Dan's Papers - April 11, 2008 - Sharing a Canvas of Life

Two young Sag Harbor artists not only share their lives, they also share the same canvas. In an art world full of egos, these two have managed to combine their talents with their different cultural backgrounds, to create striking, overlapping forms of texture, light and color.

How two such varied artists as Yong Jo Ji, 38, of Korea, and his wife, Anna Atanasova, 26, of Bulgaria, met and fell in love, is just as much an amazing story as their sharing canvases. And for the first time, they have brought their work to the East End with their opening March 29 at Walk Tall Gallery in East Hampton.

Appropriately called "Interactions," this exhibit of over 30 soft, floaty, many-textured abstract oil paintings have an Asian quality about them. The paintings range in size and shape, and are arranged both individually and in sets, but the artists make it clear that they can be rearranged for the viewer's preference.

Wendy Wachtel, owner of the gallery, said what amazed her when she met these artists, was that, "These two talented individuals, life-partners in fact, completely allow each other entry into their respective visual worlds. They interact visually with each other on the canvas (often creating multiple canvases at a time) and deliver their conversation to us. They then further release control of their shared visual world by inviting the viewer to literally manipulate, separate, join and group any and all their canvases at will."

At the opening, Ji and Atanasova explained that they collaborate in the making of the work without premeditation or attempting to control each other.

"We synthesize intuitive ideas," said Ji. "Our conversation, our visual dialogue, is our collective energy seeking a universal language."

Ji has been exhibiting his encaustic oil paintings all over the world for the past 15 years. Atanasova, born and raised in Bulgaria, came to this country on a student visa. They both went to Chicago, where Ji had studied at the School of the Art Institute while Atanasova waitressed in a restaurant. By this time, Ji, in his mid-30s was stressed out from traveling all over the world to show his work, and he had developed a heart condition from his overly ambitious and driven lifestyle.

"I was on heart medication and my doctor was considering giving me a pacemaker," said Ji. "But then something happened which changed my life."

One night at a Chicago nightclub, he saw a beautiful young girl dancing, and he got up the nerve to talk to her. Ji invited Atanasova to an art museum and planetarium on their first date. He noticed her passion for art, and on their second date, he invited her to see his paintings, and he gave her a blank canvas, some paint and a brush.

"Although she wasn't an artist when we met, I had a sense she had talent, and I intuitively knew we were meant to do something together, so we just started painting on the same canvas," said Ji. "I showed her the technique, but she had the natural talent inside."

Atanasova said once they started collaborating, they also noticed they shared the same views about art, and the same philosophies.

"We're both Scorpios and we're both roosters in Chinese astrology," she said. "So maybe that helps."

As they continued painting, they fell in love and got married, all during the last three years, and something else happened - Ji's heart healed.

"I no longer have a heart problem, and my inspiration was re-awakened," he said. "I never needed the pacemaker."

In addition to their incredible love story, Ji consciously reduced his stress level by moving out of Chicago to the Hamptons, two years ago.

"I decided it was time to leave the city, and I had a friend in East Quogue who invited us to stay there for a summer, in the country," he said. "We stayed for the summer, and then moved to Sag Harbor."

Wachtel said when she first met Ji and Atanasova, she not only loved their story, but knew their work and philosophy would fit into her cross-cultural gallery, which is intended to create a dialogue among international artists. "This is what excites me - I call it 'whole world' art," Wachtel said.

On April 12, Walk Tall Gallery will be holding a special benefit exhibit with additional politically charged works, to raise money for the struggle in Tibet. From April 12 through the closing of this exhibit on April 18, they will donate a portion of their sales to this Tibet cause, as seen on savetibet.org. Walk Tall Gallery is located at 62 Park Place in East Hampton, call 631-324-9776.