We are pleased to present calligraphy, installations, paintings and sculptures with an Eastern focus. The show foregrounds themes of cultural multiplicity, language, dislocation and the natural world.
Each of the artists in this exhibition takes a process-driven approach to create works layered with meaning. Whether it’s scoring sheets of paper swollen with ink or hand-welding small pieces of stainless steel together to form a chainmail-like sculpture, the materiality of the work is immediately apparent. Encountering such highly tactile pieces in person is particularly impactful in this time of disembodiment—a digital era in which much of our experience and interaction with images takes place in a flat, virtual realm. Seen together the works offer a distinctly corporeal experience that not only engages the senses but also invites sustained contemplation and reflection.
Exhibition Highlights
Anila Quayyum Agha (b. 1965, Pakistan) creates immersive installations using laser-cut lacquered steel cubes lit from within to cast luminous shadows. On view is an intimate sculpture that evokes the sense of loss experienced by refugees as well as elaborately patterned resin paintings inspired by the craft of pietra dura, or mosaics of cut polished stones. Agha currently has two major works on view at Kew Gardens in London and a large installation at the Swiss museum Kunsthaus Zürich alongside multiple shows slated at museums around the U.S. this year and next.
Painter Jane Lee (b. 1963, Singapore) shows lush, abstract paintings, which are dimensional enough to be considered wall reliefs or even sculptures. Her process involves gouging holes, creating fissures and slathering layers of paint to create sensuous surfaces. In a solo exhibition opening in May 2023 at the Singapore Art Museum, Lee continues her ongoing examination of the meaning of paint on canvas.
The pigment-drenched paintings of the late poet, painter and Tantric yogi Sohan Qadri (1932–2011) emerged from a deeply meditative practice which began with him soaking heavy, bespoke paper in liquid then carving it in several stages applying inks and dyes. The Indian-born artist, whose work was recently acquired by the Brooklyn Museum, is the focus of an exhibition on view through June at our recently opened London gallery.
Beijing-based sculptor Zheng Lu (b. 1978, Inner Mongolia) unveils new stainless-steel sculptures, which appear to defy gravity. His fluid forms are made with thousands of Chinese characters culled from historic texts, which are hand-welded together into dynamic compositions suggestive of splashes of water in mid-air. Zheng’s work is installed in public spaces across China. He currently has work on view at the Asia Society Texas in Houston.
New York-based artist Hiroshi Senju (b. 1958, Tokyo) showcases a fluorescent painted screen alongside a waterfall and cliff painting. Senju has devoted his career to exploring the sublime power of nature using a unique visual language rooted in Abstract Expressionism, graffiti and drip painting. Work by the artist will inaugurate our London gallery’s grand opening May 9, 2023. A fluorescent 50-foot-wide installation, recently on display at The Art Institute of Chicago, has now been made part of the museum’s permanent collection. Another articulated waterfall screen is in the collection of The Metropolitan Museum, New York.
The exhibition also includes work by Miya Ando (b. 1973, California), Golnaz Fathi (b. 1972, Tehran), Robert Yasuda (b. 1940, Hawaii) and Chun Kwang Young (b. 1944, Korea).
