Advertisement

Art Art & Books

Looks good on paper

JAE KO at Lausberg Contemporary (880 Queen West), to May 3. 416-516-4440. Rating: NNN


Word on the street/blog/Twitter/Tumblr/op-ed page is that print media is dying – a scary prospect for most journalists, yours truly included.

[rssbreak]

Yet looking at the elegant paper sculptures of Korean-American artist Jae Ko, I feel some momentary, if ridiculous, equanimity. Hey, even if print does die, maybe Ko will transform all that obsolete newsprint into something kinda beautiful.

At first glance, most of Ko’s oeuvre comes across as smooth minimalist sculpture. Vibrant forms in yellow and red spiral in and out of circles and ellipses. They evoke wood in the process of being turned on a lathe, or a supple dough being contorted by an industrial mixer.

The show’s rounded out by Ko’s rectangular wall pieces constructed from inky-black paper. Lacking the lacquer finish of her colour works, they have a more feathery texture and suggest everything from 1970s velour upholstery to the surface of Mona Hatoum’s massive black iron-filings-covered Socle Du Monde cube on the fourth floor of the AGO.

Ko made all of these works from the narrow rolls of paper usually used in adding machines and cash registers. She skilfully transforms this humble material into objects so compelling that multiple “Please do not touch” signs are necessary.

This show packs a punch that’s more crafty than conceptual, making it an outsider in the T.O. context.

Still, it’s disappointing not to see some of Ko’s larger kraft-paper works. The exhibition card shows one, and online are more images of same. For these, Ko playfully stacks dozens of kraft rolls up against a wall like melting tree trunks, or positions them on the floor like fungi.

Maybe next time?

art@nowtoronto.com

Advertisement

Exclusive content and events straight to your inbox

Subscribe to our Newsletter

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

By signing up, I agree to receive emails from Now Toronto and to the Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions.

Recently Posted