Jan 18 - 21 : Steve Harlow 'Demographics' · Jan 27 Mori solo opening

Jan 17

release of recent artist talk

between Galloway, McPhail, and Kent

images here · apple podcast of talk here

Encinitas, CA - Please join us Thursday through Sunday in the ANNEX 1 warehouse gallery, functioning as a kunsthalle, for San Diego painter Steve Harlow filling the Oolong Gallery Annex 1 walls with entangled figure paintings. The ongoing oil on paper project is titled Demographics, and the installation functions as a 100+ work-in-progress preview of his painting cycle. The works will be up through the weekend starting Jan 18 - Jan 21 during gallery hours 10 - 4 pm. view a preview of the work here · view his profile here

Jan 18 - 21

Steve Harlow: Demographics

a four day WIP installation

Saturday reception 2 - 4 pm

"This exhibit marks my completion of the first 100 paintings of the projected 300 painting cycle celebrating the connected reality of our presence in the living earth. It is a visual dance, a visual prayer. Each oil painting is on 22" x 30" printmaker paper and expresses a unique interpretation of a consistent figure / ground layout featuring whole figures formed by abutting two half figures. The resulting pattern of their installation strings a line of standing or dancing figures along the full length of the gallery’s 50 foot wall and more." — Steve Harlow

Jan 27

2 - 4 pm opening reception for

Hiroshi McDonald Mori: [4: 画像: Simulacrum]

a major solo show of mixed media salt prints

spanning the entire warehouse and foyer

the exhibition runs through March 5

info@oolongallery.com for a preview

view Mori's CV here

Hiroshi McDonald Mori · Annie Albers at 01, 2019 · salt, albumin, and chromogenic print, pastels on aquarelle paper 67 x 31.5 in | 170 x 80 cm HM0010

Image: Philipp Scholz Rittermann in the new Oolong foyer.

Oolong Gallery Presents:

Hiroshi McDonald Mori

[4: 画像:Simulacrum]

Encinitas, CA - Oolong Gallery is thrilled to announce the upcoming solo exhibition, [4: 画像:Simulacrum], featuring the innovative and thought-provoking works of artist Hiroshi McDonald Mori. A native of San Diego, Mori recently relocated back home after thirteen years living and working abroad in Berlin, Germany where he produced a large body of salt print, mixed media works on thick aquarelle paper. The works have been shipped overseas to be premiered at Oolong Gallery, located at 687 2nd St, Encinitas, CA 92024, with the opening reception scheduled for January 27, 2024 from 3 - 5 pm.

Hiroshi McDonald Mori's artistic journey is a captivating exploration of material, chemistry, and force, guided by an instinctive trust in desire and a relentless questioning of rationality. In [4: 画像:Simulacrum] Mori delves into the unique process of salt printing, where the interplay of water purity, temperature, pH, UV light concentration, and weather creates variations that mirror the diverse landscapes and moments captured through his lens. Mori's artistic language extends beyond traditional boundaries, framed by his deep contemplation of the world.

Mori's work also draws inspiration from diverse cultural influences, ranging from the post-war artistic movements of Gutai and Bauhaus to ancient crafts and the concept of Japanese iitoko-dori (いいとこ取り), where contradiction is embraced to sustain incompatibilities. The modularity of Mori's salt prints invites active engagement, disrupting conventional viewing experiences and challenging viewers to reassess their perspectives. This intentional disruption is echoed in his commitment to sprezzatura, a studied nonchalance that seeks to balance impact with an understated effort, steering away from the overwhelming labor often associated with the sublime.

Hiroshi McDonald Mori · Corner, 2019 · salt print on aquarelle paper 28 x 39.5 in | 80 x 110 cm · HM0005

Through experimentation and improvisation, Mori seeks to maximize his vocabulary and syntax of material, chemistry, and force. His work embraces an aesthetic that rewards ambivalence and transformation, with the goal of achieving a non-violent iconoclasm. The exhibition's epilogue in the foyer contemplates the concept of Chic, appreciating the ephemeral and acknowledging the power and grace inherent in fleeting moments. [4: 画像:Simulacrum] invites viewers to engage with Mori's unique perspective, questioning the frames that shape their own subjectivity and encouraging a profound consideration of beauty, truth, and change.

Join us for the opening reception on January 27, 2024, at Oolong Gallery with a reception from 3 - 5 pm, where Hiroshi McDonald Mori's [4: 画像:Simulacrum] promises to challenge, inspire, and redefine the boundaries of artistic expression.

About Oolong Gallery:

Oolong Gallery is a contemporary art space dedicated to showcasing emerging and established artists pushing the boundaries of artistic expression. Located at 687 2nd St, Encinitas, CA 92024, the gallery is committed to providing a platform for thought-provoking and innovative works.

Hiroshi McDonald Mori · Hello Kitty, 2019 · salt, albumin, and chromogenic print on aquarelle paper, pastels 69 x 31.5 in | 176 x 80 cm · HM0012

Notes on Salt Printing by Hiroshi McDonald Mori:

"Salt Printing is a 19th century photographic technique developed by William Henry Fox Talbot. Initially the process was used as the usual photographic technique of creating a negative to be printed on a light sensitive material. The light sensitive material is paper soaked in Salt, then covered with Silver Nitrate to create a print when exposed to UV light, usually sunlight, then fixed into the paper. Usually the silver is coated as a gelatin above the paper, but in this technique the salt is captured within the paper, offering deep velvety hues of darkness. This process allowed me freedom to challenge commercial photographic standards and create images that I had full control of scale and exactly where I wanted the light sensitive chemistry to occur. I discovered I could also do this over and over and over again, layering and developing which is near impossible with commercial photographic paper unless painted over or tinted, which was rather popular during the early 20th century. This process allowed me more freedom and control with this photographic medium."

Oolong Gallery

687 2nd St. Encinitas, CA 92024

Telephone +1 858 229 2788

www.oolongallery.com