BALTIMORE, MD - C. Grimaldis Gallery is pleased to present Echoes, an exhibition of recent work by Ara Ko and Elena Kovylyaeva. As geometry falls into clouds of abstract drawings, so does the surface of a painting crumble amidst woven tapestries. This exhibition debuts two artists who take up space to tell tales of material sensibility and systematic mark making.  

Ara Ko’s complex drawings and paintings offer spatial compositions of ordered chaos. Her expressive gestures are carefully balanced with hard-edged shapes and maniacal patterns. With subtle nods to Chinese ink paintings, these renderings accumulate depth in a way that asks a lot of the viewer. Ko’s investigations search for fundamental visual principles to help the artist reconcile the artificial and the natural world. With a similar emphasis on experimentation and ardor, Elena Kovylyaeva creates densely collaged surfaces that hang off the wall like skin on the body. Just as Ovid’s Echo is doomed to repeat words once spoken, over and over, Kovylyaeva regenerates material and texture endlessly in her paintings. Pale pinks and soft fabrics evoke feelings of femininity and domesticity. This coy invitation is subverted by tactile vulnerability and visceral movement. Echoes pulls focus to bold work seeking abundance.  

 Ara Ko (b. 1988, Hongseong, Korea) received a BFA from Ewha Womans University (Seoul, Korea) and is a current MFA candidate in MICA’s Hoffberger School of Painting (Baltimore, MD). She has exhibited at the CICA Museum (Seoul, Korea), Gallery We (Seoul, Korea), Washington Square Park (New York, NY), Miboo Art Center (Busan, Korea), and Sung Nam Art Center (Seongnam-si, Korea). Ko has received numerous awards during her graduate studies including the Leslie King Hammond Graduate Fellowship (MICA) and a CCC Community Art Grant (MICA). 

 Elena Kovylyaeva (b. 1991, Belovo, Russia) attended the Academy of Visual Arts (Leipzig, Germany) and the Free University of Berlin (Berlin, Germany) before coming to Baltimore City to pursue an MFA from MICA’s Hoffberger School of Painting as a Fulbright scholar. She has participated in a number of successful exhibitions in Leipzig, including at the Leipziger Baumwollspinnerei, Halle C01 Tapetenwerk, and Galerie Irrgang. Last summer, Kovylyaeva completed the Fulbright Silvermine Artist Residency Program (New Canaan, CT).  Echoes will be on view at C. Grimaldis Gallery from March 9 through April 15, 2023. A reception will take place on Thursday, March 9th from 6:00 to 8:00 PM. We are pledged to follow certain requirements for COVID-19 safety compliance and therefore masks are encouraged at this event. Hours for C. Grimaldis Gallery, which is free and open to the public, are Wednesday through Saturday, 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Press Inquiries: [email protected]