Curtis Talwst Santiago: Can’t I Alter, February 20 – May 10, 2020
“Curtis Talwst Santiago: Can’t I Alter is the first exhibition devoted to the Canadian-Trinidadian artist’s drawing practice, which has expanded significantly in recent years. Throughout his work, Santiago grapples with ‘genetic imagination,’ or the ability to access generational knowledge through imaginative recollection and projection. For the artist, this method serves as a means of wading through histories lost, hidden, and often tangled. In Can’t I Alter, Santiago creates a multi-faceted narrative in an immersive, drawing-filled installation that explores the theme of ancestry and the necessity of preserving the past while acknowledging the fallacies implicit in historical recollection. As viewers explore the space, they join Santiago and his alter ego, the J’ouvert Knight, in an attempt to locate a diasporic ancestor whose existence cannot ever be fully grasped. A newly commissioned film will accompany the installation, as well as performances organized by Santiago.” — The Drawing Center
Curtis Talwst Santiago. Whatever lay ahead he had already accepted, 2018. Spray paint, oil, charcoal, pastel, and acrylic on canvas, 35 1/2 x 35 1/2 inches (90.2 x 90.2 cm). Image courtesy of the artist and Rachel Uffner Gallery
Curtis Talwst Santiago. Artist as knight (self portrait), 2018. Mixed media diorama in reclaimed jewelry box, 2 1/4 x 2 x 2 1/2 inches (5.7 x 5.1 x 6.4 cm). Courtesy of the artist and Rachel Uffner Gallery
Curtis Talwst Santiago. Redface Ancestor Rock II, 2017. Spray paint and hard pastel on found rock, 68 x 28 x 24 inches (172.7 x 71.1 x 61 cm). Courtesy of the artist and Rachel Uffner Gallery
Curtis Talwst Santiago. The Four of Them Made a Promise, 2018. Spray paint, oil, charcoal, pastel, and acrylic on canvas, 85 x 76 1/2 inches (215.9 x 194.3 cm). Courtesy of the artist and Rachel Uffner Gallery
Curtis Talwst Santiago. A morte do cavaleiro prateado, 2018. Spray paint, oil, charcoal, pastel, and acrylic on canvas, 35 1/2 x 35 1/2 inches (90.2 x 90.2 cm). Private collection. Image courtesy of the artist and Rachel Uffner Gallery
Curtis Talwst Santiago. African Knight I, 2018. Wire and beads on steel armature, 82 x 24 x 24 inches (208.3 x 61 x 61 cm). Courtesy of the artist and Rachel Uffner Gallery
Curtis Talwst Santiago. Red Face Ancestral Vision 1, 2018. Spray paint, oil, charcoal, pastel, acrylic on canvas, 39 3/4 x 39 1/2 inches (101 x 100.3 cm). Courtesy of Racquel Chevremont. Image courtesy of the artist and Rachel Uffner Gallery
Curtis Talwst Santiago: Can’t I Alter is organized by Claire Gilman, Chief Curator, with Isabella Kapur, Curatorial Assistant.
Guo Fengyi: To See from a Distance, February 20 – May 10, 2020
“Guo Fengyi: To See from a Distance is the first major institutional exhibition of the Chinese artist’s work in the United States. Born in 1942 in Xi’an, the site of China’s historical capital, Guo began making art in her late forties after debilitating arthritis forced her into early retirement from a job at a chemical fertilizer factory. To alleviate her chronic pain, Guo devoted herself to qigong—an ancient Chinese wellness and healing technique that combines coordinated movements, breathing, and meditation—and subsequently developed a highly personal drawing practice. Producing an astonishing body of work in the last two decades of her life, Guo created more than 500 intricate ink drawings on subjects ranging from cosmology and Chinese mythology to traditional Chinese medicine and philosophy. Guo Fengyi: To See from a Distance features more than thirty works from Guo’s brief yet prolific career, including drawings executed on the backs of book and calendar pages and on cloth, as well as small- and large-scale drawings on rice-paper scrolls.” — The Drawing Center
Guo Fengyi. Mystery of the Bermuda Triangle, 1989. Ink on glazed printing paper,27 1/2 x 19 8/9 inches. Courtesy of Long March Space
Guo Fengyi. The Buddha in the Underground Palace of the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda, 1989. Ink on calendar paper, 29 x 20 inches. Courtesy of Long March Space
Guo Fengyi. Fetus, 1989. Colored ink on calendar paper, 31 2/5 x 21 inches. Courtesy of Long March Space
Guo Fengyi. Asking the Master How Many People Have Natural Superpower, 1990. Colored ink on calendar paper, 73 4/5 x 34 3/4 inches. Courtesy of Long March Space
Guo Fengyi. Male Female, 1989. Colored ink on glazed printing paper, 30 3/5 x 21 1/3 inches. Courtesy of Long March Space
Guo Fengyi. Organization Method of Human Numeric, 2006. Colored ink on blueprint paper, 55 x 34 ½ inches. Courtesy of Long March Space
Guo Fengyi. Diagram of the Human Nerves Ten Thousand Twenty Thousand One Hundred Thousand, 1989. Colored ink on blueprint paper, 36 3/5 x 25 3/5 inches. Courtesy of Long March Space
Guo Fengyi. Four Diagrams of the Divination Procedures in Zhu Xi’s The Basics of I Ching, 1990. Colored ink on rice paper, 48 x 35 inches. Courtesy of Long March Space
Guo Fengyi. Organization Diagram of Human Numeric, 2006. Colored ink on blueprint paper, 55 x 34 ½ inches. Courtesy of Long March Space
Guo Fengyi: To See from a Distance is organized by Rosario Güiraldes, Assistant Curator, and Laura Hoptman, Executive Director.
Images courtesy The Drawing Center.
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