Orlando, FL — June 21, 2018
The Mennello Museum of American Art is proud to announce our first-time production of a limited edition made in partnership with multi-media Korean-American artist, Jiha Moon. At our invitation, Moon has created 20 small ceramic sculptures exclusively for the Mennello Museum of American Art. Her hand-painted porcelain vessel will make a beautiful and memorable addition to your collection. Get your beautiful cup while you can, there are only 20 signed in this exclusive collection!
Incorporating her signature blue and white in reference to traditional Asian ceramic glazes, Dutch Delftware, and Blue Willow china patterns, Moon also brings several of her iconic cultural images: the peach, identified in Chinese Mythology as a symbol of immortality, while also paying homage to her adopted state of Georgia, whose signature fruit is the peach. She includes the fortune cookie, which originated in California but is identified as Chinese, along with her ‘all-seeing’ eyes to create a distinctive face or, as she puts forth, a mask.
Jiha Moon, Fortune Cookie Mayumyi, 2018, porcelain, underglaze and glaze, 5 x 4 x 5 inches, hand painted signed edition of 20 created exclusively for the Mennello Museum of American Art. Edition cost $250.
PRE-PURCHASE TODAY TO RESERVE YOUR LIMITED EDITION
Delivery not included. Pick up at the Mennello Museum beginning on June 29, 2018, at the Opening Reception.
In addition to Fortune Cookie Mayumyi, the museum also announces the fabrication of Jiha Moon, Peach (Pillow)based on her iconic painting, Peach Mask II, included in the exhibition. Filled with wonderful icons, cultural signifiers, flora and fauna and wondrous beasts all with a message of love – these pillows will brighten any home with joy and humor, reflective of Moon’s distinctive art-making practice.
“The voluptuous peach with its rosy bloom, believed to be native to China, can be likened in forms to breasts, buttocks, and a heart — and, surprisingly, the shape of Angry Birds. A symbol of immortality and fertility in many Eastern mythologies, the peach also wards off evil. Moon uses the shape often, and a nod to her home state of Georgia, known as the peach state.” states Lilly Wei in her essay “Moonstruck in Wonderland” in the exhibition catalog, also available for purchase.
These pillows are available at the museum for $50, while quantities last! They are an edition of 30.
Please check out this video of Moon talking about her fascination with the peach and what it means to her:
The Mennello Museum of American Art is pleased to present the work of multi-media Korean-American artist Jiha Moon in an upcoming solo exhibition, Jiha Moon: Double Welcome, Most Everyone’s Mad Here. The exhibition will be on view from June 22 through August 12, 2018, with an Artist Talk and Opening Reception on June 29.
Based in Atlanta, Georgia, Moon harvests cultural elements native to Korea, Japan, and China and then unites them with Western elements to investigate the multi‐faceted nature of our current global identity as influenced by popular culture, technology, racial perceptions, and folklore. Featuring over 50 works, Moon blurs the lines between Western and Eastern identified iconography such as the characters from the online game Angry Birds© and smart phone Emojis which float alongside Asian tigers and Indian gods, in compositions that appear simultaneously familiar and foreign.
“I am delighted to welcome Jiha Moon and share her wonderful work with Orlando.” States Shannon Fitzgerald, Executive Director. She continues: “Jiha brings whimsy, fabulous energy, fantasy and joy to painting, printmaking, sculpture, andinstallation that awe and inspire. Her image density and color-saturated work weave often incongruousnarratives about culture and identity to address stereotypes and assumptions through her ‘mad’ use of metaphor and symbolism. Jiha’s ‘Wonderland’ is truly something to wonder!”
Moon’s witty and ironic work explores how Westerners perceive other cultures and how perceived foreigners see the West. Korean born, now living in the United States, Moon asks the pertinent question, “Why do people love foreign stuff so much? When we travel to other countries, explore different cultures, and meet with new people, we tend to fall in love with things that are not our own. People have a soft spot for foreign things. The world is so interconnected nowadays, how can you even tell where someone or something ‘comes from’ anymore?” In her work, Moon acts in the role of a traveler, and explores the notion that identity is not beholden to geographic location.
This exhibition is organized by the Taubman Museum of Art in collaboration with the Halsey Institute and curated by Amy G. Moorefield, former Deputy Director of Exhibition and Collections at the Taubman Museum of Art, and Mark Sloan,Director and Chief Curator of the Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art with special assistance from Andrea Pollan, Curator’s Office, Washington, D.C.; Saltworks Gallery, Atlanta, Georgia; and Ryan Lee Gallery, New York, New York.
