ON VIEW
Proximities 1: what time is it there? On view May 24–July 21, 2013 | second floor, Tateuchi Thematic Gallery
The three-part exhibition Proximities takes place in a single gal-
of an abundantly blooming cherry tree, for example, was shot in
lery over the next several months, but it’s rooted in a larger di-
Antioch, Calif., but wistfully conjures a place far away. The photos
alogue, and metaphorically in various spaces. The show is os-
and video by Lisa K. Blatt were filmed in Shanghai, but the sites
tensibly about conceptions of an unwieldy, geographically and
appear otherworldly, as does the house of a Persian poet in Ala
culturally vast idea termed “Asia,” but it’s also about engaging
Ebtekar’s exploration of Iran’s ancient past and glowing future.
different communities and considering the Asian Art Museum’s
Considering place through objects is the theme of the painting
connection to contemporary art—from Asia and beyond. The se-
installation by Tucker Nichols, who has an extensive academic
ries emerged from conversations about
background in Asian art, but whose
institutions and audiences, and how the
work isn’t often considered through that
museum is connected to the large com-
filter.
munity of artists who live and work in the Bay Area. As the show’s curator, I began by questioning my own relationship to the museum and to the idea of Asian art. In many ways, it’s a specialized field, and one that has aspects of identity em-
Proximities is about bridging some boundaries between the Asian Art Museum and artists you might not expect to see in it.
The tone of the works varies. Eli-
sheva Biernoff’s trompe-l’oeil postcards express a bit of sadness for animals faced with extinction. A key theme of the show is travel. James Gobel’s new mixed-medium painting is a celebratory abstraction of an imagined voyage
bedded: do you have to be schooled in
to Manila, while Andrew Witrak uses
Asian art or part of the family to fully
cocktail umbrellas and stock photos of
appreciate what is on view in the muse-
beach resorts to express the deceptive
um? Sometimes it can seem that way. Proximities is about bridg-
breeziness of tropical paradise.
ing some boundaries between the Asian Art Museum and artists
you might not expect to see in it.
Import/Export—will survey themes of family, community, trade
The second and third shows—Knowing Me, Knowing You and
The first of the shows, Proximities 1: What Time Is It There?
and commerce. All will make use of the museum website, blog
(named after a film by Taiwanese director Tsai Ming-Liang), fea-
and social media presence to further bridge the elastic psycho-
tures seven artists who look at an aspect of Asia from a variety
logical distance between here and there, and between artist, mu-
of experiences—from scholarship in Chinese art to imagining a
seum and viewer. n
vacation in Bali. Each of the artists addresses the idea of a myth-
–Glen Helfand
ical, fantastical place that they may or may not have visited, and considers it from a California distance. Larry Sultan’s photograph
Glen Helfand, guest curator for Proximities, is an independent writer, critic, curator and educator.
proximities 2: knowing me, knowing you oct 11–dec 8, 2013 proximities 3: import/export dec 20, 2013–feb 23, 2014
SUMMER 2013 | 27
This exhibition was organized by the Asian Art Museum. Presentation at the Asian Art Museum is made possible with the generous support of the Graue Family Foundation, Columbia Foundation, and an anonymous donor. Images opposite: (top) People’s Park, Shanghai, China May 23, 2007 9:35 PM (detail), 2007, by Lisa K. Blatt (American). Photograph, mounted on aluminum. H. 40 x W. 60 in. © Lisa K. Blatt. Courtesy of the artist. (Bottom left) Trouble in Paradise #2 (detail), 2013, by Andrew Witrak (American, b. 1977). Cocktail umbrellas, Styrofoam. H. 12 x W. 54 x D. 72 in. Courtesy of the artist. (Bottom right) The Shape of Things to Come (detail), 2012, by Ala Ebtekar (American, b. 1978). Acrylic on archival pigment print on found poster. H. 41 x W. 27 in. Courtesy of Gallery Paule Anglim. Photo: Wilfred J Jones.