THE POETICS OF FRESHNESS

I've long admired the works of Theresa Chong (who did the cover image for my first book, BLACK LIGHTNING). Now, she's opening a new exhibition at Danese in New York which I highly recommend.

John Yau writes another of his insightful art essays for Theresa's catalogue; I share an excerpt below the image since its message is also one of Moi poetics. But of course, the image first since the form here is visual (more visuals here):

John Yau: [Theresa] Chong's drawings and animations evoke ephemerality, the appearance and disappearance of things in time. There is both a sturdiness and vulnerability to her work that evokes our own existence. And yet, for all of their consciousness of time passing, Chong's work never becomes a lamentation. For all of the affinities she might share with artists as different as Vija Celmins, Bruce Conner and Daniel Zeller, her work is not like anyone else's. They speak in their own language, one that is rooted in the simplest elements. Isn't this what we have wanted all along? Words, music, or art that takes us somewhere, to a place that cannot be characterized by received language and outmoded conventions. This isn't about being avant-garde, but about being fresh.