The Hotness: A Sort of Retrospective by Joe Park, curated by Cornish Exhibitions Curator Jess Van Nostrand, features artwork, memorabilia, sketches, video, and other sources of inspiration from Park’s personal archives. Selections include early work from his studies at Cornish, stills from a “failed” performance piece, functional pieces from his business in furniture design, and early sculptural work that foreshadows his eventual focus as a painter. The exhibition also features current work that ties together the pieces of this inspiring artistic journey.
Jo Park graduated from Cornish in 1988 and received an MFA from the California Institute of the Arts in 1990. His rich and imaginative paintings possess a distinct style that is able to evoke illustration, photography and painting all at once. His 2004 solo exhibition “Moon Beam Caress” at the Frye Art Museum in Seattle won him widespread acclaim, and the exhibition poster made a subsequent appearance on a memorable episode of Grey’s Anatomy. Park was named “Best Artist Under 41” by The Seattle Weekly in 2005, and has received the NEDDY Award from the Behnke Foundation in addition to an Artist Trust Fellowship. Park became Cornish adjunct faculty in fall of 2008; his work is represented by Rena Bransten Gallery in San Francisco.
A new exhibition program, the Alumni Retrospective Series focuses on the trajectory of one artist’s career within the context of their Cornish education. Featuring class projects and other work from their student days through their development into their current work, these exhibitions provide the public and students a different perspective on the work of an established Cornish graduate.
Gallery Hours:
Main Campus Center
1000 Lenora St, 1st Floor
Tuesday-Friday 12pm-5pm
The exhibition also features an online catalogue:
http://www.cornish.edu/exhibitions/joepark
