visualizing

I just attended an opening for the site-specific work on paper installation Visualizing for Bunita Marcus by local painter-pianist Syau-Cheng Lai. I had high expectations based on what I'd seen (in reproduction) and read about her work and was not disappointed.

Made up of four long sheets of unframed Rives BFK paper pinned to the walls, it covers nearly the entire perimeter of the gallery (minus windows and doors). It contains a rich variety of abstract markings in ink, pencil, pastel, and (oil and acrylic) paint. She uses strong colors—red, orange, gold, bright pink—with considerable restraint. The piece unfolds in a temporal sequence and employs pauses and empty space. I was delighted.

The installation accompanies Lai's recent performance of composer Morton Feldman's quiet, subtle, spacious solo piano piece For Bunita Marcus. I had the pleasure of listening to it last Saturday. A CD recording can be found in the gallery.

The show is up in Cornell's Olive Tjaden Building through this Friday; I highly recommend going to see it if you're in the area. Gallery hours are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.. You can learn more about the project and see some lovely pictures in this Times article, and in this piece, from the Urinal.