This book was published in 2001 by the Contemporary Art Gallery; and the Kamloops Art Gallery, on the occasion of Ed Pien’s two exhibitions *Beyond Here*, at the Contemporary Art Gallery from November 4, 1999 – January 27, 2000, and *Transverser Vers* at the Kamloops Art Gallery.

*Beyond Here*, produced specifically for the Contemporary Art Gallery, was an installation that was both an inviting and unsettling experience. *Transverser Vers* was a monumental installation that spoke to the unmediated narrative about the depths of memory and the corridors of fear.

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Ed Pien

Ed Pien lives and works in Toronto and in recent years has been gaining recognition for his large-scale works that extend traditional notions about drawing. He achieves this by developing gallery installations that retain the intimacy of the drawing process. For *Beyond Here*, Pien is presenting a large installation approximately seventy five feet in length and consisting of ink on layers of Chinese paper and Japanese silk tissue. The translucent quality of the paper allows the drawings that lie beneath the surface to read as shadows, which intermingle with the more legible images on the surface. The contrast in scale between the expanse of paper, the large drawings, the small drawings and the vibrantly coloured tunnels creates a dynamic relationship between the viewer and the work. One can perceive the piece as one entity or as a series of individual drawings.

In his work, Pien explores the concepts of fear and vulnerability through referencing both historical and contemporary events as well as combining Eastern and Western mythologies. In *Beyond Here* his drawings depict strange, hybridized creatures that are engaged in an imaginary journey that reads from left to right across the gallery walls. While not a formal narrative, the figures suggest a dream-like transformation from a state of conflict to one of liberation and self empowerment.

Pien's work is both seductive and unsettling. While the paper offers an impression of softness and warmth, it is extremely fragile. The figures project sensuality in the way they are rendered, but are ambiguous in their interpretation.

### Biography

Ed Pien has recently exhibited at the Drawing Centre in New York and the Biennale de Montréal.



Detail of an artwork by Ed Pien. Two mythic figures, half humans and half undefinable animals, are drawin on paper. Red and black inks were used to draw these figures. 

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Inside the gallery, walls are covered by white scroll of paper, on which Ed Pien’s drawings are made. These drawings of human and animal figures are spaced out. Most of the lines are drawn in black. 

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Gallery walls are covered by a wide white scroll of paper, on which Ed Pien’s drawings are made. All of the drawn figures are layered and highly abstracted. All the figures have human legs.

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Gallery walls are covered by a wide white scroll of paper, on which Ed Pien’s drawings are made. One of the drawn figures has an inflamed huge head in red over the naked body outlined in black. 

Ed Pien

Related Exhibitions