Rhythmic Vibrations

From August 30–December 1, 2024, the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco presents Rhythmic Vibrations, a history-making group exhibition that is the first time both the museum and the United States have been invited to organize a national pavilion at the Gwangju Biennale in Gwangju, South Korea. For the 15th iteration of this globally significant gathering of 30 countries entitled PANSORI, A Soundscape of the 21st Century, the Asian Art Museum’s head of contemporary art Abby Chen—fresh from her groundbreaking curation of the Taiwan Pavilion at this year’s Venice Biennale—partnered with the museum’s Assistant Curator of Contemporary Art, Naz Cuguoglu, to stage an investigation into the role, relevance, and impact of Asian and Asian American art in the United States—and beyond—during a political moment beset by rising authoritarianism.

“Curated by two immigrant curators representing a nation of immigrants, Rhythmic Vibrations rehistoricizes and repoliticizes the idea of who gets to make the American Pavilion, who gets to speak for that country, and about what,” says Chen. “Examining the implications of this milestone for both the museum itself—as an institution presenting both Asian American and Asian art outside Asia—and the wider cultural community, the exhibition asks us to ponder the status of art and art-making in an increasingly unfree world.”

Starting from a place of uncertainty—“Do we represent America and does America represent us?”—this exhibition showcases a curatorial attempt to share a version of America that is both specific to its curators and their work in California, and universal in its open-ended exploration of what “America” might mean now. More interested in posing questions than providing answers, Rhythmic Vibrations features artists from the Asian Art Museum’s newly developed contemporary art collection, as well as artists active in the Bay Area (Sahar Khoury, Trinh T. Minh-ha, Younhee Chung Paik, Gazelle Samizay, and TT Takemoto); artists from beyond the Bay Area (Labkhand Olfatmanesh and Hayal Pozanti); and artists outside the US (Chang Li-Ren, HORSE & YujunWang, artists suggested by the organizers of Taiwan’s Matsu Biennial, Jane Jin Kaisen and Lo LaiLai Natalie). The exhibition highlights a diverse selection of artists the museum engages with, whether as part of the collection, through official institutional partnerships and allyship-building opportunities, or through the power of admiration.

“Rhythmic Vibrations is exactly in tune with this year’s thematic exploration of interconnection, whether by choice or not,” says Dusu Choi, Chief of Exhibition Team for the Gwangju Biennale. “The Asian Art Museum’s collaborative approach at the curatorial, institutional, and individual level focuses on working with artists who are more familiar to audiences at large while also bringing attention to lesser-known creative voices. It is multimedia, multi-genre, but harmonized in its utopic search for place, self, and the specificity of experience.”

Presented at the May 18 Memorial Cultural Center, this exhibition holds particular significance as it coincides with the 30th anniversary of the May 18 Foundation’s establishment (May 18 commemorates the Gwangju Uprising in support of democratic freedoms in South Korea). In a tribute to the Gwangju Uprising, the exhibition underscores the resilience and sacrifices of those who fought for human dignity and liberation, amplifying the often marginalized voices of women and queer artists hailing from Hong Kong, Iran, Jordan, Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Taiwan, and Turkey.

“Rhythmic Vibrations highlights different kinds of uprisings: the disturbances, noise-making, unrest, and movement that generate change—a ‘vibe shift’ that can start small, but grow in energy, momentum, and unity until it feels inevitable,” says Cuguoglu. This project marks a pivotal moment on the global stage for Chen and Cuguoglu, who have worked with artists for years to reshape institutional artistic narratives they have identified as hegemonic or marginalizing. Following the presentation of Rhythmic Vibrations at the Gwangju Biennale, the exhibition will return to the US to be restaged at the Asian Art Museum and then to the Matsu Biennial in 2025. As the art works travel, the curators aim to incorporate learnings, solutions, and new questions.

“While the works and their conversation are, in this way, alive and ongoing, the Gwangju Biennale edition is particularly crucial, since it serves as a platform for experimenting with borderless ideas, irrespective of nationality,” continues Cuguoglu. “We hope visitors take away a sense of solidarity, togetherness, and hope.” To facilitate what the curators are calling “a collective search for clues,” gatherings will beorganized during the opening week, inviting friends and allies to reflect on what it means for the Asian Art Museum to represent America in Asia.

Artists: Chang Li-Ren, HORSE & Yujun Wang, Jane Jin Kaisen, Sahar Khoury, Lo Lai Lai Natalie, Trinh T. Minh-ha, Younhee Chung Paik, Hayal Pozanti, Gazelle Samizay & Labkhand Olfatmanesh,and TT Takemoto

Curators: Abby Chen & Naz Cuguoglu (Asian Art Museum)