acaf: asian contemporary art fair

Masayuki Yoshinaga, Roadrunner ST-01, 1999, C-print

Please excuse the light reflecting off the surface of the photograph.
I love samurai-ness of his pose with his bike, the incredible lines of the bike itself,
and that the subject matter is presented so starkly frank and devoid of context

Before I got into fashion, I studied Japanese art history in college and worked at the Asia Society and The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. I have a particular fondness for Asian art, and design-wise, I am completely inspired by the minimalist Japanese aesthetic to this day.

So I was excited to attend the Asian Contemporary Art Fair this weekend at Pier 92. It was a great exhibition, with galleries from Japan, China, Korea, India, Indonesia, as well as England, Germany and good old New York. I took a lot of photos of the pieces that struck a chord with me. I wanted share them with you, with gallery links where possible. Note: I will be adding the works gradually tonight and tomorrow. Enjoy!

Ma Jun, Television, 2007, porcelain, from the 'New China Series'
Krampf Gallery, New York

Possibly my favorite piece from the show.
It is incredible how this artist has combined traditional
Chinese ceramics with contemporary electronics.
The extra layer of droll is that this and most televisions
are made in China.


Ma Jun, Television (back), 2007, porcelain, from the 'New China Series'
Krampf Gallery, New York


Ma Jun, Radio, 2007, porcelain, from the 'New China Series'
Krampf Gallery, New York


Long-Bin Chen, Guan Yin Manhattan, 2006, phonebooks
Frederieke Taylor Gallery, New York

You may think this sculpture is marble, but amazingly
this Guan Yin (Kannon) is carved out of a Manhattan Phone Book.


Liang Kegang, Buddha, 2007, tea leaves
Beatrice Chang Contemporary Art, New York


3 of 6 shiny Mao's at the entry to the show
I cannot tell you how many versions of Mao there were,
which was right up my alley. Chairman Mao is so graphically pleasing.
In fact there were many pairings of Mao and Marilyn (Monroe), a la Andy Warhol.