thumbprint : paintings by Elizabeth Tana July 7, 2012

Artist reception Saturday, July 7, 6 - 8 PM, exhibit July 3 through August 31, 2012

Market Street Gallery is very proud to announce Thumbprint; a solo exhibition showcasing unseen new paintings by Elizabeth Tana, a thoughtful body of work which explores how identity is shaped by both traces from our past and the marks we leave in the present. The exhibit will open July 3, 2012, and run through August 31, 2012. The artist reception will be held on Saturday, July 7, 2012, from 6 PM - 8 PM.

Born in Northern China during WWII to parents who were life-long collectors of Asian art, Elizabeth moved with her family from place to place and eventually settled in San Francisco.

Elizabeth draws on themes of Asian cultural heritage, migration and childhood memories that have been threaded through each of her previous two exhibits, "Fragments of Memory" (2000) and " Remains of Journey" (2002). Over a decade later, her strong and elegant interplay of colors, shapes and lines remains but has evolved in a sophisticated direction beautifully illustrated in the body of work exhibited.

"Thumbprint" and "Cursive" are the two showcase works of the exhibition. "Thumbprint" literally and figuratively represents identity. Elizabeth uses her actual thumbprint in this very personal painting; the thumbprint remains her identity from the past to the present day. The oval shapes on the left of the canvas, draws in elements of her earlier paintings.

"Cursive", the second showcase piece in the exhibition, was inspired by Chinese calligraphy from the Fifth Century (a form still used today), also represents identity. Life, beauty and energy characterizes the cursive form; each stroke is like a dance movement and also illustrates the writer's identity like a signature or a thumbprint.

Each person has a unique thumbprint that identifies who he or she is as an individual. Elizabeth Tana's identity is the common thread, which connects the collection of work specially selected for this exhibition.

Official Website: http://marketstreetgallery.com