Another fantastic night at the gallery. Opening reception for Ling-An’s show, Everything Is Stitching Together Simultaneously, had a wonderful turnout. The ArtScene preview brought many people from outside of Los Angeles. A few even traveled from San Francisco to see the show! Congrats Ling-An! Oh, and the Chinese dinner afterwards was delicious! 
Michael Buitron wrote a really great preview for Everything Is Stitching Together Simultaneously.
As visually impactful as Ling-An’s work is, it doesn’t come across as didactic. Having been raised by parents in Taiwan who themselves were exiles from China, she herself is the product of well-intentioned elders who attempted to re-infuse her with bits of the culture from which they were excluded. Also on view are smaller sculptures patterned after a baby’s camisole. Crafted of high-luster industrial materials, they evoke thoughts ranging from California finish-fetish artists to Jeff Koons. Back in the days before amniocentesis and ultra-sound told you in advance, these ambulators were crafted with a girl-centric fabric on one side, and a boy’s color or print on the other. This duality becomes a metaphor for Ling-An’s skills and experience: Steeped in the traditions of China while versed in the conversations of contemporary Western art.
Manu S. Shetty’s essay on Fang Ling-An is also a great read!
Update: We also have an interview with Fang Ling-An on CB1 Gallery’s Blog.
Update: ArtScene link updated to the California version with more photos.
Lorenzo’s show officially closed on Sunday, 5/23. We had really wonderful responses for his body of work “by Deborah Calderwood”. This week we are installing a new show with Fang Ling-An, who just happens to be my old schoolmate from Taiwan. In the photo above you can see her using traditional Chinese embroidering technique on untraditional media. Exhibition details and more photos:
May 29 – June 27, 2010
CB1 Gallery proudly presents its first solo exhibition of the work of artist Fang Ling-An, Everything is Stitching Together Simultaneously. Deeply aware of her family’s historic and turbulent journey from Mainland China to Taiwan, Fang Ling-An has consciously reflected upon issues of ‘displacement’ and sense of ‘belonging’ that is common to most Chinese immigrants. As a result, her pieces center on issues of migration, displacement, tradition and identity. The show opens on May 29, 2010 and closes on June 27, 2010. A reception for the artist will be held at the gallery on Saturday, May 29, 2010, 5 – 8 p.m.
Convinced that artists have missions, Chicago-based artist Fang Ling-An’s quest is to develop and resurrect Chinese philosophical and aesthetic views that are set in a contemporary framework. “Determining what the true merits of Chinese traditions and philosophies are is something Chinese artists must decide for themselves and transmit to the rest of the world. I want to make art a tool to revive culture, and hope it will enable Chinese to become conscious about their heritage again.”
The work in the upcoming show reflects on the artist’s continuing exploration of how traditional Chinese culture has overlapped into contemporary American culture and of how the East meets and blends into the West. Using materials ranging from industrial tarp, silk and gold thread to silkscreen, Fang Ling-An experiments with their application onto the traditional Chinese handicraft and technique of embroidery. In Everything is Stitching Together Simultaneously, the embroidered pieces are perfectly stitched highlighting every minuscule detail and figure. While only a few pieces by the artist show this ‘perfect’ handwork, most of her other pieces will be showing a more abstract side, which, intriguingly, stand in stark contrast to the perfect images.
Fang Ling-An is a Chinese-American artist born in Taipei (Taiwan) and now living in Chicago. She graduated Magna Cum Laude from Temple University, Tyler School of Art (BFA, 2003) and also the University of Illinois in Chicago (MFA, 2005). Her work has been exhibited in numerous national and international institutions, including Hyde Park Art Center (Chicago, IL), Artspace (New Haven, CT), DIVA International Video Art Fair (Miami, FL), City of Nanjing Art Center for Painting and Sculptures (China), CAMAC Centre D’art (France) and the Media Art Festival at the Armenian Center for Contemporary Art (Armenia).
Exhibition essay by Manu S. Shetty (PDF)
