Exhibition “Inter-Rituals: Between Materiality And Performance” Featured Works By Three Chinese Female Artists Working In The US
The exhibition titled “Inter-Rituals: Between Materiality and Performance” took place in the Caelum Gallery from March 30 to April 1, 2023.
The exhibition brought together works by three Chinese female artists working in the US, Kun Hong, Yin Zhang, and Yinglun Zhang. They each presented a unique cross-cultural perspective on the concept of rituals, thinking about ritualistic practices from the “ephemeral” performativity – whether it was spiritual, cultural, or philosophical – but stemming from the material ground.
The curator, Jin Wang, commented on the curatorial logic of the exhibition, “The works by these three artists had strong connections and created very interesting dialogues in the same spatial context. Kun Hong considered rituals from the semiotic intersection between the cultural-political systems and individual subjectivity. Yin Zhang tested the boundary between ritualistic practices and daily activities while reflecting on the unknown in self-discovery. Yinglun Zhang deconstructed rituals into pure philosophical and elemental components, emphasizing the meditative power in the process of creation.”
“I was very proud of this all Asian, all female exhibition team,” said Lan Guan, the influential Asian community leader in New York City. “Besides the artists and the curator, as well as visual designers, performers, photographers, administrators, etc. – all were talented Asian women! I think the exhibition underlyingly told a story of contemporary Asian femininity, and truly, it was also a manifestation of that power and what it could achieve.”
Kun Hong
Kun Hong is a visual artist, designer, writer, and activist, based in New York City. Intrigued by the fabrication of meaning through form, she utilizes established semiotics of the global, contemporary fashion and art system as her method of expression. Her works juxtapose and weave together references from cross-cultural, historical, and political research, subtly addressing social experiences and concerns of intersectional communities.
Yin Zhang
Yin Zhang is a multi-disciplinary artist who employs fiber material and structures as her primary medium. Yin’s works are usually based on and/or inspired by her traveling and field research of traditional craftsmanship, but from an intimate perspective that emphasizes the process of self-discovering. Through her work, she attempts to reflect, break down, and visualize abstract, non-tangible concepts such as spirituality, ritualistic behaviors, and the ephemeral human-nature experience.
Yinglun Zhang
Yinglun Zhang is a designer, dancer, choreographer, and multidisciplinary artist. Her work explores the interrelationships between different disciplines and systems, breaking them down into essential elements and re-constructing them into an interactive new existence.
She is especially interested in movements and rhythms, through which she reflects on abstract philosophical ideas that would challenge and then reimagine dualism such as mind and body, human and nature, spiritual and material, etc.
Jin Wang
Jin Wang is an art historian, independent curator, writer and educator based in New York City. With diverse experiences working with various art-related institutions, she now dedicates herself to helping both emerging and established artists and collaborates on projects that overlap with her research interests such as decolonization, transculturalism, and Asian Diaspora. She is currently pursuing a PhD in Art History at The Graduate Center, CUNY, focusing on global modern and contemporary art.
