Pae White

New and recent work by Los Angeles artist Pae White will be on view at the Contemporary Art Gallery from April 12 to June 2, 2002. *a grotto, some nightfish and a second city* includes three of White's highly stylized sculptures, one of them created specifically for CAG.

White refers to this body of work as "hanging colourfields." They are composed of multiple small coloured pieces of paper arranged on strings and hung from the ceiling. Her attraction to this form arises from an interest in "the frozen, the still, the dissolve." Recently she has said "I am more interested in how these pieces stop time, or are perhaps a half-tone of an image or an idea. The way graphics have a tendency to stylize as a way to get to the core, I hope that in some way this happens in these pieces."

White's work gives us the opportunity to consider how the idealized abstractions of "high-art" concepts of the 1960s have been transformed by popular culture and the strictures of "good taste." At the same time, their evanescent and ephemeral character points to the very thin line between what is superficial and what is deeply emblematic in our visual culture.

### Biography

A Los Angeles native, Pae White studied at the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture and the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. Since 1990 her work has been seen in solo exhibitions internationally. This will be the first solo exhibition of her work in Canada. White's design projects are an integral part of her artistic practice and have included a number of exhibition catalogues for Jorge Pardo, ads in frieze magazine for galerie neugerriemschneider and a children's reading room at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art among many others.

Essay: “Pae White: a grotto, some nightfish and a second city,” Christina Ritchie

This is a close-up view of a sculptural installation by Pae White. A countless number of small leaf-shaped blue and orange papers are hanging from the ceiling through black threads. 

thumbnail_06-PaeWhite-2002 .jpeg

06-PaeWhite-2002 .jpeg

Many colourful pieces of paper are hanging from the gallery ceiling through threads. Those papers collectively create sculptural installations that look like waterfalls or clouds. 

thumbnail_01-PaeWhite-2002 .jpeg

01-PaeWhite-2002 .jpeg

This is a close-up view of one of the sculptural installations by Pae White. A countless number of hexagon-shaped coloured papers are tied to the threads that are hanging from the ceiling. 

thumbnail_02-PaeWhite-2002 .jpeg

02-PaeWhite-2002 .jpeg

A number of colourful paper pieces are hanging from the gallery ceiling through threads. Those papers collectively create sculptural installations that look like waterfalls or clouds. 

thumbnail_03-PaeWhite-2002 .jpeg

03-PaeWhite-2002 .jpeg

This is a close-up view of one of the sculptural installations by Pae White. Many half-cut boiled egg-shaped colourful paper pieces are tied to the threads hanging from the ceiling.

thumbnail_04-PaeWhite-2002 .jpeg

04-PaeWhite-2002 .jpeg

This is an installation shot of Pae White’s solo exhibition. A number of colourful paper pieces are hanging from the gallery ceiling. Those sculptural installations look like waterfalls.

Pae White

Exhibitions