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		Subterrene September 6 to October 7, 2000 Artword Gallery Mixed media constructions by Margaret Chen reflect an inner journey. Wood, bones and shells are transformed into metaphors for fragility, impermanence and continuity. A sculpture installation by Margaret Chen is on view at Artword from September 6 to 9. A performance in the installation by choreographer/dancer Peter Chin and performance artist Hideo Arai (Japan) will take place on Saturday, September 9 at 8 pm. This work goes on to be part of Shared Habitat, a project curated by choreographer Bill James.
	Margaret Chen divides her time between Jamaica and Toronto. She received a BFA in 1984 and an MFA in 1986 from York University. Her most recent solo exhibitions have been in Kingston, Jamaica. She has participated in travelling international group exhibitions, including Landscape (Art Museum of the Americas, Washington DC); New World Imagery: Contemporary Jamaican Art (various museums in England); Caribbean Visions: Contemporary Painting and Sculpture (various museums in USA). Margaret Chen writes, "I am continuously drawn to the human body as the example of the "fragility and impermanence of all things." The human body is a shell, a temporary dwelling. The use of shells and bones emphasize the earthiness of the body, the relentlessness and beauty of decay. And the remains -- fragments of the physical overlaid by the presence of the indefinable, or for want of a better word, the spiritual. "The shell is a symbol of the endless cycle of birth and death and rebirth. The shell lies on the beach exposed to the elements, becomes buried in sand and washed away by the tide, only to return again and again."

Subterrene mixed media constructions by Margaret Chen
List of Works:

	Title	Medium	Size	Date
Installation in Artword Theatre (Sept 6-9):
	Cross-Section of Labyrinth	mixed media, acrylic on canvas and plywood	variable dimensions (approx 20’ across)	1993
In the Main Gallery:
1	Subterrene I	oil, mixed media on canvas and wood	84 x 123 cm.	1994
2	Subterrene II	oil, mixed media on canvas and wood	100 x 112 cm.	1994
3	Subterrene III	oil, mixed media on canvas and wood	140 x 189 cm.	1994
4	Subterrene IV	oil, mixed media on canvas and wood	142 x 97 cm.	1994
5	Cross-Section of Passage	acrylic, mixed media on canvas on plywood	191 x 7726 cm.	1990
6	Steppe V (diptych)	mixed media on plywood	112 x 340 cm	1982
7	Cross-Section of Substrata (triptych)	acrylic, mixed media on canvas and plywood	300 x 286 cm.	1991
8	Substrata I	mixed media, acrylic on paper on plywood	84 x 125 cm.	1991
9	Steppe IX	mixed media on plywood	102 x 206 cm.	1982
10	Subterrene VI	oil, mixed media on canvas and wood	244 x 139 cm.	1994
11	Subterrene V	oil, mixed media on canvas	142 x 145 cm.	1994
In the North Gallery:
12	Shadow II	mixed media, acrylic on paper on plywood	84 x 125 cm.	1990
13	Shadow III	acrylic, mixed media on paper on plywood	84 x 125 cm.	1990
14	Labyrinth	acrylic, mixed media on paper on plywood	84 x 125 cm.	1991