Janice recently caught up with Russell Leng, an emerging Vancouver-based artist at the opening of his first solo exhibition entitled “New Nature Systems” and asked him about his work and the show, currently still on at the Mezzanine Gallery at Blim until August 29, this Sunday.

Could you tell us about the new nature systems series?

It is an exploration of the relationship between natural environments and man-made structures. By contrasting loose brush strokes and the life-like watery qualities of India ink with more clean-cut angular lines, these paintings are meant to convey the tension between geometric and organic forms.

Do you have a favorite medium to work with?

Right now, I like working with acrylic paint. I like its immediacy.

Photo: Janice Wu

What influences your paintings? Inspirations? Other artist’s work?

Certain genres like Cubism and Op Art has had some influence in my aesthetics.
I‘m also very inspired by the combination of rigid geometric forms and color, particularly neon colors. Kill Pixie and Maya Hayuk are some artists whose work I admire.

What do you want viewers to see or experience when looking at your paintings?

I want people to be initially attracted to my paintings for its visual impact and appreciate them as visual objects. And hopefully as they examine my work, they will begin to question the layers of contrasts in my paintings, such as why a free flowing brushstroke is right next to a harsh jagged line.

Photo: Janice Wu

I’d probably want to live with an ever-changing Yves Klein performance where he paints using human bodies as brushes literally. It would be pretty entertaining.

What’s next?

I’m enrolled into the Masters in Architecture program at UBC this fall. My goal is to take my concepts in these paintings and transform them into buildings and installations. The idea of people actually interacting in New Nature Systems is exciting to me. I look forward to expanding these conceptual forms into real like sculptural structures.

Photo: Janice Wu

“New Nature Systems” is on now until August 29th
Mezzanine Gallery, at Blim
115 Pender St. Chinatown, Vancouver

Check out more of Russell’s work at http://www.russellleng.com

Photo by: William W. Ting

March 4 – 27, 2010
OPENING Thursday, March 4, 2010, 8:00 – 11:00 pm
ARTIST TALK @ 8:30pm
FLIM NIGHT: Films curated by artist Kaori Kasai, Friday, March 26, 8:00 – 11:00pm
Blim, 197 E. 17th Ave, Vancouver
More information: 604.683.8240

Looking for something to do after the Olympics? Kaori Kasai, featured in Ricepaper 10.2, has an upcoming exhibition at Blim, co-hosted by the Powell St. Festival. Kasai’s exhibition is also the launching event for Powell Street Festival’s 2010 season of events. Kasai will give an artist talk on March 4th, curate a Flim night (film event) on March 26th, and present new works produced during her residency at BLIM.

Back in 2005 (the time of Ricepaper 10.2), Kasai had been a working artist for over a decade and was a full time student at the British Columbia Institute of Technology. But she was already receiving recognition for her signature “cheeky evil dolls”, wood/canvas paintings, and t-shirt designs from the Washington Post, Vancouver Courier, and yes, Kelly Clarkson. Since then, she’s continued producing creative and personal work and for this exhibition, she has created “storyboards of short vignettes about kinship, alienation, emotional boundaries and our interactions with physical environments.”

Forthcoming in 2010 for Kasai is a children’s book entitled Monchan’s Bag, published by Simply Read Books.

Go here for more details about the exhibition http://www.powellstreetfestival.com/news/news.html

Kaori Kasai’s website http://www.kaorikasai.com/