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HEDI KHORSAND GALLERY PRESENTS RECENT SCULPURE BY JEAN WOLFF

Mid-Career Artist Explores Expressive, Physical Qualities of Wood

 

(West Hollywood, April 22, 2002) In only the fourth exhibition since opening its new location in December, the Hedi Khorsand gallery presents recent sculpture by mid-career artist Jean Wolff.  Opening Saturday, May 18 and on view through June 30, the exhibition features hand carved, sensual pieces that exude a spiritual presence, like shrines or altars.   Originally known for her work in bronze, stone and stainless steel, Wolff has recently turned to wood as her primary medium, exploring its latent potentialities for expression.

 

A dedicated abstract artist, Jean Wolff counts among her influences Hepworth, Moore, Brancuzi and Picasso.  She pursued art studies at UCLA, the Otis Art Institute, and has been a professional sculptor since the early 1980s.  She has exhibited widely in California, New York and the southwest and has works in numerous public and private collections, including two public art commissions.

 

Having mastered more conventional sculptural materials, Jean Wolff opened herself to the challenges presented by wood.  While continuing to work primarily in an abstract mode, she found that the warmth and individuality of wood offered new avenues for creativity.  Eschewing power tools, Wolff embraced the physicality and investment of time required by mallet and chisel.  Because her sculptures are metaphors for emotions and ideas, the act of carving is itself expressive of the artist's process.

 

Wolff 's wood sculptures begin with a search for materials in nature.  Each piece of wood she engages with has been hand selected, and she often will leave portions of rough bark intact, maintaining direct connection to the natural source.  Wolff not only hand-makes each piece, she also creates their geometric pedestals.  These lend the works the direct and intimate presence of a sacred shrine.  As the artist says, "By integrating the carved sculpture with the table, I hope to further evolve a sense of place, a position &an atmosphere that excites and invites the imagination. 

 

The Wolff exhibition will center on two large, human-scaled pieces inspired by Oceanic and African influences, Les Yeux du Voyeur and Deux Visages, Un Voix.  These totem-like figures made of walnut and bronze so skillfully blend materials thatr it is difficult to distinguish where wood leaves off and metal begins.  Suite en Deux combines smooth and rough-hewn walnut elements in a dynamic relationship of solids and voids.  Emergence, carved of olive wood, expresses an important theme in Jean Wolff's work.  As she says, " I do not think I ever really saw before I began to draw and sculpt. 

 

While focusing on Wolff's latest wood sculptures, the exhibition also includes pieces produced in other media.  The Step Series, which portrays small wore figures struggling upwards despite obstacles, represents the labors of spiritual progress. The Dehors de le Loop group of wall sculptures utilizes figures made of papier mache and mixed media against wood backdrops.  Wolff's technical facility transforms these materials into the appearance of wood or bronze.

 

Jean Wolff's Step Series maintains a craggy intimacy, like those stones you find in streams or by the shore, sculpted into little personalities by the action of water,  says art critic Peter Frank.  "Even though most of the works incorporate table-like pedestals, Wolff's Step Series assumes an architectural or even geological monumentality.  Certainly the inclusion of small humanoid figures infer a larger-than-human scale, as if the sculptures were maquettes for functional structures; everything from jungle gyms to latter-day Stonehenges 

 

A private dealer and art consultant since 1994, Hedi Khorsand decided to open an art gallery in order to give more exposure to the many talented artist she encountered in her work.  Focusing on emerging artist, the gallery has already presented highly successful exhibitions of works by actor/artist Paul Sorvino, photographer Matthew Horton and the late Paris-based Polish painter Stanislaw Preyzner.  Born in Iran and educated in Switzerland and at UCLA, Khorsand has previously worked at several galleries around the country and as a producer of art/performance dance tours.

 

The Hedi Khorsand Gallery offers a full range of services for artist and collectors and corporate art collections, including access to worldwide contemporary fine art resources.  Khorsand works with first time and seasoned buyers, utilizing art consultants, curators and educators to advise on all factors affecting trend, markets, design, framing and shipping.  The gallery is committed to translating clients passions and appreciation into educated confidence to acquire the artwork they desire.   

 

The Hedi Khorsand Gallery is located at 634 North Robertson Blvd.in West Hollywood.  Gallery hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 11a.m. to 6p.m.  For further information, the public may visit www.hkfineartgallery.com or call (310) 358-5552.