LING CHANG: THE CURIOUS LORE OF PRECIOUS STONES / May 31-June 30, 2008

The dubious character of the artful is taken to task by Ling Chang in her installation “The Curious Lore of Precious Stones.” Her chosen forms are the geologic objects that contain ores and minerals, often prized for their rareness, and for their attractiveness. Her specific installation consists of an informal grouping of paintings, drawings, and a hand-made "mineral collection". It takes its title from a book written in 1913 by the mineralogist George Frederick Kunz, a compendium of myths and folktales about minerals and gems. Though Ling makes an effort to dramatize the exhibitionistic aspects of scientific discovery, there remains something spritely, even campy in her mannerist presentation of a bygone age. One can assume that she is a fan of nature in its obscure and fantastic aspects, like any child visiting the Museum of Natural History might be. Recognizable as these elements might be in their re-imagined forms, they yet retain a degree of the unknowable, in which the artist hopes to share.