Wednesday, July 23, 2014 – Sunday, August 17, 2014
58 Hester Street ( Between Orchard & Ludlow ) NYC 10002
Ashok Jain Gallery is pleased to hold a solo exhibition of Jon Tsoi calls himself “Artist-Father of Blindfold Art Medicine.” Born in China in 1958, Jon Tsoi began to nurture his artistic nature at a very young age when his family recognized that he had an innate talent for drawing. In 1976, when young people were allowed to attend college, Jon Tsoi enrolled in teacher’s college in the art department. In 1979 he came to the United States where he worked menial jobs to pursue his studies. He became an acupuncturist and an artist. He applied his knowledge of ancient Chinese medicine with Taoism philosophy and became “Artist-Father of Blindfold Art Medicine.”
Believing that distractions can impede us from connecting with our inner self, he began to use the blindfold when creating his art. The blindfold and meditation free the mind from the body’s limitations and distractions. He began experimenting with this technique by covering the canvass with cool colors. He then placed a blindfold so that he could no longer see the canvass. He then took a pallet knife to destroy the colors because out of destruction comes creation, the yin and the yang. He works on the canvas changing the image creating a new one. When satisfied, he removes his blindfold and looks for the first time at his creation.
He is now experimenting with new techniques and different media, although the blindfold remains his signature. He begins by holding a knife in his hand slashing and cutting the canvas. This is the destruction. This is the ultimate freedom. The inner self is driving his motions. There is violence in his actions as he tears and slashes the canvas. The violence is replaced by the creations, which can be the use of rope intertwining it through the slashes, or other media of his choosing. When the canvas is finished he has achieved a new creation and harmony. In his Artist Statement he “…we can all benefit from the mystery of art, balancing ourselves physically, mentally, and spiritually.”
For more information about the event, please visit:
http://now-events.net