ABOUT JIHA MOON
Born and raised in Daegu, Korea, Jiha Moon lives and works in Atlanta, Georgia. She received her Master of Fine Arts from the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa and her Bachelor of Fine Arts from Korea University in Seoul, Korea. Her work is in the permanent collections of the Asia Society, New York City, New York; the High Museum of Art, Atlanta, Georgia; the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, DC; the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, Virginia; and the Hunter Museum of Art in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Her work has been the subject of numerous solo exhibitions at notable museums nationwide including at the Mint Museum of Art in Charlotte, North Carolina; the Cheekwood Botanical Garden and Museum of Art in Nashville, Tennessee; and the Weatherspoon Museum of Art, Greensboro, North Carolina. She has been the recipient of several residencies including Omi International Arts Center, Ghent, New York; the Headlands Center for the Arts, Sausalito, California; the Fabric Workshop and Museum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and the MacDowell Colony, Peterborough, New Hampshire. In 2011, Moon was the recipient of a prestigious Joan Mitchell Foundation Painter and Sculpture grant. She is represented by Curator’s Office in Washington, D.C., Saltworks Gallery in Atlanta, Georgia, and Mindy Solomon Gallery, Miami.
Please savethe date for the opening reception of Jiha Moon: Double Welcome, Most Everyone’s Mad Here.
Preview & Opening Reception
Friday, June 29, 2018
Gallery Talk with Jiha Moon
5:30 – 6:30 pm
Opening Reception
6:30 – 8:30 pm
Free for members | $10 for Guests
Tickets » http://www.bit.ly/jihamoon
First Friday Tour
July 6, August 3
11 – 11:45 am
Free tour with the Executive Director or Associate Curator of Education with regular paid admission or Mennello Museum Membership
Free Family Funday
July 8, August 12
12 – 2:30 pm
PLEASE NOTE THE BELOW REQUIRED CREDITS FOR IMAGES:
Hi-res images: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/f9pxsavmovguhdm/AAAun2zgiZkkPn2BnZrrXzwia?dl=0
Images:
Jiha Moon, Fortune Cookie Mayumyi, 2018, porcelain, underglaze and glaze, 5 x 4 x 5 inches, hand painted signed edition of 20 created exclusively for the Mennello Museum of American Art. Edition cost $250.
Jiha Moon, Fortune Cookie Mayumyi, 2018, porcelain, underglaze and glaze, 5 x 4 x 5 inches, hand painted signed edition of 20 created exclusively for the Mennello Museum of American Art. Edition cost $250.
Jiha Moon, Peach (Pillow). Courtesy of the Mennello Museum of American Art.
Mission, Vision and Values
Mission
The Mennello Museum of American Art endeavors to preserve, exhibit, and interpret our outstanding permanent collection of paintings by Earl Cunningham. The Mennello Museum of American Art also seeks to enrich the public through temporary exhibitions, programs, educational initiatives, and publications that celebrate other outstanding traditional and contemporary American art and artists across a broad range of disciplines to reflect the rich diversity of American art, while making it accessible to all. The Museum also shares extraordinary works of American art donated by our founders, the Honorable Marilyn Logsdon Mennello and Michael A. Mennello.
Vision
The vision of the Mennello Museum of American Art to be a distinguished and thriving institution that will build on its City of Orlando base of support through strong board and community relationships resulting in an improved operating environment and a reputation for being a local and national treasure.
Values
Quality. We believe the City of Orlando deserves only the best; we aim to excel at everything we do.
Accessibility. We believe in creating a welcoming space and experience for all; we are friendly, welcome diversity, and are inclusive of all.
Curiosity. We never stop learning or thinking; we continually push boundaries and explore new ideas and strive to remain relevant and provide meaningful experiences.
Collaboration. We believe community partners are essential to mutual success; we work to build relationships and co-create with individuals and organizations.
Stewardship. The Museum will serve in perpetuity; to ensure this, we build and care for our collections, make smart use of our financial resources, and continually invest in our future.
Accountability. We exist to benefit the community; we demonstrate our success and value to the residents of Orlando and our visitors.
About the Museum
The Mennello Museum of American Art, owned and operated by the City of Orlando, is located on the beautiful shore of Lake Formosa in Orlando’s Loch Haven Cultural Park. The museum provides residents and visitors welcoming opportunities to understand and value creativity through innovative experiences with art further connecting it to nature and communal gathering. Our goal is to encourage creative and diverse experiences with art that nurtures audiences while reflecting the dynamic relationship between art and society. In addition to housing the permanent collection of folk modernist Earl Cunningham, the museum presents temporary exhibitions that feature a broad range of American art from traditional to contemporary practices.
On view beginning June 22, 2018, Jiha Moon: Double Welcome, Most Everyone’s Mad Here
View all of our upcoming events: www.mennellomuseum.org/events
The Mennello Museum is located at 900 E. Princeton Street, Orlando, FL 32803.
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The exhibitions and the Mennello Museum of American Art are generously supported by the City of Orlando and Friends of The Mennello Museum of American Art. Additional funding is provided by Orange County Government through the Arts & Cultural Affairs Program and United Arts of Central Florida. Sponsored in part by the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs and the Florida Council on Arts and Culture.
Francesca Ascione
Marketing & Graphic Design Coordinator
The Mennello Museum of American Art and Public Art, City of Orlando
francesca.ascione@cityoforlando.net
407.246.4113