#figurative work

Shyama Golden, “The Passage” (2022)

‘Wonder Women’ Celebrates the Dazzling Figurative Work of Asian Diasporic Artists

In February 2020, curator and gallery director Kathy Huang met artist Dominique Fung—a month before the COVID-19 pandemic shut everything down. Their conversations, which continued throughout quarantine, served as an impetus for what would become Huang’s Wonder Women exhibitions at Jeffrey Deitch.

Chelsea Ryoko Wong, “It’s Mah Jong Time!” (2022)

Dominique Fung, “Bone Holding Fan” (2021). 

‘Wonder Women’ Celebrates the Dazzling Figurative Work of Asian Diasporic Artists

In February 2020, curator and gallery director Kathy Huang met artist Dominique Fung—a month before the COVID-19 pandemic shut everything down. Their conversations, which continued throughout quarantine, served as an impetus for what would become Huang’s Wonder Women exhibitions at Jeffrey Deitch.

Mai Ta, “mirror image” (2022)

This is Snakes Don't Dance from 2002, and it's one of the more ambitious things I did soon after graduating university.

So, yes, my grasp of anatomy still needed work. The pattern on the naga was fun, but he needed scales. Color balance, movement, cast shadows, lots of things still needed work. But it was a good learning experience, and I also had a lot of fun with the geometric background. That, arguably, is the most successful element in the piece.

first posted in facebook march 6, 2023

barbara ishikura -- "kaira on yellow sofa" (2022)

"believing that figurative work has the ability to express identity by depicting the humor and pathos of the human condition, i use portraiture to explore the ongoing conflict of adhering to social norms across different social classes. i am interested in looking at the female body and how it navigates social spaces and the increasingly blurred boundaries between class and culture in contemporary society. the women in my artwork often have droopy breasts, dangling cigarettes, sunburned arms, and display their unabashed sexuality while striking classical art historical poses. these women are drinking cheap beer in cans and smoking cigarettes while surrounded by working-class paraphernalia" ... barbara ishikura

"oh, sister, when i come to knock on your door don’t turn away, you’ll create sorrow time is an ocean but it ends at the shore you may not see me tomorrow" ... bob dylan

"at the same time, these women inhabit beautiful interiors with lush plants, drapery, books, and fancy dogs suggesting a sophisticated lifestyle. i am interested in my position as a contemporary female artist and what it means to be a woman painting another woman, thereby taking back ownership of the female nude which was historically painted by male artists" ... barbara ishikura