Colleen Ho
Interverse
10/24/24 - 12/08/24
Hours and Events
Nature’s design is elegant and genius. Each form has a function, and nothing is extraneous.
Elements coalesce, regenerate and adapt to the environment.
Tesselation, 2020 and Sequence, 2020
Ripped Paper Drawings
Colleen Ho’s imagery alludes to visual patterns and structures in nature. Oscillating between macro and micro, topographical and biological forms, configurations range from gestural and free-form lines to hard-edged and geometric. Compositions evolve organically and methodically; each drawing built with tiny tears. Ripping the surface repeatedly with a thumbtack, Ho creates a delicate, tactile relief. Ho’s practice is exploration in mark-making to procure subtle textural passages using only the paper itself as her medium.
Kiss, 2021, Cascade, 2020, Requiem, 2020 and Rumble, 2015
From a distance, the work may appear as an ordinary sheet of neutral-toned paper. Upon closer investigation, the tiny, individual marks materialize, lines and shapes converge freely, culminating in a wide range of abstract configurations and atmospheres. The character of work shifts depending on the time of day. The textured areas are subtly accentuated by shadows and the quality and intensity of light greatly affects the tone of each piece. The viewer is encouraged to contemplate the essence of these patterns and structures; which are like portals to understanding an ethereal world that is mysterious, vast, and serene.
Tesellation, 2020, Falls, 2023, Fathoms, 2024
Flame, 2023, Y(Hello), 2024, M(Blush), 2024, Fathoms, 2024
Gem Series
These colorful monochrome gouache drawings were initially inspired by gem cuts. The technique of cutting a rough gem stone to reflect light, transforms a seemingly ordinary material into a luminous, sculptural object. The use of saturated pigments adds another emotional element to Ho’s mark-making approach.
A pencil grid and a minimal composition outline is first drawn on the paper, allowing for the precise action of scoring and folding. Ho lightly scores the paper with a fine blade, creating a matrix of linear guides that provide structure, rhythm, and balance. She applies the paint in layers, varying the depths of color, while also accentuating the tactile cut lines. The intention of these drawings is to reveal the beauty of how an immersive process unfolds.
Colleen Ho is a visual artist whose practice explores mark-making through a precise and immersive process. Her works on paper, culminating in a wide variety of abstract compositions, are subtle and delicate, requiring time and contemplation.
Ho’s work has been shown at Trestle Gallery, Schema Projects and the Brooklyn Arts Council, in Brooklyn, NY; PS 122 Gallery, NY, NY; The Edward Hopper House, Nyack, NY, Long Beach Island Foundation of the Arts, Loveladies, NJ; and K.Imperial Fine Art, San Francisco, CA.
Solo exhibitions have been presented at Gallery Kurt im Hurst in Berlin, Germany and The Front in New Orleans, LA. Other notable displays include Acadiana Center for the Arts, Lafayette, LA; Chongro Gallery, Seoul, Korea; and The Bronx Museum of the Arts where she was a participant in the Artist in the Marketplace Program. Her ripped paper drawings are in private and corporate collections in New York, Los Angeles, and London.
Ho was born in St. Louis, Missouri. She received a BA in Design from the University of Notre Dame and a MFA in Painting from Pratt Institute of Art. She lives and works in Brooklyn.
