TIGER STRIKES ASTEROID Lucy Kim & Jeesoo Lee Twee Abstraction PHILADELPHIAStrikes Asteroid is It makes sense thatTiger a show called Twee Abstraction would take place in an artist-run exhibiton pleased to announce the opening of its space, since its birth is rooted in the DIY, independent music scene of punk and post-punk. December the exhibition, two person Abandoning politicalaovertones ofshow punk, the early twee pop bands combined the DIY featuring work of Lucy Kim and Jeesoo attitude andthe straightforward, three-chord rock of punk with childish lyrics and bright 60s girl Lee. Both of these artists are using the group harmonies. Their music was called a "revolt into childhood" by some commentators, but physicality of their materials to create spaces branding these bands as a faux naive movement doesn't do them justice. While there were that are constantly in tension with often childish elements to twee pop, it is really the way that these musicians combined a themselves and their reference points. serious playfulness with a punky, DIY approach to their instruments and song structure that is theLucy focus of this exhibition. Kimʼs practice involves the manipulation of advertisements through The artistsblunt in Twee Abstraction be seeninas descendants of the Post-Minimalism giant simple, physical actions.can Interested Richard Tuttle, that who offer responded to Minimalism experiments re-interpretations of in a way not unlike how the twee bands responded punk rock of – by replacing endgame philosophy of Minimalism with a radical the glossytoflat spaces luxury goodsthe ads, playfulness restless for by serendipity from humble materials. Thirty years on, this she takes and a back door search approach incorporating trompe lʼeoil paintings of radical playfulness permeates the processes and materials of many contemporary artists objects and people onto the surface of three and then forcing them backtitled into a working today . Raphael Rubinstein called thisdimensional “Provisionalfoil, Painting” in an eponymously byarticle, crushing or unfolding the foilSharon on which the objects are painted. Artflat in image America while, more recently, Butler explored this idea in a Brooklyn Rail article entitled “The New Casualists.” Jeesoo Lee bases her work on psychological states of being and redefines them through the physicality of her material. Her work creates a fragmented and chaotic space, one that is One can feel this “revolt into childhood,” in the work of the artists in Twee Abstraction. Lauren constantly unfolding upon itself, referencing, in her words, “the search for enlightenment and Collings’s Capton literally fingerand painted and crudely collaged, recalling arts and crafts reason,” a messyBunc is reflection of thought the psyche. time in elementary school, while Tamara Zahaykevich's Pumpkin Queen feels like an oversized toy with colors pulled from a Lisa Trapper Keeper. Alex Paik's Prelude and Lucy Kim received her MFA from Yale and Frank her BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design. Her work has beenlike shown nationally, recent shows at Lab (New Fugue (Cootie) feels a child's clunkyincluding origami interpretation of Haskins an early Research Frank Stella and is, in Haven, CT), Vaudeville Park (Brooklyn, NY), and the CSV Cultural Center (New York). Her fact, named after a "cootie catcher." work will be included in an upcoming exhibition at Regina Rex Gallery (Queens, NY). She has received numerous awards, including Carol Schlosberg Memorial Prize rock from that the Yale School The more “straightforward” artists in thethe show mirror the simple, three chord the twee of Art. Kim lives and works in Brooklyn, NY and Cambridge, MA. pop bands inherited from punk. Andrew Masullo’s 5236 reveals an elegance in its seemingly straightforward composition, while the loose brushiness of Brooke Moyse’s Small Yellow Jeesoo Lee received her MFA from the State University of New York (New Paltz) and also Diamonds with complex painterly space through deceptively simple studied at thePink San Lines creates Francisco Art aInstitute and Sungshin Womenʼs University (South Korea). Her means. work has been shown throughout the United States, including recent solo exhibitions at Oregon State University and C3 Gallery (New York). Her work has been written about in The The artists in Twee emphasize the slight non-mechanical mark Chronogram and Abstraction The New York Times. She was aimperfections recipient of theofprestigious Thayer/Patricia