Cassandria Blackmore & Zhuang Hong Yi: East Meets West

Cassandria Blackmore & Zhuang Hong Yi: East Meets West
Houston, TX, December 23, 2016 --(PR.com)-- Houston gallery, Laura Rathe Fine Art, announces the exhibition "East Meets West," featuring new works by internationally acclaimed artists, Cassandria Blackmore and Zhuang Hong Yi, with an opening reception on Saturday, January 14 from 6-9pm at 2707 Colquitt Street. These talented artists will introduce their work to Houston and will discuss their process and experience in a lecture, beginning at 7pm.

Though they come from different backgrounds and explore diverging techniques and mediums, American artist, Cassandria Blackmore, and Chinese artist, Zhuang Hong Yi, share an interest in vibrant color and engaging processes and materials that break with tradition. This landmark show will be Blackmore and Zhuang’s debut exhibition with Laura Rathe Fine Art. ‘East Meets West’ will be on view through February 18, 2017.

About The Artists
For more than 25 years, Cassandria Blackmore has perfected her technique of shattering and reassembling her reverse glass paintings to create extraordinarily colorful and emotionally powerful works of art. Beginning with highlights and details normally applied last, Blackmore’s reverse painting process stems from the artist’s dyslexia, a challenging disability she has remarkably transformed into a gift.

Blackmore paints both abstract bursts of color and highly detailed figurative images on the backs of glass sheets, which she then shatters and reassembles to create finished works that are inherently unpredictable. Blackmore says, “In a way, the artist is sort of pulled out of the equation at the end, and the glass has the final say.” Baring shimmering lines that radiate from the points where Blackmore strikes each painting, the finished works are remarkably vibrant, perpetually freezing these dramatic collisions for the viewer.

Based in Beijing and The Netherlands, artist Zhuang Hong Yi draws influence from both his native China and his experiences living part-time in Western Europe since the early 1990s. Zhuang masterfully works in a variety of media, often blending elements of painting, collage, and sculpture into bold series of works that defy traditional categories.

The work of Zhuang Hong Yi has a remarkably physical presence. Brilliantly colorful and richly textured, his recent "flower bed" works are made of delicate rice paper, which the artist hand paints and carefully folds into hundreds of tiny flower buds. Zhuang densely gathers these elements into dazzlingly iridescent three-dimensional constructions with colors that shift depending on the viewer’s perspective. This visual play of color and organic forms evokes many of nature’s processes, particularly beautiful gardens bursting into life.

About Laura Rathe Fine Art
With over 25 years’ experience in the industry, gallery owner, Laura Rathe, started her career working as a private art dealer before establishing Laura Rathe Fine Art (LRFA) in 1998 in Houston, Texas. LRFA now operates out of two locations in Houston and a third gallery in Dallas on Dragon Street, the city’s premiere arts district destination. Since the gallery's inception, LRFA has established itself as a leading contemporary art venue, offering an impressive range of exhibitions and programming to its patrons in both cities.

LRFA represents a dynamic roster of established and mid-career contemporary artists working in a variety of media, many of whom have been acquired into world-renowned private, corporate, and museum collections. Various clientele include BBVA Compass, HKS Architects, Wells Fargo, W Hotels, UT Southwestern, and Halliburton. LRFA also participates in a number of prominent art fairs including CONTEXT Art Miami, Art Southampton, Art Wynwood, the Houston Fine Art Fair, Texas Contemporary, and the Dallas Art Fair.

For additional information, details or to schedule an interview, please contact

Laura Rathe, Gallery Owner, Laura@LauraRathe.com &/or 713.527.7700
Hannah Reuter, Gallery Director, Hannah@LauraRathe.com &/or 713.527.7700
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Laura Rathe Fine Art, Houston
Casey Baden
713-527-7700
www.laurarathe.com
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