LaiSun Keane Gallery announces Home Cooking, a group exhibition opening October 23 featuring 11 Asian and Asian American artists, curated by critic and poet John Yau. 

Examining issues including the Asian diaspora, anti-Asian hate, memory, family and connection, Home Cooking disables the stereotype of Asian art as a monolith. Questions of consumption, communion and assimilation – all forms of digestion – are reflected in the artworks, each around the central theme of food.

The exhibition brings a stylistically diverse group of artists together as a representation of the wide range of contemporary artists of Asian descent working in the United States today. In addition to responding to the rise in anti-Asian American violence, the show is also a response to the long history of the invisibility experienced by Asian American artists in the art world.

"This exhibition to me is like a Chinese family dinner where adult children come together from near and far to congregate at their childhood home to eat a scrumptious meal, drink copiously, reminisce about the past, catch up on gossip and maybe engage in some disagreements. The food is just an excuse for this reunion! My gallery was founded to amplify minority voices so being able to work with John Yau is a real honor. If this exhibition could have an impact on how the mainstream sees the Asian American community and breaking stereotypes, we have in a small way achieved something meaningful." - LaiSun Keane 

Food and eating helps to define the Asian diaspora experience globally. As John Yau asks in his curatorial statement, “Isn’t eating a certain food a way to connect to one’s culture, continue a tradition, remember a world that no longer exists, and be transported to a moment tinged with nostalgia and filled with melancholia, while living in a country that regards you as an “outsider?” 

Artist List:

Susan Chen

Chie Fueki

Ahrong Kim

Ying Li

Jiha Moon

Tammy Nguyen

Stephanie Shih

Lily Wong

Mie Yim

Crys Yin

Charles Yuen

Home Cooking will open on Saturday, October 23 with an opening reception from 4-6pm. John Yau will present a curator’s talk on Sunday, October 24 from 1-2 pm. The exhibition will be on view at LaiSun Keane Gallery, 460C Harrison Ave C8A, Boston, Massachusetts 02118, through December 5, 2021.

A fully-illustrated catalogue with curatorial statement and essay by John Yau will be available at the gallery and upon request. For more information and media inquiries, please contact Kelly Vogt Campbell, Intuitive Communications, at kelly@intuitivecomms.co. 

https://www.laisunkeane.com/