Small Offerings: Monika Lin

The title, Small Offerings, is in the words of the artist, “a derivation of the Mandarin characters which make up the word “trace,” 微量 (wei liang). The specific characters’ meanings are elusive, as a direct correlation does not exist in the English language. Wei is translated as

Show More

“small” but actually means “a thing so small it is almost not there” and can be used in conjunction with almost any other word to render it a shadow of its former self. Liang is a “unit of measure” for objects as well as the abstract, but not for people or animate things. The idea that these paintings were what remained of a past situation, object or idea, like an afterimage or a trace, resonated with me. Small Offerings, devoid of intense color and therefore the haphazard joviality and colorful chaos of the two previous bodies of work, depict a somber, hazy, creepier world with tones of loss and anxiety.'

Show Less