Astrid Ho, Construct #3 (work in progress), 2016, monotype on paper, 1/1, 9.75” x 7.5”
Project Space
Points of Abstraction
Astrid Ho
February 16, 2017 – March 18, 2017
This exhibition of new work by Astrid Ho explores images of various architectural interiors and exteriors in abstract compositions. The subjects of her work are based on personal photos taken from her phone in the summer of 2016 as a passive visitor of the locations. She sees formalist and abstract compositions in the everyday. In the Hearn Generating Station (Toronto) one looks up and blocks of colours and lines can be seen on the dilapidated ceiling. In a recent trip to England, photos of the glass roof of the Liverpool Lime Street railway station are captured in fleeting moments as the train departs. Astrid takes the viewer along for the trip through her eyes.
Through the medium of monotype printmaking, a technique Astrid has been working with for over 15 years, she creates a unique print of her subject. Multiple unique works are then printed from the ghost image—the ink residue left on the printed plate after the impression is printed onto paper with the etching press. Upon each printing the initial architectural image is broken up and dissected, expanding the abstract notions and changing how one sees such structures.
Astrid Ho is a Toronto-based, Hong Kong-born artist with a BFA from OCAD University. She co-founded Propeller Centre for the Visual Arts (1996), sits on the board of CPAMO, and is a staff and artist member of Open Studio. She received an OAC Access and Career Development Grant (2009). Astrid was selected by OAAG for the Leadership and Cultural Pluralism Project (2014-15); mentored by Pat Macaulay, Harbourfront Centre; co-curated Past Stories, Present Sense, Harbourfront Centre with Suzanne Morrissette. Exhibitions include Sir Wilfred Grenfell College Art Gallery (NFLD), Birch Contemporary (ON), Open Studio (ON), and Harbourfront Centre (ON). Her work in various national and international collections: the BMO, The Canada Council Art Bank, Global Affairs Canada, National Bank of Canada, St. Michael’s College (University of Toronto), and The Law Society of Upper Canada.