The San Diego Museum of Art now has an extensive contemporary East Asian art exhibit: “Past in Reverse: Contemporary Art of East Asia.” Curated by Betti-Sue Hertz, the exhibit features a blend of works by 22 different artists from five different countries.
A wide variety of pieces are presented by the exhibit’s artists, within the frame of responses to recent economic and social trends in the area. “Past in Reverse” blends the young with the old, the traditional with the hype and the classical with the contemporary in a flawless way, providing a pleasant and colorful walkthrough even before exploring thoroughly.
“Past in Reverse” brings together the more established artists of the region with the up-and-coming artists, under the framework of responses to change. Artists such as Wang Qingsong, who has presented work in the United States a couple of times before, accompany artists who are displaying work for the first time.
Wilson Shieh, an artist from Hong Kong, expresses himself with a language of antiquity: the gongbi tradition, fine brush figurative painting. His unorthodox subjects portray the moving social and political relations in his environment. Shieh’s “Musical Instruments Series (1999/2004)” embodies male and female figures that play eachother as they are transformed into musical instruments. Homosexual and heterosexual distinctions are eliminated, and emphasis is placed upon the fragility of the communication process and the beauty of the relationship.
Michael Lin works with oversize versions of traditional Taiwanese domestic art figures, installing them into architectural spaces to alter their traditional order. In one work, Lin applies bedspread patterns to the floor with enlarged flower motifs and cushions where people can relax, inverting the artwork-viewer relationship.
“Past in Reverse: Contemporary Art of East Asia” will be displayed at the San Diego Museum of Art until March 6.