Exhibition
opening July 17th
exhibition statement
Vermont-born artist, Nissa Kauppila, has spent the better part of the last decade immersing herself in the rich tradition of Chinese ink and watercolor painting while calling mainland China and Hong Kong home. While the content of her paintings on rice paper has always addressed the fragility of the natural word, recent experimentation with innovative sculptural canvases brings that tension between the organic and industrial to the forefront in Kauppila's physical exploration of new and old materials. What began as an investigation into fibreglass and resin substrates evolved to incorporate repurposed plastic materials the artist collects by hand from her surroundings. These include canvas bags sourced from local farms in Pui O, Lantau Island, Hong Kong, as well as fishery bags washed up on the Lantau beaches and bags from construction sites throughout Lantau Island, Hong Kong.
They offer glimpses into the beauty of patterns (such as found in abandoned jungle homes that dot the Hong Kong mountain regions) and the often-overlooked wildlife that enriches our surroundings. The themes woven both literally and contextually throughout this work poignantly reflect the collective experiences of living within a changing landscape. These works stand in as relics of a disintegrating natural world, while actively reminding us of the distinctly human role played in these global shifts, the effects of which we're living out in real time. The original works featured in "Lap Sap: Tension & Transformation" are as much a practice in preserving memory as they are in recognizing the powerful implications of the present.
about the artist
was born and raised in monkton, Vermont. She holds a BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design and an M.Ed. from the University of Vermont.
Kauppila's immersion in Chinese painting has awakened a sense of fragility; her work explores the use of line and color as tendrils of tension while embodying a sense of wonderment for the natural and industrial worlds. She challenges the notion of context, forcing the viewer to confront the abrupt beauty of life and death through the explosive movements in color, line and depth.
Kauppila’s paintings have been exhibited internationally in Hong Kong, Macau, Mainland China, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, London, Hamburg, Barcelona, and The USA.