My Highlights from The Armory Show 2014

Melissa Chiu
Feb 27, 2014 2:49PM

My selection of works, mostly by artists living and working in Asia, allows you to see how some of today’s leading artists grapple with the tensions of living and working in some of the most fast-paced, high-energy cities in the world, against the backdrop of centuries-old cultures and traditions.

My Selection:

Zhao Zhao, Fragment, 2014, at Chambers Fine Art

Zhao Zhao came to fame as Ai Weiwei’s assistant. This series of works are modeled from a single gunshot fired into a sheet of glass. This work is rendered in steel. Although the works have formal qualities, there may also be political intent here too—thinking about the metaphorical implications of a single shot that has the potential to destroy and disrupt equilibrium.

Bharti Kher, Square a circle 1, 2013, at Kukje Gallery / Tina Kim Gallery

Bharti’s paintings have now reached “iconic” status. Made from hundreds of bindis applied to create a “painting” these works are at once decorative and “on the edge,” as with all her works, of gender politics. Asia Society is planning a major show of her work next year in New York.

Haegue Yang, Gazing Technique, 2011, at Kukje Gallery / Tina Kim Gallery 

Haegue Yang has emerged as one of the important new voices coming from Korea. She speaks an international language of sculptural/installations from mostly found materials. Her use of color and construction are highly attuned. She has already represented South Korea at the Venice Biennale.

Lin Tianmiao, Focus IX B, 2006, at JGM. Galerie

 This work is by one of the leading artists of China, from the 1990s generation, who happens to be one of only a handful of women who have done well internationally. This work is a series completed at the Singapore Tyler Print Institute. Asia Society did a major solo show with her work that I curated in 2012. 

Fernanda Gomes, Untitled, 2013, at Alison Jacques Gallery

Fernanda is part of the 1990s generation of Brazilian artists. She uses found materials for quiet but remarkably arresting works. I am always left wanting to see more of her stuff.

Glenn Kaino at Kavi Gupta CHICAGO I BERLIN

I haven’t seen this work in person, but Glenn is always incisive and “on point” with his works.

Shirin Neshat, Tooba series, 2001, at Galeria Filomena Soares Shirin Neshat’s photos and video works at first glance seem all about Iran. As an Iranian living in the U.S. this might be true to some extent, but her works are really about universal issues of power and gender. 

Chen Zhen, L’autel - Rouge, Blanc, Noir, 1993, at Galleria Continua

Chen Zhen is still one of the most under-recognized of his generation of artists from China. He had a keen intellect and created some timeless sculptural/installations, often about the ideas of cultural misunderstandings based on his own experiences living in Paris. 

Wang Keping, Couple, 2006, at 10 Chancery Lane Gallery

Wang Keping is one of the foremost sculptors in China. He exhibited his work in one of the first avant-garde exhibitions in China in 1979, associated with the group The Stars (xingxing).

Explore The Armory Show 2014 on Artsy.

Melissa Chiu