Phantoms of Asia: Contemporary Awakens the Past
May 18–September 2, 2012
Hyon Gyon, Hello! Another Me, 2011-2012. Acrylic, Japanese paper on panel. © Hyon Gyon, Courtesy of g³/ gallery. Photo by Rui Mizuki.
Life. Death. The cosmos. What's it all about? Sixty bold contemporary artworks from all over Asia–some made just for this exhibition–juxtaposed with thematic groupings of our own exceptional works of art, activate the entire Asian Art Museum to reveal spiritual and supernatural roots, cosmologies, views on nature, and rituals in Asia. Expand your imagination beyond space and time to include the spiritual, the invisible, the afterlife. Pause and reflect on your own existence in the universe, all while taking in some amazing new art. The result will provide an opportunity to consider the concept of “pan-Asia” beyond a political and economic entity: as interconnected “phantoms” of invisible spiritual energy.
Phantoms of Asia will feature artworks—paintings, sculptures, photographs, installations, videos, and site-specific commissions—by Hiroshi Sugimoto (Japan), Apichatpong Weerasethakul (Thailand), Adeela Suleman (Pakistan), and Choi Jeong Hwa (Korea), among others. The exhibition will also include more than ninety artworks from the Asian Art Museum’s renowned collection.
The exhibition is guest curated by Mami Kataoka, chief curator of the Mori Art Museum in Tokyo, in collaboration with Allison Harding, the Asian Art Museum’s assistant curator of contemporary art, and other museum curatorial staff. It will be on view May 18 through September 2, 2012.
This exhibition was organized by the Asian Art Museum. Presentation at the Asian Art Museum is made possible by support from The Bernard Osher Foundation, the W.L.S. Spencer Foundation, Koret Foundation, Columbia Foundation, The Henri and Tomoye Takahashi Charitable Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, Credit Suisse, United, Christie’s, and an anonymous foundation, with additional support from The Dedalus Foundation, Inc.
