-patented method discovered in 1991 when the artist's search for a new form of subconscious expression led him to this "living" medium. Each painting takes anywhere from a week to a month for the super-saturated salt solution and Indian ink to enter it's final form. Likewise, his sculptures-undulating hearts of neon beneath a crust of salt-are the result of nearly three years of nurturing crystalline growth.

KARINA WISNIEWSKA works with acrylic lacquer and quartz SAND, creating paintings that appear almost as if they were made of cloth. A former pianist-she was proclaimed 1997 Swiss Musician of the Year-Wisniewska moved into visual field following an injury in 2000. As such, her work is infused with influences by 20th Century composers, especially Cage. A number of her pieces have been based on his scores.

MARIALUISA TADEI makes sculptures addressing the concept of gravity. In her words: "I take heavy materials such as steel and try to make them light, and I take light materials, such as feathers and oil, and try to make them weighty. I like to work with materials and concepts that are polar opposites e.g life and death, organic versus technological." On display are Tadei's sculptures, strangely organic forms open to dual interpretation as either plant or animal, though made of BRONZE. An Italian, Tadei studied under Greek sculptor Jannis Kounelliis, and follows his tradition of melding industrial and organic materials. She will be having a solo exhibition at Sara Tecchia Roma New York in May 2007.

MAKOTO FUJIMURA is the only American artist working in Nihonga, a traditional Medieval Japanese technique of painting, mastered during his seven-year doctorate at Tokyo's University of Fine Arts and Music. Fujimura creates his own pigment by using ground minerals such as azurite, malachite, cinnabar, oyster shell, silver, Japanese gold powder and Italian gold leaf, which he directly applies with the aid of water to Kumohada paper using Japanese animal hide glue. Here, the artist presents new works continuing his acclaimed Water Flames series, with special attention given to GOLD. This exhibition of Fujimura work will be followed by an exhibit at the Katzen Arts Center at the American University in Washington D.C from May 16th to June 18th.

The common thread that runs through these works is the delicate balance of technique and emotive response. Each artist is working with extremely precise chemical reactions. That this technical science can be so fraught with emotion is testament to each individual's mastery of their chosen mediums.

SARA TECCHIA ROMA NEW YORK is located at 529 West 20th Street, between Tenth Avenue and Eleventh Avenue. The gallery is on the second floor. Hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 10am to 6pm. For more information, contact 212-741-2900, or visit www.saratecchia.com