Glendale Library, Arts & Culture and ReflectSpace Gallery are pleased to present (Be)Longing: Asian Diasporic Crossings, an exhibition that explores the multi-generational impacts of war, displacement, and East-West Asian diasporic placemaking. This exhibition showcases the works of artists from Los Angeles, Korea, and China, through mediums such as maps, sculptures, photography, archives, video, and layered materiality.
The exhibition is anchored by the works of Los Angeles-based artists Annette Miae Kim and Kyong Boon Oh, and it prompts viewers to consider how diasporic histories and spaces are constructed and narrated. The exhibition poses questions about the borders of belonging, the mapping of transnational and borderless communities, and the extent to which histories of displacement and war influence contemporary community narratives. Kim and Oh, with familial ties to both South Korea and North Korea, infuse their work with personal and poignant dimensions that challenge preconceptions about diasporas and borders through their use of maps, archives, sculpture, and tactile materiality.
Additionally, four artists from Korea and China—Sun Siran, Xia Yan, Gil Woong Kim, and Donah Lee—contribute newly commissioned video works that reflect on their diasporic journeys and connections to their homelands. Los Angeles-based contemporary ceramicist Jennifer Cheh connects her diasporic present with traditional Korean forms.
All seven artists in the exhibition address their diasporic histories and present-day experiences, striving to articulate their own sense of being and belonging.
The exhibition (Be)Longing: Asian Diasporic Crossings features artists Annette Miae Kim, Kyong Boon Oh, Sun Siran, Xia Yan, Gil Woong Kim, Donah Lee, and Jennifer Cheh. It is curated by Monica Hye Yeon Jun and Ara & Anahid Oshagan.
(Be)Longing: Asian Diasporic Crossings will be on view from July 20 through September 22, 2024, at ReflectSpace Gallery, located inside Glendale Central Library at 222 East Harvard, Glendale, CA, 91205. An opening reception will be held on Saturday, July 27, from 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM.
