Taipei Dangdai 台北當代: Yu-Wen Wu 吳育雯

May 10 – May 12, 2024
Taipei Dangdai 台北當代, Yu-Wen Wu 吳育雯

Praise Shadows presents a solo booth by Yu-Wen Wu 吳育雯 at Taipei Dangdai 台北當代. This presentation follows her 2023 James and Audrey Foster Prize exhibition at the ICA Boston 波士頓當代美術館 and her major museum acquisition of Walking to Taipei by the Harvard Art Museums. 

 

At Dangdai 台北當代, Wu presents her series Accumulation of Dreams, Not All Alike, and Intentions, along with a collection of drawings. A lot of her work is informed by the experience of relocating from Taiwan to the United States at an early age. Her series examine issues of displacement, arrival, assimilation and the shape of identity in a new country.

  • Photo by Ringo Cheung for Praise Shadows Art Gallery (Larger version of this image opens in a popup).
    Photo by Ringo Cheung for Praise Shadows Art Gallery (Larger version of this image opens in a popup).
    Photo by Ringo Cheung for Praise Shadows Art Gallery (Larger version of this image opens in a popup).
    Photo by Ringo Cheung for Praise Shadows Art Gallery (Larger version of this image opens in a popup).
    Photo by Ringo Cheung for Praise Shadows Art Gallery (Larger version of this image opens in a popup).

    Photo by Ringo Cheung for Praise Shadows Art Gallery

  • Accumulation of Dreams, A drawing series of graphite, gold ink, and 18 carat gold leaf on arches paper

    Accumulation of Dreams

    A drawing series of graphite, gold ink, and 18 carat gold leaf on arches paper
    In a three-part work on paper, Accumulation of Dreams, Wu has created a rhythmic and sumptuous set of drawings with gold foil to articulate the American Dream — referencing the mid-19th century boom in Chinese migration to America during the gold rush. Gold stands as a metaphor for success, yet success could be as simple as living a decent life. Wu acknowledges the eternal anxieties in immigrant populations. Do we ever really belong? and if we do, what must we lose in order to find ourselves?
  • Intentions, Gilded tea leaves wrapped in red string

    Intentions

    Gilded tea leaves wrapped in red string
    Created in the form of a large Buddhist mala bead fashioned from Taiwanese tea leaves, strung together on a red string and gilded into radiant golden orbs, this work is versatile in its exhibition style. In past presentations, Intentions has been suspended as a single strand from the ceiling, and in a recent museum exhibition at the Institute of Contemporary Art Boston, Wu developed a showstopping set of eight strands. At Taipei Dangdai, Intentions will be displayed as a wall piece for the first time.
  • Not All Alike

    Not All Alike

    This series uses Taiwanese tea that is sourced from Wu’s family members in Taiwan. Each leaf is gilded uniformly, yet they retain their individuality through differences in shape and form. In this work, the artist communicates the significance of tea in her life, while also addressing xenophobia in western cultures towards Asian communities.

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    Additional Drawings

    • Yu-Wen Wu Silver Moon (waning 1) 月銀 月缺, 2022
      Yu-Wen Wu
      Silver Moon (waning 1) 月銀 月缺, 2022
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    • Yu-Wen Wu Gold Grid , 2022
      Yu-Wen Wu
      Gold Grid , 2022
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    • Yu-Wen Wu Stars 星空, 2023
      Yu-Wen Wu
      Stars 星空, 2023
    • Yu-Wen Wu Interconnected II, 2023
      Yu-Wen Wu
      Interconnected II, 2023
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    • Yu-Wen Wu Yes, No, Maybe II, 2021
      Yu-Wen Wu
      Yes, No, Maybe II, 2021
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    • Yu-Wen Wu Drawing 3, 2023
      Yu-Wen Wu
      Drawing 3, 2023
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    • Yu-Wen Wu Taiwan Book, 2023
      Yu-Wen Wu
      Taiwan Book, 2023
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    • Yu-Wen Wu Red Thread, 2023
      Yu-Wen Wu
      Red Thread, 2023
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  • Yu-Wen Wu, About the artist

    Yu-Wen Wu

    About the artist

    Yu-Wen Wu is an interdisciplinary artist. Born in Taipei, Taiwan, Wu’s subjectivity as an immigrant is central to her artwork, creating an intersection of personal narrative and global discourse. Arriving at an early age to the United States, her experiences have shaped her work in areas of migration, examining issues of displacement, assimilation, and the shape of identity in a new country. At the intersection of art, science, social and culture issues, and the natural world her wide range of projects include large-scale drawings, site-specific video installations, community-engaged practices, and public art.

    Some of Wu’s recent exhibitions include features at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, Washington: Acropolis Museum, Athens, Greece; Xippas Gallery, Geneva, Switzerland; Tufts University Art Galleries, Medford, MA; Godwin-Ternbach Museum, Queens College, NY; the Nielsen Library, Smith College, Northampton, MA; SITE, Santa Fe NM; Perlman Teaching Museum at Carleton College, Northfield, MN; Weisman Art Museum, Minneapolis MN;  ICA MECA, Portland ME; Rosecliff Mansion, Newport, RI; Center for Border Studies, Cucuta Colombia; and Praise Shadows Art Gallery, Brookline MA.