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Closing this week: Asian American Art at the De Young
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Like a major retrospective of Asian American Art at a high profile museum, this post is a long overdue review of Asian/American/Modern Art: Shifting Currents at the de Young. Last Sunday, I resolved to brave the weekend/nice weather crowd to view the exhibition of Asian American Art. Featuring artists that have made significant and unique (and under represented) visual/conceptual contributions to American art, that have defined my cultural legacy as a fourth generation JA, I knew I would kick myself if I did not see the show before it closes on Jaunary 18th (SEE IT NOW).
The most striking pieces were the works that were painted in and or depicted life in the internment camps of WWII. Prior to this show, I had not seen the subject addressed in a major show--the sole exception being an exhibition of Hisako Hibi's paintings of Topaz at the de Saisset Museum at Santa Clara University in 2004. I was intrigued by the subtle abstraction of some of the internment paintings--imbuing the forms with a sense of rock-like, elemental permanence. Separated by over sixty years, a generation, and geography, these paintings, many of which depict quotidian activities, provide me a glimpse into the hearts and minds of the painters. I wondered how their environment, their thoughts, the war, and their family life coalesced into the image before me.
Other highlights include Yayoi Kusama, Ruth Asawa, Tseng Yuho, Yoko Ono, Nam June Paik, Alfonso Ossorio, and Chiura Obata.....Chiura Obata! His fiery, expressive rendering of the setting sun in Sacramento valley has become the flagship image of this exhibition and her painterly hanging scrolls are beautiful, simple, and hypnotizing.
GO SEE THIS SHOW BEFORE IT CLOSES THIS SUNDAY (1/18)! I recommend going early and during the week to avoid crowds.
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