ART TALK: Rise of Contemporary Asian Art and Its Practice

With the current solo exhibition of Korea-based artist Jin Young Yu, we will open a dialog to examine Contemporary Asian Art and its practice in the global culture and economy, as well as in Los Angeles.

Art Talk Participants:

Devon Tsuno (Artist)

Flora Kao (Artist)

Janice Gomez and Fatima Hoang (Artists, Curators)

Scarlet Cheng (Art writer/professor)

Contemporary Asian Art has previously been thought of as being merely imitative of Western art, but now it appears to be coming into its own. Over the last five years, key events, such as Art Basel holding a Hong Kong edition, have pushed Contemporary Asian Art into mainstream dialogue. Art Merge Lab’s Director Jae Yang will share her firsthand experiences of these significant turning points along with an overview of art economies within Asian countries. A discussion of the increased recognition and integration of Asian art, and its effect on the Los Angeles art scene, will continue with the featured panelists.

The artists will discuss their own personal practice, showing a sampling of their work and discuss how it has evolved. Art critic Scarlet Cheng will provide some insights from living and working in Asia in the 1990s, and from continuing to travel there regularly. Among the topics to be addressed are obstacles and opportunities surrounding exposure as an Asian American artist, balancing traditional perspectives versus contemporary ones, and issues of cultural identity and specificity.