The Ministering Angel of Domestic Bliss

Eight layer litho:  “The Ministering Angel of Domestic Bliss” which was part of a lithography exhibition, “The Red Death”, curated by Doug Bosley

20 1/4 x 17 1/4 inches, Edition of 12, $500

 

This print is part of a project documenting of the history of chemical poisoning which was inherently specific to women and children. Chemical poisoning became widespread starting in the Victorian era when a surge in the discovery of new compounds and the industrialization of cities led to a slew of household innovations. These novel developments lacked regulation and their hazardous nature went undetected to eager consumers. During this time, the Victorian home became known as a “reassuring sanctuary” where cleanliness and the appearance of luxury were prioritized. From arsenic-laced dresses to lead-based paint in children’s toys, these domestic poisons largely affected women and children.

The 18th century invention of Scheele’s Green, a pigment produced from copper arsenite, became wildly popular in the home as well as the garment industry throughout the 19th century. Everything from food to wallpaper to dresses was colored with the bright green pigment, and consequentially leeched arsenic into the skin and respiratory systems of unsuspecting consumers.

The Making of:

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Mylars and proofs forever and ever.

Step 1:  Crayon drawing on limestone.

Step 2:  Adding color

draw-downs

The first layer printed was white, for a subtle highlight in the stitches, skeleton, and folds of wallpaper.  The yellow-ochre was printed with two separate plates.  One layer was a blend roll printed diagonally, the second layer was a blend roll with the same colors printed vertically.

Layers 1, 2, and 3: Showing converging blend rolls.

The green was a toner wash etched into an aluminum plate.  This plate was printed twice.  After the first toner wash was printed, the plate was counter etched using Hydrochloric and phosphoric acid, and a second toner wash was applied, darkening the area around the figure.

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Giant hand-carved wood panels for HaiSous

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For the next several months, I will be working on several 8 ft tall hand-carved panels which will be installed in HaiSous.  A partnership between husband-and-wife duo, Thai Dang and Danielle Dang, HaiSous is an authentic Vietnamese kitchen scheduled to open this Fall 2016 in Chicago.  Please visit their website and follow them on Facebook, Instagram @haisouschicago , and Twitter @haisous for updates on the opening and information about pop-up dinners this summer!

If you are a restaurant or small business (in Chicago or otherwise!), I would love to work with you!  I am currently seeking to collaborate on hand-printed food and cocktail menus, art pairings with multi-course dinners, installations, and any other way you wish to incorporate art into your business.  Please contact me at RaeleenKao@gmail.com

Click through the gallery for progress shots of this project with Haisous.   Below are couple videos documenting the carving process.

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“Cut and Sown” wrap up and SGCI: Portland

CUT AND SOWN

 

Thank you so much to everyone who attended the opening, saw the show while it was up, purchased work, and came to the talk on Saturday! Thank you Joanne Aono for having our art be friends for a month and thank you Stan Klein and Tony Fitzpatrick for providing Chicago’s art community with such an amazing space. It means the world to me to have such supportive people in my life, I would be nowhere without all of you.

Images from “Cut and Sown” can now be viewed here.  There were 12 pieces in the exhibition, and a total of 19 in the series.

SGCI:  PORTLAND

I am getting prepared to embark on a road trip with Gabe Hoare and Liz Born from Hoofprint Workshop and Anna Hasseltine.  We will be at the publisher’s fair slinging prints at Hoofprint Workshop’s booth, so please stop by and say hello!  In addition to the publisher’s fair, I am also a part of two exhibitions opening during the conference.

SIGHTINGS

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OPENING RECEPTION THURSDAY MARCH 31st 6-9PM

PORTLAND PATAPHYSICAL SOCIETY 625 NW EVERETT ST #104, PORTLAND, OR 97209

EXHIBITION DATES MARCH 31st-MAY 20th

Sightings is a portfolio of thirty prints from thirty artists working with the subjects of cryptids, ghosts, extraterrestrials, and other scientifically unexplained entities.  Thank you AJ Nordhagen and Brittany Kieler for organizing this, I am honored to be included in this portfolio of talented and prestigious printmakers.  More info at SIGHTINGSINPRINT.COM

PULL OF THE PRINT

Kao_R_More Beautiful in Death

OPENING RECEPTION APRIL 1st 6-8PM

VERUM ULTIMUM GALLERY 3014 NE AINSWORTH ST, PORTLAND, OR 97211

My 2-plate etching More Beautiful in Death will be a part of Pull of the Print, a group exhibition of fifty artists working in the medium of printmaking.  These works will be exhibited alongside Beth Kerschen‘s Portland: East Meets West series and Tom Huck‘s Brandy Baghead triptych.  More info at VERUMULTIMUMGALLERY.COM

See you in Portland!

xoxo,

Raeleen

“Cut and Sown” at Firecat Projects

Opening Reception Friday, February 26

6-9pm

Firecat Projects 2124 N. Damen Avenue, Chicago, IL 60647

Please join me for the opening reception of a two-person exhibition of drawings with Joanne Aono

Excerpt from the press release:

Raeleen Kao’s beautifully unsettling graphite drawings are impressions of the body as an object vulnerable to physical and psychological trauma as a result of disease and subsequent treatment.  This body of work entitled, “Show Me Where it Hurts,” is a reference to the use of dolls in medical settings where blank dolls act as a communication tool for children to indicate the location of pain or discomfort.  Kao’s ghostly depictions of dresses disfigured by scars, stitches, and biopsy sites document her experiences from infancy through adulthood which are dominated by hospital gowns and surgical beds.

