The fight for visibility—rightfully recognizing Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders for their contributions to art history—goes back generations. For as long as diasporic and Indigenous artists have been making work, the Western-gazing industry hasn’t always paid attention, sometimes not until after individuals have already passed.
The late Pacita Abad, Yong Soon Min, and Martin Wong were among those featured in “Godzilla: Echoes from the 1990s Asian American Arts Network,” presented at New York’s Eric Firestone Gallery earlier this year. Serving as an overdue celebration, the group exhibition also included living artists Rina Banerjee, Byron Kim, and Zhang Hongtu, alongside many others with active practices.
The collective originally grew out of basement workshops in downtown Manhattan, providing Asian immigrant and American-born artists and art workers with community support. “So many incredible artists in New York made their careers showing exclusively at alternative spaces, and at the gallery, we have been researching these histories as part of our commitment to reexamining the canon,” said the show’s curator, Jennifer Samet.
Installation view of “GODZILLA: Echoes from the 1990s Asian American Arts Network” at Eric Firestone, 2024. Courtesy of Eric Firestone Gallery.
In 1991, Godzilla made waves for protesting the Whitney Museum of American Art for the glaring lack of Asian American artists in its Biennial. Although advocacy for representation has helped to nudge the needle forward, as Samet emphasized, “It is very clear that much work is also needed to correct decades of neglect of Asian American artists.”
On the West Coast, meanwhile, two concurrent surveys of Asian American art recently opened—“Scratching at the Moon” at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, and “P L A C E: Reckonings by Asian American Artists” at the Institute of Contemporary Art San José. Both showcase works by emerging and established artists, including Patty Chang and Stephanie Syjuco.
It’s important to acknowledge those who are breaking barriers today, as well as those who paved the way. The custom of honoring one’s elders is deeply embedded in many cultures: For this Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, we spotlight a selection of artists over the age of 65 who have forged diverse and distinct paths.
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Read the full article at : https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-10-older-asian-american-artists-celebrate-aapi-heritage-month
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