The name of Monika Lin's ethereal new set of paintings is "Small Offerings," but the title is missing something. Exactly what is hard to explain: Cogitate on the difference between "small" and "A thing so small it is almost not there." The title, you see, has been translated and transliterated from the Mandarin for "trace," and in the process, may have lost something -- and in Lin's hands, gained something, as well. The paintings have almost no color, only greys and whites and the effects of epoxy resin, a yellowing. They are to tracing what "small" is to its more lyrical partner above, with their floating flowers, ghostly go-carts, and girls who swim through blobs and blocks with equal calm.
June 2-30, 2009
