Detail: Reception: Thursday, December 03, 2009, 6:00 - 8:00 p.m.
Gallery Hours: Tues – Sat, 11a.m. - 6 p.m.

Chelsea’s Agora Gallery will feature Korean artist, Joo Han, in Metamorphosis. The exhibition is scheduled to run from November 20, 2009 through December 11, 2009 (opening reception: Thursday, December 3, 2009).
Joo Han’s examination of daily existence allows her to take an objective stance on the psychological meaning behind everyday occurrences. She seeks to portray the emotional truth behind the tensions, humor and happiness that makes up the ritual of human life. Influenced greatly by Korean traditional folk painting, her abstract depictions are abundant with vibrant colors. Feelings of tolerance, concentration, indifference, hate, and generosity commonly reside within the images that she paints from her imagination. Han’s favorite technique is to use complementary colors to create sarcastic objects.
Upon witnessing her grandfather’s death during her childhood, Han was inspired to look at death as nothing but a change in the shape and status of life. Such an event has greatly influenced her artwork. She strives to depict how everything alive around us has its own invisible spirit, which moves between different times and spaces. Joo Han has a BFA and MFA from Seoul National University and MA from Purdue University.
Pulsing with a vibrant energy, Agora Gallery’s The Rhythm of Color displays the expressive central role that an artist’s palette plays in the creation of a painting. Crafting their personal inspirations in a variety of styles, this exhibition features a collection of painters that are united in their understanding of the intimate relationship between color and emotion. Persistence of Form daringly explores the experience of our modern world through the eyes of the artist. Beautifully crafted imagery abounds in this choice selection of paintings as the artists inject wit, fantasy, and sensitivity into their vision of humanity. The works are raw and physical, daring to examine inwardly while holding an unadulterated mirror to the world to expose both the ills and the joys to be found. Color of Transformation is a wonderfully diverse grouping of contemporary painters working at the forefront of their medium. With an adept eye for form, the featured artists swathe their imagery in wonderfully rich colors to maximize both visual and emotional reactions. With influences ranging from music to the natural world, visitors will enjoy exploring and interpreting the messages so brilliantly expressed through the power of color. Exhibiting a wide range of contemporary art, Metamorphosis dives into a vast cauldron of fiery inspiration. We see the humanness behind the form, we find joys, fears, intrigue, and power. There is an expanse of inventive styles, as elemental forms and dynamic figures transform the desire for understanding into action, in the same manner of the early explorers. To make the unknown, known: to see what lies over that horizon.

Featured Artists:

The Rhythm of Color- Renata Cebular, Ciceros, Álvaro Cuartango, Patrick Girod, Anduin Vaid, Melissa G. Watt
Persistence of Form- Sher Christopher, Meredith Collins, Jim Lively, Coco Masuda, John Nieman, Vera Puig, Annie Seddon, Sibylle
Color of Transformation- Mats Andersson, István Csizmadia, Sunil Howlader, Kristo (Christian Nicolas), Doug Simon
Metamorphosis- Fabrizio Andriani, Chritch, Emin Guliyev, Joo Han, Michael Indorato, Marcela, Brian Reed, Marina Reiter, Jane Sandes

About Agora Gallery:

Agora Gallery is a fine art gallery located in the heart of New York City’s Chelsea art galleries district that was established in 1984 and is famous for showcasing a spectacular array of talented artists from around the world and around the corner, while providing quality and original art to collectors. The gallery also publishes ARTisSpectrum Magazine, a bi-annual magazine that is distributed to museums, galleries, art institutions and art schools around the world. It provides artists, collectors, museums, galleries, art organizations and enthusiasts with access to the work of internationally talented emerging and mid-level artists as well as feature articles, reviews and interviews. Agora Gallery is also the sponsor of Art-Mine.com, one of the most comprehensive resources available worldwide to view and purchase fine art from emerging, mid-level and well-established artists. Most recently, the gallery launched http://agoraartgalleryblog.com, a blog designed to provide helpful information and advice for artists while providing a forum for artists to help one another by sharing their experiences and thoughts.