19 May 2007

Pretty colors can be deceiving. In Young J. Cho’s knit reliefs and wearable sculptures, as in her abstract and figurative paintings, sweet pinks and turquoises entice the viewer in so close that they can’t avoid being overtaken by the bulbous, abject disturbances that more truly rule her compositions. The curious little people that populate her figurative works are likewise charming at first glance, but upon closer inspection reveal themselves to be pathetically dependent masked creatures with dwarfed physiques and a penchant for sucking on each other’s limbs. Meanwhile the bursting doodles that comprise her abstract canvases please with their riotous overall mark making, but examined at length their confusing aggressiveness takes over and, as happens all too often in our world, what seemed attractive on the surface turns out to be far more layered and hard to consume.

—Lori Waxman