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Jan Corey Helford is the owner and curator of Corey Helford Gallery.
Sylvia Ji, Rose Catrina. Courtesy of Corey Helford Gallery.Sylvia Ji was in the first group show at my gallery in Culver City. She slipped into the opening reception late with an entourage of her artist friends, wearing a short black dress, long dark hair flowing against her pale skin. She had the air of a rebel as she casually took swigs from a bottle of Jack Daniels. I thought I had her figured out, but I was wrong. Just like the hauntingly beautiful women she paints, she is a bit of a mystery. What I do know is that she is one of the most talented and popular artists in the new fine art movement that is exploding out of Los Angeles.
She consistently sells out her shows and is poised to evolve from an emerging artist to a major influence. Her paintings mesmerize the viewer. At first glance one is taken with the drop dead sexy allure of the women she paints, but upon closer inspection you realize that many of her subjects are on the verge of death at the hands of deadly spiders, venomous snakes or poisonous flowers. In contrast to the subtle hints of inevitable decay, Sylvia’s color palette is candy sweet.