 

“Sleeping With Ashes” Opening at Bert Green Fine Art

Thank you so so much to everyone who was able to make it to the opening last night!  It means so much to me to see you all and I can’t express in words how grateful I am to have such supportive family, friends, colleagues, and community.  Photos of the work are now up in the “drawings” section or Here.

If you weren’t able to make it to the opening, the gallery hours for Bert Green Fine Art are Wednesday Thursday Friday 11-6, Saturday 12-5 or by appointment!  I am happy to meet you at the gallery if you wish, just e-mail RaeleenKao@gmail.com  The exhibition runs through October 31st.

“Sleeping with Ashes” is part of Art After Hours during Expo Art Week, an extension of Expo Chicago.  There will be extended hours from 6-9 pm this Friday, September 18th in addition to normal gallery hours.

I will be giving an artist talk at the gallery on October 24th at 4:00pm so be sure to stop by to witness my inevitable paralysis during public speaking events.  😉

Installation shots:

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Some photos from the opening. Not too many, because I was so excited talking to everyone last night. 🙂

Here I am in my natural state: Eating cookies.

Sims + Kao. Open now. A photo posted by Bert Green Fine Art (@bertgreenfineart) on

So happy to send this piece off to it's new wonderful home.
So happy to send this piece off to it’s new wonderful home.
With my amazing sister who comes to all my art events. I am so lucky.

“Sleeping with Ashes” at Bert Green Fine Art

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Please join me for the opening reception of my upcoming solo exhibition, “Sleeping with Ashes” at Bert Green Fine Art

September 12th-October 31st

Opening Reception:  September 12th 5-8pm

Artist Talk:  October 24th 4pm

Often stress causes an individual to revert back to a childhood-like state.  My childhood was dominated by an obsession with my own death.  Falling asleep at three years old with an image of my own corpse was a ritual I meditated on every night.  This childhood fixation on death and its association with sleep has persistently followed me for my entire life.

Download an official press release Here

Logan Square Arts Festival

I will be exhibiting new drawings at the Logan Square Arts Festival from Friday, June 26-Sunday, June 28.  My work will be up in the former Pierre’s Bakery at 2747 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago, IL60647Organized by I AM Logan Square, Logan Square Arts Festival is a weekend of music, local food and beverage vendors, and art exhibited in restaurants and businesses in Logan Square.  The festival also utilizes the empty storefronts on Milwaukee Ave to showcase local artists.

Here are images of my work at last year’s Logan Square Arts Festival (then Milwaukee Ave Arts Festival) which was in a space curated by South Logan Arts Coalition.

Walpurgisnacht at Cobalt Studio

April 30th, 2015.  Cobalt Studio.  1950 W. 21st st.  Chicago, IL 60608

An exhibition of prints and drawings from miniature works to large-scale installation pieces featuring works by Liz Born, Vanessa Dellamorte, and myself.  This was a one-night-only event celebrating the German holiday Walpurgisnacht.

Five witches of Walpurgisnacht (Left to right): Macie Stewart, Liz Born, Raeleen Kao, Vanessa Dellamorte, Sima Cunningham

Walpurgisnacht is described in German folklore as a night marked by the convergence of witches in the Brocken, the highest peak of the Harz mountain range in Germany.  Historically, Walpurgisnacht was observed by lighting large bonfires and burning rag and straw witch effigies in order to ward off the overhead passing of witches on their way to the sabbath.  Modern observances of Walpurgisnacht are held throughout Europe and Scandinavia with large public gatherings of bonfires and dancing.  Because it falls on the eve of May Day, the celebration of Walpurgisnacht is often associated with the coming of Spring.

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Thank you everyone who attended, thank you Antonio Martinez – the owner and curator at Cobalt Studio, and thank you Sima Cunningham and Macie Stewart from Homme for playing an incredible show!

Sima Cunningham and Macie Stewart of Homme
Sima Cunningham and Macie Stewart of Homme

Drawings from the exhibition can be viewed here:  From the Evil of Those Who Blow on Knots

Prints from the exhibition can be viewed under the Prints section of my portfolio

Check back soon for updates on future exhibitions and events!

Printmaking Exhibition at Northdown Cafe and Taproom

Here are images from a printmaking exhibition I have up at Northdown Cafe and Taproom in Chicago with Gabe Hoare and Liz Born from Hoofprint Workshop.  The exhibition will be up through May, so go check it out, grab a drink from their extensive craft beer list, and chow down on some pork frites.

Promotional materials I designed for the event.  Printed by Hoofprint Workshop

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KOVAL Distillery made us a special cocktail specifically for the opening!

Toasted Millet Whiskey, unsweetened green tea, ginger & mint simple syrup, and lemon juice
Toasted Millet Whiskey, unsweetened green tea, ginger & mint simple syrup, and lemon juice

Images of the exhibition:

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Thank you everyone who came out to the opening, thank you to Northdown Taproom for hosting us, KOVAL Distillery for providing us with a delicious cocktail, and thank you to this Rolling Stones pinball machine which has provided a bounty of visual entertainment.

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