New work by ESMA PAÇAL TURAM and KARINA WISNIEWSKA

Exhibition:

BEND AND BREAK IN SILENCE
New work by ESMA PAÇAL TURAM and KARINA WISNIEWSKA

Dates: April 12 thru May 26, 2007

Reception: Thursday, April 12, 6
8pm

Sara Tecchia Roma New York is proud to present BEND AND BREAK IN SILENCE, a two-person show juxtaposing the work of sculptor ESMA PAÇAL TURAM and paintings by KARINA WISNIEWSKA.

Based in Istanbul, Turam is known for paper sculptures representing her fascination with communication between different people. Crowds and individuals alike populate her works.

Also presented here are new pieces made with silicone, used to create jellyfish-like domes.

"I always liked watching the raindrops come together," she explains, "flow down a window, a meditative and peaceful movement. With this in mind, I started working with silicone in 1994. The silicone works almost like a pencil for me, but the outcome is transparent, flexible. It shimmers like crystal or glass; it is light in weight, like paper. I was looking for a lace type of effect for the curtain, to be able to look at it from both sides. Silicone just clicked in as the right material for the work."

While the paper works focus on the crowd, her silicone works present an emphasis on individuality. The dome, representing a metaphorical "temple" is the focus of the individuals who come together and create the crowd (a belief, a hope or even a fear which brings them together). The theme of the crowd becomes louder in this project.

Esma Paçal Turam, Neighbor's Lamp, 2005, Silicone, aluminum

A musician as well, Wisniewska works with acrylic lacquer and quartz sand, to create paintings that appear as if they were made of cloth. Many are based on scores by the likes of John Cage and Debussy. Ian Findlay in Asian Art News states: "There is a feeling of fragility about much of Wisniewska's art which, in turn, through her strong single colors, suggests a degree of melancholy, aloneness, and loss. The sheer quality of her art has that unique quality of timelessness to it that helps one to retain the images in the mind to be viewed there again and again."

Here she premieres the Seeds of Contemplation series. Seeds of Contemplation is a composition by Toshio Hosokawa, a Japanese composer and heir of John Cage. But more than the music itself, Wisniewska was inspired by the thoughts behind this piece, thoughts of Zen:

Karina Wisniewska, Fragment 8, 2005 Acrylic, lacquer and quartz sand on canvas

"Every moment and event in our life plants something in our souls. The wind brings innumerable seeds. Most of them are lost because we are not able, not ready, not open enough to receive them. The seeds that do spring up produce branches and roots to all sides and can become gigantic trees.

"That's the idea behind—nothing esoteric or religious. I am thinking of small patterns, small cells, developing to something larger, bigger, developing like the seeds to all sides. Always trying to keep the perfection/beauty that lies in every original cell and microcosmos as long as possible in a growing field. Also without losing the fragility, that turns more and more in a kind of strong net."

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

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