making, much like how slightly out of tune guitars or the hissing noise from lo- fiLouis Kerr Ross Award and the a nominee for the American Academy of Artswhite and Letters and the Comfort Tiffany Award. Lee currently lives and works in New York. recording methods permeate the music of early twee pop bands. Siobhan Liddell’s Untitled combines casually crumpled up paper with decidedly hand-cut forms, while Jeffrey Scott Matthews’s strange rug-quilt's beautifully sewn triangles are stained with grit and paint splatters. Lucy Kim and Jeesoo Lee December 3, 2010 - January 1, 2011 Opening reception: Friday, December 3, 2010, 6pm-10pm Hours: Saturday and Sunday, 2pm-6pm and by appointment 319A N. 11th Street 4F Philadelphia, PA 19107 | http://www.TigerStrikesAsteroid.com 319A North 11th Street 4F, Philadelphia, PA 19107 | http://www.TigerStrikesAsteroid.com TIGER STRIKES ASTEROID Lucy Kim & Jeesoo Lee Twee Abstraction PHILADELPHIATiger Strikes Asteroid This “casualist” approach to materials andismarkmaking mirrors twee pop’s DIY pleased to announce the opening of its aesthetic. Whether it is through Suzanne Goldenberg’s gracefully underproduced The December exhibition, a twoalmost personaccidental show Lovable Pauper, which feels in its construction, or through Caroline featuring the work of Lucy Kim and Jeesoo Santa's radically under-composed bulletin board that blurs the line between found and Lee. Both of these artists are using the constructed artists to in Twee an extreme trust in their materials physicality object, of their the materials createAbstraction exhibit spaces and a distaste for overproduction. that are constantly in tension with themselves and their reference points. Country musician Harlan Howard once said that all you needed to write a good country song Lucy Kimʼs practice the In many ways, the artists of Twee Abstraction follow this was “three chords andinvolves the truth.” manipulation of advertisements through maxim – by taking a lo-fi and straightforward approach to artmaking, these artists manage to simple, blunt physical actions. Interested in reveal some truth about their materials or about the process of artmaking through work that is experiments that offer re-interpretations refreshingly sincere, graceful, and playful. of the glossy flat spaces of luxury goods ads, she takes a back door approach by -- Alex Paik is an artist and was the founder and director of Tiger Strikes Asteroid. He currently incorporating trompe lʼeoil paintings of lives and works in New York City. objects and people onto the surface of three dimensional foil, and then forcing them back into a flat image by crushing or unfolding the foil on which the objects are painted. Jeesoo Lee bases her work on psychological states of being and redefines them through the physicality of her material. Her work creates a fragmented and chaotic space, one that is constantly unfolding upon itself, referencing, in her words, “the search for enlightenment and reason,” a messy reflection of thought and the psyche. Lucy Kim received her MFA from Yale and her BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design. Her work has been shown nationally, including recent shows at Haskins Research Lab (New Haven, CT), Vaudeville Park (Brooklyn, NY), and the CSV Cultural Center (New York). Her work will be included in an upcoming exhibition at Regina Rex Gallery (Queens, NY). She has received numerous awards, including the Carol Schlosberg Memorial Prize from the Yale School of Art. Kim lives and works in Brooklyn, NY and Cambridge, MA. Jeesoo Lee received her MFA from the State University of New York (New Paltz) and also studied at the San Francisco Art Institute and Sungshin Womenʼs University (South Korea). Her work has been shown throughout the United States, including recent solo exhibitions at Oregon State University and C3 Gallery (New York). Her work has been written about in The Chronogram and The New York Times. She was a recipient of the prestigious Thayer/Patricia Kerr Ross Award and a nominee for the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the Louis Comfort Tiffany Award. Lee currently lives and works in New York. Lucy Kim and Jeesoo Lee December 3, 2010 - January 1, 2011 Opening reception: Friday, December 3, 2010, 6pm-10pm Hours: Saturday and Sunday, 2pm-6pm and by appointment 319A N. 11th Street 4F Philadelphia, PA 19107 | http://www.TigerStrikesAsteroid.com 319A North 11th Street 4F, Philadelphia, PA 19107 | http://www.TigerStrikesAsteroid.com