Los Angeles Institute of Contemporary Art “Catch the Moon”
Curators: Anna Sue Hoy and Anne Ellegood
February 10 to July 28, 2024
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Three years ago, artist Anna Sew Hoy approached ICA LA Director Anne Ellegood about organizing an exhibition of Asian American artists. The idea came about in response to a rise in violence against Asian Americans, a seemingly never-ending pandemic and a general climate of uncertainty. But all of this hangs against the backdrop of the final exhibition, which focuses on mapping the networks of Asian American artists with ties to Los Angeles.
Prior to the exhibition “Catch the Moon,” no other museum in Los Angeles claimed to have hosted such a clearly focused exhibition. This alone is enough to make this exhibition meaningful enough. But Sew Hoy and Ellegood’s production is more than just a first, as the show questions what it means to gain visibility. Many of the artists in this exhibition, such as the late Yong Soon Min, who died during the exhibition, have been cultivating generations of Asian American artists, even if mainstream institutions have not noticed.
Sew Hoy and Ellegood drew inspiration from the performances of Julietta Singh, who theorized that the body functions like an infinite archive, transcending linear versions of history. As such, this is not a simple survey, although it does include artists who have dealt with the past, such as Amanda Ross-Ho and Na Mira, whose work draws inspiration from their art Drawing inspiration from her predecessors – the former from her parents, the latter from Theresa Hak’s Qing Che.
A sense of loss hangs over the exhibition, although this is not an exhibition about death either. Dean Sameshima shows photographs taken in massage parlors, gay bars and clubs, although his photographs bear witness only to the material traces of visitors rather than the patrons themselves. Meanwhile, Patti Chang played a video in which scientists investigated the cause of the dolphin’s death. But rather than feeling gloomy, the show was a celebration of life and togetherness. As Sew Hoy and Ellegood write in the catalog, “We have survived and thrived so far, and we have the capacity and ability to continue to bear witness together through our words, thoughts, and actions.”
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