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Kong Wee Pang and Jay Crum: Walking Eyes
07/24/15 – 08/15/15
Reception: Friday, July 31, 6 – 9 pm
Roundtable Discussion: Saturday, August 15, 3 – 5 pm
Gallery Hours:
Tuesday – Saturday, 10 am – 6 pm
Walking Eyes is a collaborative exhibition by Kong Wee Pang and Jay Crum. Inspired by a month spent in Southeast Asia, each piece was developed through exchanges of ideas and sketches between the two artists. The work is informed by personal memories, hand-drawn maps, tropical flora, and Batik patterns. Many of the pieces have high levels of details with hidden treasures to encourage exploration. The show includes a collection of mixed-media works on paper and fabric, as well as an installation.
Collaborators in life and art, Kong Wee and Jay thoughtfully balance married life, creative exploration and professional growth through ongoing ventures like the playful TaroPop Studio, which they co-founded in 2009.
Artists Bios
Kong Wee Pang is a designer/artist from Malaysia. She graduated from Singapore Nanyang Academy of Fine Art. In 2001 she moved to the United States. She received a degree in fine art and design and an MFA from the Memphis College of Art. She currently works as an art director at the mid-south’s largest ad agency, archer>malmo. Her work has been shown in NYC’s Times Square, Spain, Italy, Berlin, Atlanta, Memphis and California.
Kong Wee on her practice:
My work is concerned with transformation. Coming from Malaysia, I have learned to adapt to a new way of life here in the United States. I exist in a liminal state living in two worlds. I have focused upon the notion of original self, outside influences and transmutation. Working with watercolor is meaningful to me. In Chinese we have a saying which translates roughly to “When you drink water, remember the spring.” The abstracted figures give me a chance to face my new freedom while remembering where I come from. It is found in translation.
Jay Crum is a designer, illustrator and artist. He was born in New Orleans, LA and currently lives in Memphis, TN. He received a BFA in printmaking in 2005 and has since been navigating the line where art and design meet. In 2009 he co-founded TaroPop, a small studio producing T-shirt designs and limited-edition art-prints. He received his MFA at Memphis College of Art in 2012. He has exhibited work in Memphis, Rome and Barcelona.
