Arario Gallery New York is pleased to introduce the work of Korean-born artist Sang-ah Choi. This special presentation will be on view in the gallery’s Project Room, January 24 – February 22, 2009. A reception for the artist will be held at Arario Gallery on Saturday, January 24, 2009 from 6 to 8pm.

Choi’s reflects the general global consumption of American culture, but is also firmly rooted in her personal experiences, especially since moving to the United States. With distinct yet intertwined Korean and American perspectives, she says, “I try to find my place in what I see.”

Choi’s hand-cut paper sculptures, which resemble pop-up books, point out culturally defined ways of seeing and the packaging of identity. Works on view include the seven-part piece Circus After Lothar Meggendorfer’s International Circus (2007). In this visual mash-up of American consumerism, Choi couple the logos of national shopping and eating culture, ranging from iHop to iPhone, with portraits of particular age groups (1-10, 10-20, 20-30…). In so doing, the artist suggests the desired, or ideal, possessions for each group and the material base of the American dream. Computer monitors rendered across the piece further imply the omnipresence of the Internet today, a major platform through which these ideas are disseminated. In Transcontinental Bird and Flower Painting (2007), Choi whimsically reconstructs her cross country drive from New York to Oregon (where she currently resides) in a free-standing box for each state traversed. Cut-outs of winding highways, cars, motels and traffic signs overlay each state’s bird and flower; the images are derived from photographs, research and memory.

A selection of Choi’s recent paintings will also be on view. Beneath slick resin surfaces she depicts luxury watches, perfume bottles, shoes and purses often with sparkling effects. In Slot Machine Happy (2008) and Tetris Christmas (2008) merchandise appears to fall freely from the sky and scatter the earth as we might imagine in a shopper’s dream.