Palimpsests

Los Angeles, CA (August 14, 2009)– Tarryn Teresa Gallery is pleased to present Palimpsests, an exhibit from guest curator Elizabeth Williams featuring work by Cara Barer, Annie Vought and Christine Wong Yap. Whether done playfully or poignantly, the artists in Palimpsests pay tribute to the associations and meanings we bring to the written word. Collections of words can differ extraordinarily, as can the reader’s response to them. Letters, books, newspapers, magazines or small one-page notes all offer the ability to inspire feelings of attachment or even aversion. An audience’s perception is mainly influenced by the meaning of the words themselves, but the manner of delivery can create an air of legitimacy, sentimentality or stronger emotions. With these visual works, the artists address the continuum of the written word.

For Cara Barer, old volumes of books serve as inspiration. Wetting them and twisting and turning them into odd shapes, the volumes take on a new life. Sometimes made to resemble living beings and sometimes allowed to remain as abstract geometric shapes, these old volumes impress the viewer anew with their tangibility and physical presence. By retracing and cutting out the letters in private correspondence, Annie Vought interpolates herself into the original document with amusing and poignant results. Installation artist Christine Wong Yap creates text installations which address language’s inability to convey fully our meanings. In this exhibit, her installations and wall pieces feature text construed or arranged so as to be indecipherable.
In Palimpsests, the artists address the concept of re-purposement of words for artistic ends. Like the original meaning of a palimpsest, these words used in these pieces are encapsulated in their medium and transformed by it.
About the Guest Curator
Elizabeth Williams received an M.Phil from Oxford University in 2005 and a BA from UC Davis in 2003. A native of the Pasadena area, she works in Los Angeles.
About the Gallery
Tarryn Teresa Gallery is a contemporary gallery dedicated to exhibiting conceptual art in all media. The gallery seeks to recognize artists whose statement reflects a refined and perfected process in the service of larger conceptual framework. Tarryn Teresa Gallery is committed to pursuing public art projects and installations.
info@tarrynteresa.com