3 PATHS TO EXPRESSION
TINA MION -- GEORGETTE UNIS -- LAN-CHIANN WU
March 3 - September 3, 2011

OPENING RECEPTION Sunday February 27 -- 1-4 PM

SUNDAY GALLERY TALKS -- 2 PM
Gallery open 1-4 PM
MARCH  20     Lan-Chiann Wu
APRIL 3     Georgette Unis  
MAY  22     Tina Mion    

Jacobs Education Center, Maloof Foundation
Gallery hours: Thursdays and Saturdays
12 Noon - 4:00 PM

Exhibition and all gallery events are free of charge

Tina Mion, Georgette Unis and Lan-Chiann Wu offer viewers ample evidence of their creative minds. Each of their works exhibits a well-honed craft with subject matter meant to kindle thought and feeling. The diversity of their expression is testimony to the limitless realm of the human spirit.
Info: 909-980-0412.

Click here for exhibition press release

ARTIST STATEMENT: I paint with the conviction that there are universal humanistic values to life, principles that I grew up with and that are inherent to many societies, which are important to express in my work. Values such as achievement and benevolence, for example, play an important role in my art, because they are at the core of our existence.

Mankind’s universal struggle with life is also theme in my work. We all confront the questions: why are we here, and what is our purpose in life? The innate strength that we possess to overcome our difficulties is fascinating. Everyone struggles with profound moments of change, such as for example, the death of a loved one. This is not different for me; however, I choose to express my struggles by creating images that are rich with meaning. This creates purposeful tension in my work.

My paintings are not mere images. They are layered with content, which can be both seen and felt. A curator at a Los Angeles art institution once referred to my work as “hauntingly beautiful”, which touched the essence of my work.

My work is rooted in the ancient tradition of Chinese ink painting. My paintings are created with natural materials, ink on paper, using century-old techniques. I often make several sketches before I make a painting. It is a process that may take up to several months to complete.

I prepare my materials by hand so that I have full control over my ink and colors, which is necessary for achieving intricate brushwork. I sometimes refer to my paintings as visual poems, because they contain similar intrinsic tension as poetry. I aim to inspire the viewer of my paintings, not only to see the beauty of the image, but also experience its full meaning.

Lan-Chiann Wu Biography

Lan-Chiann Wu received her BFA -with highest honors- from the Chinese Culture University in Taipei, Taiwan. She holds a MA from New York University’s Fine Art Department and, resides in Granada Hills, CA where she has her studio. Lan-Chiann has exhibited and lectured on the subject of Chinese ink Painting in the Los Angeles area, San Francisco, and well as in New York, Taiwan and Japan. She has received numerous prizes and awards, and her work has been exhibited and collected in Taiwan, the Netherlands, Japan and in the USA.  Lan-Chiann has demonstrated the art of Chinese Ink Painting in Taiwan and New York, and appeared on an award-winning CD-ROM “The Paths Dreams Take”, Japanese art from the Collection of Mary Griggs Burke at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Georgette Unis, Gallery Talk on April 3, 2011

Artist Statement: This series of paintings for 3 Paths to Expression evolved from images of trees, specifically the trunks at eye level.  They are reminiscent of meditations from time I have spent in the mountain forests observing the accumulated effects of natural elements.  In this way, painting is an exploration of imagery that reflects the experience of life forms.  It includes a
repetition of several applications of texture and pigment until the shapes develop into a literal landsca

Georgette Unis Biography

Georgette Unis is a painter, ceramic sculptor and mixed media artist. She received her BA from Arizona State University and her MFA from the Claremont Graduate University.  She has had one-person shows in California, including the Cuttress Gallery in the Pomona Arts Colony and the Ontario Art Museum. Her work has also been featured in several two-person and group shows in Los Angeles and the surrounding areas as well as in other states. Her artworks are in the permanent collection of the Sam and Alfreda Maloof Foundation and in many private collections throughout the United States and in Australia. Curators such as Peter Frank, Miriam Shapiro and Mary Oliver have selected her work for exhibition. Unis makes her home and studio in Claremont. She is represented by Armstrong’s Gallery in Pomona, California. 

Tina Mion, Gallery Talk on May 22, 2011

Artist Statement: I paint for many reasons: to quell my neurotic nature, to feed my curiosity, to make sense of other people, other histories, and our improbable existence. I paint to tell stories because I’m interested in our flaws large and small, in what connects and divides us. I paint because I love doing research (many of my paintings involve a lot of research). And I paint because I get grouchy if I don’t.

Tina Mion Biography

Tina Mion was born in Washington, D.C. and grew up in many places including an abandoned mortuary in New Jersey. She dropped out of art school and bought a one-way ticket to Sri Lanka. She has set up tiny studios in odd places including an island off the coast of Maine and a trailer park shack in Orange County. In 1997 Tina and her husband bought an abandoned 72,000 sq ft hacienda – La Posada Hotel in Winslow AZ. Not surprisingly, her work got much larger. Sam & Beverly Maloof were frequent guests and old friends. She has had numerous  one-woman shows around the nation and is represented in collections all over the world including the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C. and the Nelson-Atkins Museum in Kansas City, MO.