Works of art for sale or auction

Tayseer Barakat— Untitled, 2005

The object consists of eight sealed glass boxes (4 pieces, 2 blocks high, placed in a 2'x2' square) containing scraps of torn letters from prisoners and blocks of wood decorated with burnt designs. A pedestal is required for proper installation.

Barakat, a Palestinian, was born in the Jabalya refugee camp in Gaza and currently resides in Ramallah in the West Bank. Barakat creates images using burned materials that suggest the cataclysmic expulsion of his family from their homeland. Like the Dalai Lama, who has lived in exile from Tibet since 1959, Barakat struggles with issues of displacement.

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Dove Bradshaw— Salt, Half Heard

The object consists of a transparent, glass 1000 ml separatory funnel and a pile of salt. The funnel is suspended over the pile of salt, with a constant drip of distilled water falling onto the pile of salt. The funnel is hung from the ceiling track using mounting wire and metal hooks. It requires periodic filling with distilled water. The pile of salt is resting on the floor (barrier of Plexiglas between the floor and the salt).

Like the late composer John Cage, Bradshaw explores new conceptions of time and space. Change is at the heart of her work. Bradshaw believes that the artist's role is to manipulate natural elements. After initiating a reaction, Bradshaw, like the viewer, essentially steps back and watches to see what will happen next. In Salt, Half Heard, the persistent droplets of water create an elemental transformation, as crystals form on the salt.

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Andy Cao— 100 Hearts, 2005

The object consists of 2 parts: a string of coconuts (a large “necklace” strung on thick monofilament) and a CD of a woman singing a Vietnamese lullaby. The string of coconuts is hung from the ceiling using lengths of monofilament, and part of the string of coconuts may rest on the gallery floor.

This piece is a tribute to the orphaned children Cao met at the Ky Quang II Pagoda in Ho Chi Minh City, Viet-Nam. So-called “deaf coconuts” are undesirable rejects, used here by the artist to symbolize the plight of these children, who were abandoned at birth as a result of their physical impairments. Their deformities are believed to be the result of exposure to Agent Orange, a chemical weapon and defoliant used by the United States during the Vietnam War. The inclusion of a gentle lullaby speaks of hope, the universal need for nurturing, and unconditional love.

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Squeak Carnwath— Naturally We, 2005

The piece is a painted work on panel, mounted in a white-painted wooden frame.

Carnwath’s luminous paintings investigate the act of living. She explores the repetition of our daily routines and actions. Like phonograph records spinning round, a metaphor she uses in this painting, we all are part of the ongoing cycle of waking, going to work, eating, sleeping, and all the while breathing.

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Long-Bin Chen— World Buddha Head Project, 2005

This sculpture is made of a carved stack of Manhattan phone books. It is supported by a wooden base and interior armature.

In Buddhism, all sentient beings are regarded as having a “Buddha seed.” Buddhism teaches that when we die, the mind with all the many characteristics developed and conditioned in this life reestablishes itself in a fertilized egg. Similarly, the genes carried in DNA are passed on from generation to generation. In this work Chen explores the relationship between Buddhism and DNA structure. Using a helix-like tower of telephone books, which the artist regards as cultural debris emanating from our information society, this work reveals three sides, each sculpted with a face: Buddha, an animal, and a human. These images revolve around and into one another.

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Bernard Cosey— Om Mani Padme Hum, 2005

This work on paper is imagery executed in black ink on white paper. The cartoon is attached to a black backing board, and this is housed in a black-painted wooden frame, with a white mat and Plexiglas glazing.

Cosey’s comics reflect individuals on a quest to reconcile their pasts and their memories. Characters, such as the well known “Jonathan,” travel on extensive journeys in search of self, peace, and love. After several visits to the Himalayas, in which he observed profound changes to Tibetan culture, Cosey felt compelled to set the thirteenth book in the Jonathan series in the region.

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Filippo di Sambuy— Possible Painting Impossible Sculpture No Ending Energy, 2004

This work is mixed media on canvas, stretched over a wooden support.

Di Sambuy creates symbols that arise from his personal vision, and his artwork is imbued with the spiritual. He sees the artist as a channel through which the invisible is revealed by means of the visible.

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Peig Fairbrook and Adele Fox— Symbol of Peace, 2004

To represent the inseparable aspect of the people of Tibet with the Dalai Lama, Fairbrook and Fox sought inspiration in the traditional banners used to convey goodwill and impart Buddhist teachings. These banners are visible throughout the Tibetan landscape, flowing freely, in the same way the artists' cloth panels flutter against the background.

The juniper branch, an important sign in the identification of the Dalai Lama as a child, is one of the many symbols painted here. Hand symbols known as “mudras” are traditionally used in association with Avalokitesvara, the bodhisattva who embodies the compassion of all Buddha and is incarnated in the Dalai Lama. The symbols represent: charity (Varada), prayer (Namaskara), debate (Vitarka) and fearless blessing (Abhaya). The bell (Ghanta) is of more general Buddhist significance, connoting impermanence and insight.

