Crossing

A creator of stalactite-like sculptures, Heidi Lau grew up in Macau, a former Portuguese colony, under the influence of both Chinese and Portuguese culture. Inspired by funeral objects and Taoist artifacts from the Han and Quindynasties, Lau mourns her mother’s passing in her work through the process of molding clay with her hands. The artist connects with her own spiritual world via clay, and by applying glaze to add luster and gradation to the resulting sculptures, she creates a texture that is wholly unique.

Leelee Kimmel describes her fantastical yet unnerving abstract works as “mutant realism.” In addition to traditional paintings, she also creates sculptures and immersive 3D works using Tilt Brush, a virtual-reality painting software.Her work recalls the stylized forms of Basquiat and Miró, as well as the primitive expressions of Cy Twombly. One may interpret her sharp, confident brushstrokes as representative of a contemporary painterly texture, born in an age where digital painting tools have become increasingly familiar and accessible to children.

Esmaa Mohamoud’s work investigates the oppression and exploitation of the Black body. Her new work, “Ebony In Ivory,” reinterprets the classical plaster bust—a frequently used tool in basic arts training—as a Black woman with braided hair sculpted out of pure shea butter. Shea butter is commonly used in the West for skin and hair care, yet its production process forces African women into unfair labor conditions. Mohamoud places the fragile shea buttersculpture atop a marble base, symbolizing the Western-centric systems of exploitation.

Japanese Canadian artist Alexa Hatanaka engages with materials and techniques used in traditional Japanese crafts, such as natural dyeing and papermaking, that are closely tied to the routines of daily life. Hatanaka recreates the customs, clothing, and everyday items of her Japanese heritage and elevates them to the realm of fine art. One of the exhibited works, “Yoshitaka Boiler Suits,” employs gyotaku (Japanese fish prints) to encapsulate the intimate relationship her fisherman grandfather formed with the sea. On the other hand, “Looks Like Water,” a linocut relief print, depicts the ripples that emerge in the snowy lands of the Arctic Circle. In this work, Hatanaka overlays the snow’s wave-like pattern with the ocean her grandfather once gazed upon, as well as the fate of the snow itself, which will eventually become seawater due to the effects of climate change.

Larry Madrigal utilizes traditional painting techniques to capture emotions and experiences that are broadly shared yet rarely portrayed in art history; for example, the responsibility, fear, anxiety, and love one feels while raising children. Madrigal paints scenes that he himself considers “the most non-important scenarios” in the history of visual media, from traditional fine art to popular films featuring heroic characters. Yet his work reaffirms the significance and preciousness of such mundane moments, thus opening up the viewer to new perspectives.

Devan Shimoyama uses materials inspired by drag culture—glitter and rhinestones—to express his own femininity in his work. In “Anthony Doubled,” the artist’s friend Anthony is pictured twice in the same composition, representing the multilayered nature of their queer identities. Another exhibited work, “From The Knight” is described by Shimoyama as a contemplation on the universal, romantic gesture of giving flowers as a promise of love and care, and our willingness to continue believing in such promises. The artist’s use of glitter allows the works to glisten in response to the viewer’s movements, creating a one-of-a-kind visual experience.

■Artist
Dominique Fung
Alexa Hatanaka
Stephanie Hier
Leelee Kimmel
Heidi Lau
Larry Madrigal
Esmaa Mohamoud
Devan Shimoyama
Morimoto Keita