WITHIN YOU WITHOUT YOU Jana Benitez, Cao Yi, Taku Saito, Haeri Yoo, Zhang Yu Curated by Michelle Loh April 9th – May 8th, 2011

Opening Reception: 3:00 pm – 6:00pm, Saturday, April 9th, 2011 Artist Panel Discussion: 4:00pm, Saturday, April 16th, 2011 Moderator: Professor John Rajchman, Columbia University

The NARS (New York Art Residency & Studio) Foundation is pleased to present a group exhibition of New York-based Asian artists, featuring a site-specific installation and drawings by Haeri Yoo; paintings by Jana Benitez and Zhang Yu; an oil painting installation by Taku Saito; and a video by Cao Yi.

“The response of one organism to the gestures of another in any given social act is the meaning of that gesture” (George Herbert Mead). Each of the works in WITHIN YOU WITHOUT YOU is a kind of self-portrait that investigates the essential connection between the self and society; the dynamic is played out and transformed in the connection of each work to the others and to the exhibition as a whole.

Inspired by the Modern European art tradition and the elegant gestures of martial arts movement, Jana Benitez expresses an interior world with her bold murals. Cao Yi demonstrates solid skills in a wide variety of media; his video of his photo series “Beauty in My Eyes” captures images of nature literally reflected in Cao’s eyes. Taku Saito’s self-portraits, at first glance, appear to be emotionless, yet, the sense of isolation and determination is evident, and uses his face as the motif to represent social portraits of ordinary, everyday lives, their unexpected distractions, chaotic incidents, and survival instincts. Haeri Yoo’s drawings and site-specific wall works human sexuality, bodily tensions, illicit thoughts and oppression. The female figures in Zhang Yu’s paintings share common appearances: light colored skin and dehumanized eyes against an illuminated background, using snapshots, movie images, and magazine clips to depict a generic “female being” is an introspective process.

Gallery Hours: Wednesday – Friday: 1:00pm – 6:00pm Saturday – Sunday: by appointment between 12:00pm – 6:00pm Please call the NARS office to set up an appointment at 718-768-2765.

The NARS Gallery is located on the 3rd floor at 88 35th Street, Brooklyn, NY 11232.

For further information please visit www.narsfoundation.org or contact [email protected]