Misoo Bang and Sarah Tortora bring a powerful combination to the Luigi Gallery in their joint exhibition, Monumental. 

Misoo Bang was born in the US and raised in South Korea, returning to the States when she was 18 with ambitions to pursue painting. Her work is a transformative, cultural response to female oppression. By giving the women in her paintings the foreground, Bang displays their significance, strength and perseverance. In doing this, she honors her subjects, all of whom are modeled from real women.

The healing, inspiring nature and monumental scale of Misoo’s work corresponds with themes in the work of sculptor Sarah Tortora. By taking inspiration from urban architecture, ancient Greek vase painting and museum displays, she creates work that questions the idea of what sculpture “is” and where it’s headed. Tortora’s work typically blends geometric forms with hints of the human figure. These hand-crafted sculptures use many different media such as cement, stone and wood. 

Tortora’s work has been exhibited at such institutions such as: NAPOLEON (Philadelphia, PA), GRIN (Providence, R.I.) and CAS Arts Center in (Livingston Manor, NY.). She has also been awarded fellowships and residencies at MASS MoCA (MA), Wellesley College (MA), Ox-Bow Summer Arts Faculty Residency (MI), and Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture (ME).

Images:
Misoo Bang, The Giant Asian Girl 10
Sarah Tortora, Yolanda