Shangri-La Surrealistic Exhibit for Felice Josephine

Artist Statement by Felice Josephine: When I first became aware of my talent, I thought of Art as a friend, a gift, and a constant task, who through my most miserable moments had given me direction and led me to self-awareness. The March Exhibit at Shangri-La illustrates the sentiment described above throughout each piece, as all pieces are either an exploration of the medium or myself as an alien resident, of Chinese and German heritage, living in the USA. Even though my art is at an early experimental stage, an individual style has emerged and shines through most vividly in my latest acrylic paintings.

The opening reception for this show is from 5 to 9 PM, at Shangri-La Gifts and Publications, 156 E. State Street (The Commons), 4 March 2005. Exhibit is open daily through March and April.

In regards to my preferred subject, I put women into a sharp focus, as I feel they are the more beautiful sex, naturally much more beautiful than men. My latest art series WomenAtWork, is a visual response to ‘Girl Culture’ by photographer Lauren Greenfield. Girl Culture reveals women of my generation and their insecurities in regards to negative body image, lack of self-awareness, self-hatred. Instead, WomenAtWork reveals the truth regarding body-control, self-love and security among the same generation of women in a series of acrylic paintings. I want to point out the strength, intellect, manual dexterity and creativity that women exhibit everyday at work, disregarding the line of work they have chosen.

Calculus II

The photography illustrates the human senses (touch, smell, etc) and sensations (love, death, hunger, curiosity), while the skyscrapers are almost nonhuman in the sense that they were designed by computers and constructed by machinery. In the background, as a base, the artist wrote calculus II equations that do not calculate any of the human senses or sensations, but suggest that they might in the future.

Mixed media: acrylic, plastic, jelly pen in silvery green, B/W photography by Felice Josephine.

Peach & Lost

The paintings entitled “Peach” and “Lost” are twin pieces that where drawn together, have individual styles and are also framed individually, however, one balances out the other and they need to stay together.

The artist Felice Josephine drew them in June 2002 for her final art project at Ithaca High School, using acrylic for the first time. They are framed in silver aluminum frames.

Medium: acrylic, 5 ft x 3.5 ft (each)

Dead Fish

This abstract acrylic painting is a visual ode to the artist’s dead fish; a nameless, tiny Siamese fighting fish that had died of neglect and was then flushed down the toilet.
Medium: acrylic

Embrace (Untitled)

Pastel colors suggest a couple kissing by the beach. However, the lady has been purposefully illustrated with more definition, and therefore the oil painting could also just mirror the dreams of a woman in love, wishfully thinking she was actually kissing a man.

Medium: oil, 5 ft x 7 ft

Window (There are other fish in the sea when you look outside the living room window)

The artist drew this piece one night, after ripping apart all the emails her ex boyfriend had sent her throughout their relationship. Felice Josephine saved some bits since she was still attached to them. Then, upon reviewing them, she became so infuriated that he had broken up with her for no other explanation than, "you're kind of a brat and you didn't help me fold my laundry that night." As you can see she was hurling paint, and later she stuck needles in it. Not only did she stick the saved up email bits in the red acrylic, she also stuck in a CD that her ex had burned for her and a few old Christmas gifts, such as the red wooden heart and a towelette to wash away her sins.

Mixed Media: acrylic, emails, two buttons, CD, wooden heart, needles, Wash-Way-Your-Sins packet, B/W photograph of the artist.

Blue Venice

Architectural designs were derived from the famous castle in Heidelberg, Germany, where the artist resided for eleven years. The six figures, three men and three women, are only outlined in black ink, to suggest silhouettes that intertwine into the still standing ruins and preserved parts of the castle.

Medium: black weatherproof ink, acrylic

Felice Josephine Exhibit at Shangri-La on The Commons, Ithaca NY
March to April, 2005, opening reception Friday March 4th!

Click HERE to view other amazing art at Shangri-La, located at 156 East State Street, on The Commons, Ithaca, NY. Open daily from Noon to 6 PM. For more details call 607-272-6156, or 570-395-3423.