Tag: chinese

Shari Mendelson at Tibor de Nagy Gallery

The centuries and cultural divides melt away like hot glue in Brooklyn sculptor Shari Mendelson’s replicas of ancient artifacts from China, Egypt, Mesopotamia and elsewhere at Tibor de Nagy Gallery.  Using plastic bottles gathered near her studio, Mendelson cuts and glues together forms, using acrylic resin to make patinas that transform trash into ancient artworks.  Here, she creates a Tang Dynasty court lady from recognizable consumer plastics, subtly nodding to the material’s long life.  (On view on the Lower East Side through Dec 5th).

Shari Mendelson, Praying Lotus Woman, repurposed plastic and mixed media, 17 x 10 x 11 inches, 2020.

Chen Fei at Galerie Perrotin

Beijing-based artist Chen Fei channels Dutch still life in his painting of tempting foodstuffs but substitutes dumplings for bread and banana leaf wraps for grapes.  He cites Renaissance historian Vasari to question whether still life can be as engaging as portraiture, forcing the issue by presenting figurative painting in the downstairs gallery and still life upstairs.  While the large-scale nude characters downstairs steal the show with their unconventional personalities, the still lifes still wow with their sheer abundance.  (On view at Perrotin on the Lower East Side through Dec 21st).

Chen Fei, detail from Painting of Harmony, acrylic, gold and silver foil on linen mounted on board, 39 3/8 x 78 ¾ inches.

Li Songsong at Pace Gallery

Shortly after his grandfather died, Beijing-based artist Li Songsong began painting this portrait of him absorbed in a personal moment.  Using a thick oil painting technique that obscures detail, the artist explains that he nevertheless captured the essence of the man.  The takeaway for the artist was to observe how painting can embody truths that the artist himself may not even want to acknowledge.  (On view at Pace Gallery in Chelsea through Dec 21st).

Li Songsong, Civil Rather Than Military, oil on canvas, 82 11/16” x 8’ 6 3/8”, 2018.

Hong Hao in ‘Turn of the Century: Photography in China’ at Chambers Fine Art

For over a decade, item by item, Beijing-based artist Hong Hao scanned his belongings for ‘My Things,’ a series of digitally constructed collages detailing his possessions, from the orderly spines of hundreds of books to more chaotic-seeming arrangements like this one that combine elements from different aspects of life.  The abundant objects in each image of the series speak to consumption, but Hong Hao explains that the act of scanning is meaningful as well as it ‘embodies a calm observation without any pre-judgement, a plain testimony, a relevant context for aesthetic exploration.’ (On view in ‘Turn of the Century:  Photography in China’ at Chambers Fine Art in Chelsea through August 31st.)

Hong Hao, My Things No. 3, scanned color photograph, edition 9/15, 2001-2002.

Thomas Holton in ‘Interior Lives’ at the Museum of the City of New York

Despite the pressures of a busy life, whether she was at home, at work or at her mother’s house, Shirley Lam always put a meal on the table for her family.  Thomas Holton’s documentary photos of the Lam family’s life in their 350 sq ft apartment on Ludlow Street is one of three remarkable photo series now on view at the Museum of the City of New York that elaborate on capability and sacrifice in New York’s Chinese communities.  (on view through March 24th).

Thomas Holton, Dinner for Seven, 2011, installation view of ‘Interior Lives’ at the Museum of the City of New York, January 2019.