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Rupert Garcia— Abu Ghraib, 2005

The piece is a painted work on canvas (over imagery printed on the fabric), with a black-painted wooden frame.

Garcia's painting records the horrific and much-publicized scandal of Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. The hooded prisoner had wires attached to both hands and other body parts and was reportedly told he would be electrocuted if he fell off the box on which he was standing.

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Yoko Inoue— Untitled, edition 3/6 2006 5 glazed porcelain bottles. Dimensions variable (bottles are 8-11 inches tall)

This work is a selection of 5 ceramic bottles of various sizes.

Through the forces of globalization, everything seems to be for sale today, even natural resources, such as water, which were once considered sacred and a common heritage. Through this series of works, Inoue explores the amorphous border between commodity and spirituality. The artist hopes that the viewer will regain a spiritual understanding of water as the essence of life itself.

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Yoko Inoue— Untitled, AP 2/2, 2006 digital pigment print on paper

Through the forces of globalization, everything seems to be for sale today, even natural resources, such as water, which were once considered sacred and a common heritage. Through this series of works, Inoue explores the amorphous border between commodity and spirituality. The artist hopes that the viewer will regain a spiritual understanding of water as the essence of life itself.

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Ilya and Emilia Kabakov— The Poet, 2005; Drawing based upon a performance

This work consists of two pieces of white matboard onto which a drawing and text have been executed in a mix of black and blue pencil, crayon and marker. The work is housed in a black-painted wooden frame, with a white and black mats and Plexiglas glazing. The Poet, written by Ilya and Emilia Kabakov, was originally part of a performance. Cynthia Martin has translated it from the original Russian:

The poet stands in a mountain meadow surrounded on all sides by forest: the mountains, bathed in sunlight are visible behind the poet. In front of him is a small podium or music stand holding his work. The listeners form a semicircle at a distance of approximately thirty steps away from him...

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Gabriela Morawetz— Regarde, 2005 Terra-cotta, wood, glass, lead

Three modeled terra-cotta heads are each mounted on top of their own tall rectangular light brown wooden podium (square metal plates at the bottom are screwed into the floor). The heads are facing the gallery wall. There is a long conical light brown wooden rod projecting horizontally out of the three heads (copper alloy metal pin embedded in the end of the rod that sits in the PL eyes of the three heads) and positioned flush with the gallery wall (wall-mounted).

In the back of each of the terra-cotta heads, there is a large empty hole that has been lined with lead sheeting (glued in place). Each hole houses a glass orb within which one can see different mixed-media decoration.

In this work, Morawetz aims to create a kind of interior aperture leading to the world of others. By understanding others, she says, we become closer.

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Kisho Mwkaiyama— Sanmon WCC—yupotanjyu + nupotanje, 2005 Wax, oil paint

Raised on Japan's Mount Koya, a sacred mountain scattered with Buddhist temples, Kisho Mwkaiyama spent his childhood in a tranquil, sacred area surrounded by light and ritual. In this environment, he honed his own faith and developed a fascination with the properties of wax. In this pair of mandalas constructed symmetrically and asymmetrically, the artist has created a gate to the Buddhist temple and an entrance to the world of meditation. The work hints symbolically at a path to peace. “Sanmon,” the series title, means “mountain gate.” The white circle in the center evokes a peaceful world filled with light.

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Tom Nakashima— From Lhasa with Love II, 2005; Torn newspaper collage, glue paint on unstretched canvas

Tenzin Gyatso, the Dalai Lama, offers George Bush counsel on the war in Iraq by conveying to him the story of Yamantaka (Destroyer of Death), as Nakashima relates:

A Yogi was meditating in his cave and had arrived at a point moments from Enlightenment. As it happened, a rude group of cattle thieves had just stolen a buffalo and began dragging it into the cave. As they started butchering the animal, the Yogi's meditation was disturbed. Upon seeing the Yogi, the intruders attacked him and cut off his head, for he had been witness to their evildoing. Now the Yogi (having been disturbed when he was just fifteen minutes from Enlightenment) was indeed angered. In a fury he reached down in search of his head and mistakenly placed the buffalo head upon his neck, giving him a terribly ferocious appearance not unlike Lord Yama (god of Death). He took the knife from the robbers and hacked them into pieces. Then, running out into the countryside, he headed toward a village with his arms flailing and the sound of a buffalo's sickening snorting emanating from his throat and nostrils. At this frightful sight the villagers called forth to the Bodhisattva Manjusri (Jampel Yang) to save them. In response Jampel Yang turned himself into Yamantaka—a virtual mirror of the approaching horror. On seeing the absurdity of his actions, the Yogi (in utter embarrassment) ceased his rampage and returned to the cave.

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Yoshiro Negishi— Untitled, 2006; Acrylic on canvas

Negishi states, “In watching the ever-changing mists and clouds rising above the mountains, I can lose all sense of time. In my paintings also, change is ever-present. From moment to moment, a different emotion is revealed. Catching hold of the delicate balance of these emotions as they appear, I attempt to bring out a condensed expression of these brief moments.”

