FEATURED ARTIST: Jes Fan
Jes Fan’s studio practice is rooted in a haptic approach to understanding how identity is materialized, biologically and ontologically. Approaching materials as molecules, their sculptures examine the bio-politics behind identity formation. From sex hormones to silicone, soap to moisture, they use substances that are imbued with erotic and political signifiers to address their concerns in diasporic politics, transgender identities, and posthumanism. Designed as feedback ecologies, their installations are allegories for seeing our bodies as sensory systems that require output, input, and efficient maintenance. At the core of their practice is an urgency to queer the static notion of the “normative,” and most recently they have been subverting familiar artifacts related to rituals of beauty and wellness.
Jes Fan (Canada/Hong Kong, China) lives and works in Brooklyn, NY. They completed a BFA in Glass at Rhode Island School of Design in 2014. They are the recipient of several awards, including the Pioneer Works Residency, Edward and Sally Van Lier Fellowship at Museum of Arts and Design (MAD), CCGA Fellowship at Wheaton Arts, and John A. Chironna Memorial Award at RISD. Recent solo shows include “No Clearance in Niche” at MAD Museum, NY; “Disposed to Add” at Vox Populi Gallery, PA; and “Ot(her)” at Brown University, RI. Currently, they have work on view with “In Search of Miss Ruthless” at Para Site in Hong Kong and “Threshold” at Underdonk Gallery in Brooklyn. This fall, they will be exhibiting as part of “Timeshare” at the Zaha Hadid Residential building in Chelsea, as well as a group show at UrbanGlass curated by Osman Yerebakan. In 2018, they will participate in a group show at the NARS foundation curated by Tiffany Shin and in a group show in San Francisco curated by Glenn Adamson.
Jes Fan, Soft Goods I, 2017. Digital Inkjet Print. 22 x 28 inches. Courtesy the artist. Â
www.sculpture-center.org
This post is part of our Connective Tissues series.
-JH
