Mary Laube
Mary Laube (born Seoul, Korea, 1985) is Assistant Professor at University of Tennessee, Knoxville. She received her MFA (2012) from The University of Iowa, and her BFA (2009) from Illinois State University. Past exhibitions include VCU Qatar (Doha), Monaco (St Louis), Tiger Strikes Asteroid (NYC), The Spring Break Art Show (NYC), and Coop Gallery (Nashville). Artist residencies include Yaddo, Wassaic Project, the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Vermont Studio Center, and Stiwdeo Maelor in Corris, Wales. Past publications include Art Maze Mag, Maake Magazine, and New American Paintings. In 2019, Mary received the Contemporary Visual Art Bronze Award from AHL Foundation. She is a co-founder of the Warp Whistle Project, a collaborative duo with composer Paul Schuette. Together, they make work that merges kinetic stage sets with music performance.
Mary Laube: Songs for the Sun and Moon
Mary Laube: Songs for the Sun and Moon documents Laube's exhibition by the same title at Ortega y Gasset Projects in Brooklyn, NY.
"Working in a visual language of geometry and decorative motifs, Laube examines personal and cultural history in the context of Korean aesthetic traditions. The works in this exhibition stem from Laube’s 2019 trip to Korea (her first time there since arriving in the United States at age two), where she encountered museum artifacts, architecture, or objects related to historic preservation. Under the artist’s gaze, these objects are rendered as iconic, symmetrical forms that create a stabilizing visual experience. Upon closer inspection, Laube’s paintings open up surprising ambiguities. Forms move in and out of recognizability. Drop shadows (remnants of the museum lighting under which the subject was originally viewed) sometimes morph into the subject itself. Negative space recedes in one part of the composition, only to gain the positive role somewhere else. A pattern repeat is fully visible in some areas, but interrupted in others.... The notion of absence - and longing - is addressed in Laube’s process, which she thinks of as a 'conversation' with her ancestors. Laube is interested in metaphorical possibilities of Korean shamanism: an indigenous practice with a rich history in origin mythologies. In context of her evolving understanding of shamanism, Laube views her continued painting practice as its metaphor: a bridge between her contemporary American identity and her Korean heritage. In this way, she imbues hard-edged edged painting with a fresh poetic resonance, filled with personal meanings."
The catalogue features an essay by curator Sarah Fritchey and a statement by the exhibition's curator Eric Hibit.
Mary Laube: Songs for the Sun and Moon is on view at Ortega y Gasset Projects from September 11 to October 10, 2021.
