Over the past four decades, Alisan Fine Arts’ mission has been to introduce global audiences to Chinese diaspora artists. For the Armory Show, we are pleased to present the work of nine artists: Chinyee, Bouie Choi, Fong Chung Ray, Fu Xiaotong, Yifan Jiang, Pixy Liao, Ren Light Pan, Walasse Ting, and Kelly Wang. Representing two generations and based in international cities including Tokyo, San Francisco, Berlin, and New York City, their diverse practices offer a dynamic lens into the evolving artistic narratives of the Asian diaspora.
Anchoring the booth are works by Chinyee and Walasse Ting, first-generation Chinese-American artists who came to the US in the 1950s and have been associated with the New York School of Abstract Expressionism. Chinyee’s gestural and loose brush strokes reflect both Asian brush techniques and years of careful study of modernist abstract art. Walasse Ting moved toward figuration as his career progressed, but here we showcase one of his early black-and-white abstract works on canvas, created only a year after he moved to New York from Paris.
Pixy Liao, Yifan Jiang, and Ren Light Pan take an autobiographical approach to their work; Liao channels her female gaze in portraits of her and her husband Moro, while Ren’s works employ objects and images from her everyday life: gloves laying around her studio, ‘selfies’ from store windows, and images from online shopping. Yifan’s oil paintings similarly hone in on the banal—examining the gray intersections between the scientific, the psychological, and the magical.
Fu Xiaotong, Kelly Wang, and Bouie Choi are masters of their materials. Fu’s focus is on traditional Chinese Xuan paper – her work showcases the strength and versatility of this ancient material. Using only a needle, she pierces large rolls of handmade paper from various directions, creating undulating, semi-abstract landscapes. Kelly Wang also uses traditional Xuan paper – but she incorporates layers of ink, resin, and mineral pigments to create ethereal, abstract compositions. Bouie Choi treats reclaimed wood and uses it to create her panels, pouring acrylic to create a visual foundation and then painting surreal scenes or characters pulled from her dreams, from international news media, and from her surroundings.
