Exhibit pairs artists’ complementary work

The art world is teeming with talented young artists vying to be
the next big thing. It’s a scenario that expectedly lends
itself to networking ““ a case of not simply how good you are
and how much you know, but really who you know.

Two UCLA graduates have found that chance introductions can lead
to recommendations that, months later, can culminate in a
full-fledged gallery exhibit.

“Landscapes of Two Musical Minds”features UCLA
alumni Mark Golamco and Anne Wang. The gallery show was put
together by curator, art professor and respected art correspondent
Rosanna Albertini and is on view at LMAN Gallery in
Chinatown’s Chung King Road art enclave through May 8.

“I have a pile of portfolios on my desk,” said
Lawrence Man, architect and gallery owner. “But unfortunately
I’ve yet to select an artist that way. There are just so many
young and promising artists out there that I almost always have to
go with recommendations and referrals. (Selecting an artist) is a
time-consuming process, so (networking) helps because I can learn
more about the artist and ask questions before I decide to visit
that artist’s studio to see the actual works.”

Much of Man’s networking begins in his gallery. For
instance, he hooked up with Albertini at an LMAN exhibit featuring
Japanese sculpture artist Mineo Mizuno. The two hit it off almost
immediately and began discussing collaborating on a potential
project. That project eventually evolved into “Landscapes of
Two Musical Minds.”

Albertini, who currently teaches a course on critical thought in
the UCLA art department, consulted her network of art aficionados
and eventually was urged to check out artist Mark Golamco, whose
works consist of figures and landscapes intricately carved into
layered plywood and highlighted with sparse and subtle staining and
varnishing.

“I immediately knew that Mark’s work was perfect for
the show the moment I visited his studio,” Albertini said.
“I liked the way he expresses the figures in his mind out of
nothingness, literally through the creation of void spaces
in wood “¦ he was doing his own thing and working in a
medium that is currently not considered trendy “¦ (His work
is) not simply portraiture but rather, the expression of images
created in (his) mind “¦ and his reflections on the nature of
relationships.”

The second of the two artists featured in the exhibit is Anne
Wang, who was also recommended to Albertini by a mutual friend.
Instead of figures, Wang works abstractly with colors. Her
most recent work centers specifically on exploring the color
yellow.

“I (am) fascinated by the fact that yellow is extremely
transparent as well as iridescent,” Wang said.
“It’s like a light source on its own.”

Even though most of Wang’s pieces look like plain shades
and variants of yellow at a distance, a closer of inspection of
each piece reveals unexpected complexity. Wang often uses a grid
technique to texturize her works. This method allows Wang to
modulate the final color, which itself is obtained by combining
different colors in often up to a hundred layers.

“Friends often visit my studio, see my pieces, and ask me
when I’m going to begin the work,” Wang joked.
“But when I explain to them the process, they take a closer
look and then they understand. My emphasis is on color, and color
alone. In that way, my work both complements and contrasts with
Mark’s work ““ emphasis instead of void.”

Albertini agrees that Golamco and Wang make for a unique and
satisfying pairing.

“I had an instinctual sense of the match, a fantasy in my
mind,” Albertini said. “When I finally did get to see
(Wang’s) work, I knew I had somehow been right and that we
had a match.”

Even though both artists studied art at UCLA as undergraduates,
they never met each other prior to the current project.

“They’re both also wonderful musicians,”
Albertini added. “I first found out that Mark played the
viola and then I fantasized that maybe Anne was a musician too. It
was just a guess, but it turned out that before she became an
artist, she had studied music for years and was an accomplished
pianist and harpist. So in many ways, the match was
perfect.”