Why do we perceive as we perceive? Michael Joo’s non-linear, almost cyclical approach to his practice, together with his combination of scientific language and research, results in work that is a documentation of process. Whether chemically treated, silver-coated or photo-based, Joo’s artwork combines a range of techniques associated with sculpture, painting, photography and printmaking. He continues to blur the boundaries between art and science through his investigation into ontology, epistemology and entropy; creating a cross-disciplinary and multi-dimensional dialogue to engage, question, meditate and explore. By juxtaposing humanity’s various pools of knowledge and culture, Joo addresses the fluid nature of identity itself. It seems as if the artist’s intention is to achieve the unachievable: to make us see an object in real life that is barely conceivable as thought alone. This work is part of his silver nitrate painting series, which strives to make visible the invisible, allowing viewers to literally see themselves in the work.

Artist Biography
Michael Joo is a contemporary American-Korean multi-media artist known for taking a scientific approach to creating art. Joo received his MFA from the Yale School of Art, Yale University, New Haven, in 1991, after graduating with a BFA from Washington University, St Louis, 1989. Joo's work has been exhibited at the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery at the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C., and in Korea’s Demilitarized Zone, among many other influential institutions. His works are in the permanent collections of the Moderna Museet in Stockholm, The Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, and the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles, and many other institutions.