Join us for the opening of Native Intelligence by Fulbright Scholar Aimee Lee

Pastorale, 2008

Handmade Cattail Paper, Thread, KnittedRamieThread

Exhibition Dates:

October 8, 2009 - December 17, 2009

Opening Reception:

Thursday October 8, 2009, 7-10pm

Artist Talk: Saturday, October 10, 2009, 2-4pm

(Miami, Florida) September 26 – Diaspora Vibe Gallery is pleased to present Hastings grad’s Fulbright Scholar as she extends her paper trail to her debut Miami solo exhibition of reflections on paper and recent work. Her medium is pulp; the vehicle is water-dipping, beating sifting. She has recently completed a year of Hanji history, practice and contemporary research in Korea where as a Fulbright Scholar she learned this ancient art of papermaking. Her book-making, installation performance artwork uses paper that distinctly takes on a life of its own. Native Intelligence presents new artworks that reside primarily in tradition and generational memory made tactile and texture-filled from the outcome of this ancient Hanji practice. Curated by Rosie Gordon -Wallace, Native Intelligence examines Aimee Lee’s journey with paper.

“I am an Interdisciplinary artist working across performance, installation and book arts media, interested in personal story telling “ Aimee Lee states, continuing to share that her work has covered topics of human intimacy, internal defenses and the isolating properties of language. She uses found objects, and sustainable practices that include papermaking from local plants and clothing that would otherwise occupy landfills. The ideas behind each piece dictate its fiber content. Aimee has created new works for this exhibition using the traditional Hanji history papermaking practice in contemporary ways.

“There is a certain freedom, sense of play, fantasy, and physical repetition that is associated with paper making that allows her to create a medium that supports their personal narratives”, states curator Rosie Gordon –Wallace “This art jumps off the page and walls and exists in real time. This artist actively inserts herself into the foreground, instead of the background, and challenges traditional representations of figure, background, and object.” Gordon Myers co-curator and Entertainment Director of Diaspora Vibe Gallery states, “This is the first time that Diaspora Vibe has devoted a complete exhibition to the art of paper making. It speaks to a need to address how many artists are actively utilizing these genres to redefine personal definitions of Diaspora, through examinations of their own bodies, geographies and borders. Native Intelligence frames the conversation around the new social and cultural spaces that many artists of color and immigrant artists are creating while revisiting cultural traditions and transforming the media into contemporary forms”

Diaspora Vibe Gallery is located at 3938 N. Miami Avenue in the Design District. Gallery hours are 11am – 6pm, Tuesday through Friday with appointments on Saturdays. For further information please call Diaspora Vibe at (305) 573-4046 or visit http://www.diasporavibe.net/, http://www.diasporavibe.blogspot.com/, http://www.diaweb.diasporavibe.net/, www.flickr.com/photos/diasporavibe. Diaspora Vibe Gallery is a multi-disciplinary art space serving as a laboratory for emerging artists of the Caribbean Diaspora and other artists of color, providing them with a contemporary sensibility to explore and experiment with new forms and cultural themes.

Papermaking in Korea from Aimee Lee on Vimeo.

Support for Diaspora Vibe Cultural Arts Incubator is provided in part by the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Artography, LINC , funded by the Ford Foundation, Florida Division of Cultural Affairs, Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council, the Miami-Dade County Mayor and Board of County Commissioners, Dade Community Foundation, Funding Arts Network, National Performance Network / VAN Gift of Carl and Toni Randolph Family Foundation, Brugal Rum, and The Buddy Taub Foundation. Founded by its current Director/Curator, Rosie Gordon-Wallace in 1996. Diaspora Vibe is currently celebrating its 13th anniversary.