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Dang Ngo— Um Paiang Refugee Camp, 2004; Chromogenic print

Several refugee camps have sprung up along the Thai/Myanmar border, to accommodate refugees from the oppressive Burmese Army. The location of this camp, in Thailand, presents many problems: cold temperatures kill—especially vulnerable are the very young and old who are already weakened by disease and malnutrition. On the particularly cold day this photo was taken, several people died. Ngo, whose work takes him throughout Asia, is currently based in Vietnam.

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Michele Oka Doner— Harp and Lyre, 2004; Cast bronze with gold leaf

Oka Doner, who has aptly been called “nature’s scribe,” defines her task as making the ephemeral material by using organic forms as her vocabulary. Created from cast-bronze palm leaves, this lyre represents the underlying harmony of the universe. The harp represents ascendance, leading us into the next world.

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Robert and Shana ParkeHarrison— The Scribe, 2005; Chromogenic print on aluminum with acrylic

The ParkeHarrisons explore the rediscovery of our relationship to nature. Through the medium of photography and the creation of an “Everyman” character that appears in each photograph, the artists fabricate and control entire scenes, freely manufacture metaphor, reexamine myths, and perform ritualistic acts. Their work speaks to our sense of responsibility and connection to the earth, as well as the need to find balance.

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Jaune Quick-to-See Smith— Who Leads Who Follows, 2004; Oil and acrylic on canvas

A traditional Native American woman's dress symbolizes the “Earth Mother” who gives birth to everything. Her hands make a gesture of peace, and on the perimeter of the dress, human beings of identical size march around the planet. The questions posed in the title of the painting reference the need for a peaceful, respectful coexistence among peoples and emphasize the inappropriateness of one group oppressing another.

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Ryuichi Sakamoto— Sonic Mandala, 2006; Musical composition and installation

In this sound installation, Sakamoto strives to express the lessons he learned from an encounter with the Dalai Lama. He explains:

“I wanted to know the meaning of salvation for my first opera 'Life', so I went to Ladakh to hear the answer from His Holiness the Dalai Lama. From the very first moment when he walked into the room, I thought I saw a light coming from him. I knew he's the one at that very moment. In this sound installation, I wanted to express the compassion, gentleness, and serenity I learned from him. I improvised the piano very peacefully over the sounds of the Tibetan singing bowl, which are reversed and looped.”

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Salustiano— Reincarnation, 2005; Acrylic and resins on canvas

This image is based on the idea of the Dalai Lama's reincarnation and his continued evolution and change. It portrays His Holiness in his next incarnation as a young child and is a metaphor for growing, evolving, and transforming.

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Mike and Doug Starn— Sno6_034, from the series “alleverythingthatisyou,” 2006; Fujiflex and Duraclear Lambda prints on Plexiglas and aluminum

For the Starns, the snowflake is a metaphor for “all everything that is you.” Accumulating snow represents a lifetime of feelings, thoughts, memories, hopes, disappointments, and losses. The snowflake is the raw information of the experience gathered by the senses, and the skull becomes the igloo where our perceptions of the world are constructed—crashing into each other, merging, fracturing, and sublimating. Simple and complex, the snowflakes are all the same, yet all different.

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Inkie Whang— Temple at Night, 2004; Pixilated silicone, paint on canvas

Trained as a painter in both the United States and Korea, Whang describes his art as “digital sansuhwa,” a reinvention of traditional Korean ink and brush landscape painting using new technologies. His digitized/pixilated landscapes “illustrate the models of assimilation and transformation of nature in the context of our modern materialist and technology-driven civilization.”

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Katarina Wong— Terminus, 2005–2006; Mixed media

This installation links ideas of personal migration, identity, and interdependence. Using wax fingertips, cast from the hands of friends and family, the artist creates undulating rays that emanate from a central point. The swirling waves are inspired by drawings of transcendent Buddhas that Wong saw on walls throughout Tibet. Mounted on a simple blue field and overlaid with shadows in sumi-ink and powdered graphite, it is difficult to tell what floats above and what is painted on the wall. The result is a space where co-creative acts—relationships, migration, and reality—all float in a nebulous arena.

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Yuriko Yamaguchi— Web/Transient #2, 2005; Cast resin, stainless wire

The Dalai Lama is concerned with pollution in rivers that run through China and four other regions in Asia. He laments that a large number of these rivers originate from Tibet, but due to the rapid economic growth in China and other Asian countries, people have begun to throw industrial waste into the rivers and neglect nature. Web/Transient #2 expresses the conflict in terms of prey caught in a spider's web. The object at the bottom holds two eggs. Inside each egg is the Tibetan letter, “Ohm,” which is chanted during meditation. This object represents the Dalai Lama's Tibet, and the wires stemming from it symbolize the rivers originating there. Brains, hands, toes, body parts, unidentifiable objects, and the portrayal of the divided house of Tibet are enmeshed in the web of wires.

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