The Pit is pleased to present Libraries, a bi-coastal exhibition of new work by Sun You. The second installation of this two-part exhibition will be on view in our intimate Pit 2 gallery. The exhibition will run from November 3 – December 14th, 2019 with a public reception from 4-7pm on Sunday November 3rd. The exhibition includes several of You’s panel works made from acrylic and polymer clay, and two of her small-scale sculptures.  The exhibition will also consist of installation elements painted / printed directly onto the gallery’s walls.

Sun You’s wall works and sculptures link Fine Art, craft and home decoration. Recurring objects and materials employed by You include eyelash extensions, razor blades, earrings, linoleum blocks and polymer clay. She combines these elements in unique artworks and installations that celebrate women’s work, domestic ornamentation and the language of abstraction. 

You’s small sculptures loosely refer to traditions of Ikebana (the Japanese art of flower arrangement). Like the arrangements of Ikebana, they are bold, impactful objects on an intimate scale. Held together by magnets and gravity in a precarious balance, You’s delicate sculptures have a maximalist approach to composition and materials. 

Her colorful abstract wall panels operate both as paintings and wall bound low reliefs. The surfaces of the wood panels are speckled with abstracted 3-dimensional forms made of polymer clay, acrylic paint and interior wood moulding. Polymer clay is often used in craft techniques like bead making and the association with domesticity and baking in the work is reinforced through her hand building techniques of rolling, pinching and firing clay in her home oven. The recurring use of this material furthers You’s relationship to the domestic and history of craft often associated with female practitioners. You’s art draws beauty and humor from humble materials and is a reflection on joy, pathos and fragility.

All inquiries please contact Adam Miller at adam@the-pit.la

Sun You (b. Seoul, South Korea) lives and works in New York City. She has exhibited her work in galleries and museums internationally. Exhibition venues include Anderson Gallery, VCU, Richmond;  Queens Museum, Corona; Hangaram Museum, Seoul; Sardine, Brooklyn; Scotty Enterprise, Berlin; and The Suburban, Chicago.