Presents

The Power of Three

Three-Artist Exhibition Featuring

Chen-Dao Lee, Jesús Aguado, and Sun-Mi

“The Voice” by Chen-Dao Lee, “The Old Tree” by Jesús Aguado, and “Rewind” by Sun-Mi

Click here to download a sample of exhibit images

OPENING RECEPTION

March 11, 2023 | 7:00 pm – 11:00 pm

ON VIEW

March 11 – April 15, 2023

COREY HELFORD GALLERY

571 S. Anderson St. Los Angeles, CA 90033

Open: Tuesday-Saturday, 12:00 pm – 6:00 pm

(310) 287-2340

On Saturday, March 11^th, downtown Los Angeles’ Corey Helford Gallery (CHG) will proudly present The Power of Three, featuring new works by Taiwanese artist Chen-Dao Lee, Spanish illustrator Jesús Aguado, and contemporary faux naïf artist Sun-Mi (aka Pamplemouze). The three-artist exhibition will be on view in Gallery 3 through April 15^th.

About Chen-Dao Lee’s new series Retro Romance:

Chen-Dao Lee creates scenes of extraordinary and ordinary life, utilizing the composition style of old master paintings. The artist’s pieces include portraits of people wearing celebrity masks (from films and animations), placed in unique frames that look like sculptures. Regarding his new series, Lee shares: “I was born in the 80s and throughout my childhood, I attend schools which put a lot of pressure on their students to do well, which was really tough but we still found ways to have fun. I watched a lot of cartoons and read comic books (American and Japanese style). I still have my sketch books, featuring my early masterpieces I drew of Dragon Ball and Disney characters when I was bored in class.”

Adding, “After earning my master’s degree and being a realistic oil painter for many years, I met master Takashi Murakami, who changed the way I think about art and my technique. I started using brighter color and composing my style more. I put different comic book characters together, changing their look and personality, as well as changing what the characters initially meant to the viewer. I try to celebrate what these characters mean to everybody and create new meaning, which is romantic to me.” Retro Romance follows Lee’s debut mini-solo at CHG, titled Romantic Romantic, which was part of the gallery’s six-artist Sixth Sense exhibition (April 2022).

“Hola! Tinker Bell” and “Peach & Mario” by Chen-Dao Lee

About Jesús Aguado’s new series Too Many Muses:

Jesús Aguado is a Spanish illustrator that creates works encompassing parallel and surreal universes, full of unexpected juxtapositions without written rules. Regarding his new series, Aguado shares: “The series consists of eight female figures wrapped in universes and peculiar stories. Although my technique is the same, these new works come off as if they were created by different artists. I would love to have a single muse and repeat it countless times…but I can not. My curse is creative drama, it's what I'm passionate about. When something is comfortable for me, I get bored.” Too Many Muses follows Aguado’s debut mini-solo at CHG, titled Foreign Body, which was part of the gallery’s five-artist Fab Five exhibition (Feb. 2022).

“3:33” and “The White Dog” by Jesús Aguado

About Sun-Mi’s new series Good Mourning:

Sun-Mi’s work is best known for her erratically naive girls who find themselves in never-ending conflict. Utilizing mono-painting as her main source of medium, her work is a way of documenting her life and is depicted by her constant struggle to express her sheltered emotions. The stylization in her work is a homage to her childhood born out of admiration for cartoons and can be best described as controlled chaos. Regarding her new series, Sun-Mi shares: “As I grow older, I notice myself slowly sacrificing the small things I found insignificant as a child. One of which, is to be able to freely show my unfiltered emotions. As an adult, I find myself suppressing these feelings in fear for the consequence that follows. Good Mourning is a response to coping with a recent loss of a loved one. I not only lost someone, but a part of myself. I neglected my sadness and now these feelings are coming in waves and I’m drowning. My mind is frozen and my heart is broken. I just don’t know who I am.” Good Mourning follows Sun-Mi’s debut mini-solo at CHG, titled I Wear My Heart on My Sleeve, which was part of the gallery’s five-artist Fab Five exhibition (Feb. 2022).

“An Apple a Day Keeps Me Awake” by Sun-Mi

Open to the public and free of charge, The Power of Three is set to debut on Saturday, March 11^th from 7:00 pm – 11:00 pm in Gallery 3, alongside an international group exhibition curated by Beautiful Bizarre Magazine, titled Secret Longings, in the Main Gallery.

About Chen-Dao Lee:

At first glance, Chen-Dao Lee uses people around him as motifs. His home country, Taiwan, accepts a lot of culture from Japan and the U.S., so his paintings incorporate Taiwanese mixed culture and have been homogenized, combining such influences as "Hollywood films and anime" or "Japanese porn videos and Western master paintings," which is unthinkable overseas.

About Jesús Aguado:

Born in Valladolid, Spain in 1976, Jesús Aguado earned his degree in Fine Arts from the University of Salamanca. Aguado is constantly searching for new styles and ways of expressing himself through art. His illustrations are recognized by many children because they appear in many textbooks. A fan of comics, he has won prizes in several contests (including Tomelloso, Portugalete, Elgoibar, and Salamanca). As an illustrator, he’s worked on many projects for more than 18 years. Among its clients are Edelvives, Kumon, Warner Music, Santillana, and National Geographic. In 2018, he started using traditional methods to complement his work as a digital illustrator. Creating a parallel and surreal universe full of unexpected Juxtapositions and without written rules.

About Sun-Mi:

Contemporary faux naïf artist Sun-Mi (aka Pamplemouze) was born in Asunción, Paraguay and earned her BFA degree in Illustration at Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore. Her work is best known for her erratically naive girls who find themselves in never-ending conflict.

About Corey Helford Gallery:

Established in 2006 by Jan Corey Helford and her husband, television producer/creator Bruce Helford (The Conners, Lopez vs. Lopez, Anger Management, The Drew Carey Show, and George Lopez), Corey Helford Gallery (CHG) has since evolved into one of the premier galleries of New Contemporary art. Its goal as an institution is to support the growth of artists, from the young and emerging, to the well-known and internationally established. CHG represents a diverse collection of international artists, primarily influenced by today's pop culture and collectively encompassing style genres such as New Figurative Art, Pop Surrealism, Neo Pop, Graffiti, and Street Art. Located in downtown Los Angeles (571 S. Anderson St. Los Angeles, CA 90033) in a robust 12,000 square-foot building, CHG presents new exhibitions approximately every six weeks. The gallery is open Tuesday through Saturday from 12:00 pm – 6:00 pm. For more info and an upcoming exhibition schedule, visit CoreyHelfordGallery.com and follow on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. For available prints from CHG, visit CHGPrints.com.



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Aaron Feterl | aaron@chummypress.com