Ng’s latest clay sculpture fits perfectly into the atmos­phere of the spacious off-square gal­lery near the bay water in Tiburon. His forms repeat visual data often seen near the bayside just beyond the storefront housing the sculpture. The work itself reaches the viewer on a multiplicity of levels not governed by a preconceived plan, but forced upon the eye through the viewer’s knowledge of certain man­made objects having to do more with heavy structural utility than art. Certain objects such as cast concrete pier sup­ports, abandoned cement bunkers and contemporary nautical architecture are evoked which make it difficult to see Ng’s sculptures as autonomous art ob­jects. The sculpture visually recalls spe­cific man-made objects altered by nat­ural intermediaries like wind and rain rather than recalling a certain sculpture style, such as cubism. The sensation of encountering Ng’s work for the first time can be likened to the “déja vu” experience; i.e. some of the pieces have such strong associational value causing one to feel an instant familiarity with the work and identifying it with certain places, special times.

––James Monte