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NEWS RELEASE

-- For Immediate Release --

Date: August 25, 2008

Contact: Doug Lau, Director of Marketing & Public Relations

Li Ching Accurso art on exhibit at Columbia College

By Jim Leitzell, Columbia College Art Exhibit Coordinator

Much of modern art, from Wassily Kandinsky to hard edge, is concerned with the spiritual, to the point that contemporary artists shy away from such themes as trite. So when a mid-career artist such as Li Ching Accurso titles her solo exhibit at Columbia College “Given Wings,” one has to ask: Is there new ground to be explored in this theme?

Accurso certainly gives us new visual ideas to ponder with her large paintings. Utilizing a number of post-modern strategies like combining drawing and painting, adding text, and rendering realist elements against expressionist fields, she reinvigorates the age-old quest for spiritual meaning. That the artist is sincere in her efforts adds immensely to her works’ impact in this age of cynicism in art.

These paintings are not necessarily “pretty,” although one, “Power of Pink,” relies heavily on the subtle colors found in the sky at sunrise to reinforce the human desire to be uplifted. A human figure -- the artist perhaps? -- spreads her arms and gazes skyward in a classic pose of yearning. Embedded in the delicately rendered clouds is a text from the Bible, repeated in Chinese, French, and English. Other paintings rely on strong juxtapositions of human and natural worlds, pairing the artist’s sons and their friends with butterflies, seahorses, and moths.

Accurso is also showing a number of small, whimsical ceramics. At first glance they seem frivolous, with their spiky forms and bright colors. This whimsicality, though, hides a very serious exploration of the show’s theme. All titled “Untitled,” each shows us an aspect of the human aspiration for meaning. A personal favorite depicts a bright red cartoon human heart seemingly boxed up inside grey walls. Only by studying the piece can one find the opening in this prison-like structure. In fact, the heart has already seen the exit, and seems to be moving toward it.

“Given Wings,” the paintings, ceramics, collages, and one drawing by Li Ching Accurso, is on display in the Rotunda of the Manzanita Building at Columbia College through September 24. Rotunda hours are 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Fridays.

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News Release No. 063-08

August 25, 2008

For Immediate Release

Attachment: “Power of Pink” by Li Ching Accurso, mixed media on canvas, 2007