Love Between the Atoms | Eva Kwong
Betty and Howard Taylor Main Gallery
This exhibition features organic-inspired sculptures and 2D work by internationally-acclaimed artist Eva Kwong. The imagined biomorphic forms created in ceramic and 3D printed sculptures elegantly reference natural specimens, such as cells and seeds, that remind us of the preciousness of life.
I am a hybrid of many cultural influences. I was born and raised in Hong Kong till I was 13. I then moved to New York with my family. Growing up in 2 cultures and speaking 2 languages encouraged me to see things from many points of view.
In my practice I want to create forms that are both familiar and unfamiliar simultaneously. My concepts of “the same and not the same”, “the one of many and the many of one” are recurring themes that have been the underpinnings in my work for decades. You can see this in my complex installations with each part unique but have a sibling resemblance to the other parts. Each painted spot or mark on the surface is a record of a singular moment in time by my hand.
My work comes from my wonderment of the natural world and where my place may be within it. This comes from looking at the flora and fauna in the countryside when I was young in Hong Kong and later working in the Nature Lab at RISD as an undergrad. I spent 20 hours a week immersed in the collections of seashells, bones, insects, stuffed birds, fossils, etc. there. This extended into my life-long observations of the forms, colors, patterns and textures in nature generating the visual vocabulary for most everything that I have made in my career as an artist.
I look for the interconnections between microcosms and macrocosms, between the inner world of my body and the external world I live in.
–Eva Kwong
I am a hybrid of many cultural influences. I was born and raised in Hong Kong till I was 13. I then moved to New York with my family. Growing up in 2 cultures and speaking 2 languages encouraged me to see things from many points of view. Read the Akron Beacon Journal’s Review of Love Between the Atoms and My Favorite People Here!
Special thanks to Bradley Hart, Summit Artspace resident artist, for photography of virtual exhibitions!
If you would like to purchase any art, please visit a staff member or volunteer at the front desk, or email natalie@summitartspace.org.
Talismans For a Pandemic
Artworks can have curative powers and the ability to transform our lives.
Talismans For a Pandemic” is an ongoing series of digital photographs and drawings which I started in 2020 at the beginning of the covid pandemic. I have not experienced a pandemic like this before and I did not have a precedent to follow to deal with it. Then I thought about all the different uses of talismans and amulets in ancient cultures to help people cope, protect and heal in times of great stress. I researched cultures from around the world throughout history. Many cultures found things from nature or made things using natural materials to confer protective powers and aid healing to the possessor.
During this pandemic, I discovered that holding, feeling and looking at my collection of stones accumulated over most of my life helped me throughout this difficult time. Holding the stones with my body connected me physically and psychically with the continuum of nature and geologic time. These stones have survived for a long time on this planet and reminded me that I too can survive this unexpected current upheaval. This series of photographs of my body and the stones combined with drawings act as a document of my time in isolation, a catalyst for contemplation and as my talisman for the present pandemic.
– Eva Kwong, 2022
Click here to see Eva Kwong and Kirk Mangus on Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood!
See the Summit Artspace exhibit schedule for show details.
Have questions? Here is our Frequently Asked Questions page.
