Sala de Vídeo: Kang Seung Lee: MASP (Museu de Arte de São Paulo)

Kang Seung Lee's solo exhibition Sala de Vídeo: Kang Seung Lee at MASP (Museu de Arte de São Paulo), São Paulo, Brazil. 

The institution's press release follows: 

Kang Seung Lee (Seoul, South Korea, 1978) is a multidisciplinary artist who lives in Los Angeles, United States. His oeuvre highlights stories and experiences of significant artists in queer history from different regions. By examining and reinterpreting images, texts, artifacts, and objects from public and private archives, art collections, and libraries, Lee focuses on the legacy of LGBTQIA+ people, emphasizing oft-overlooked counter-narratives. Using different media such as drawings, embroidery, tapestry, ceramics, and videos, Lee reimagines historical events, paying tribute to and promoting imaginary encounters that go beyond space and time between figures such as the photographers Peter Hujar (1934–1987), from the USA, and Hong Kong-born Tseng Kwong Chi (1950–1990)—known for their iconic black and white images—or Chinese-American painter Martin Wong (1946–1999), English filmmaker Derek Jarman (1942–1994), as well as Brazilian artist Leonilson (1957–1993), and Singaporean ballet dancer and choreographer Goh Choo San (1948–1987).

The video and the work shown here refer to the work Lásaro (1993) by the artist Leonilson, known for addressing themes of love, vulnerability, and fear of death. The piece, made up of two cotton shirts joined at the waist, was part of an installation created for the Capela do Morumbi [Morumbi Chapel] in São Paulo, which was concluded after the artist’s death. This garment, which can be seen in the exhibition Leonilson: Now and the Opportunities on the MASP first floor, is worn by dancers in a duet of minimal and deliberate movements, evoking intimacy, sensations, and states of suffering and belonging. The choreography recreated by Daeun Jung in partnership with Lee pays tribute to Goh Choo San, a pioneering Singapore-born choreographer who worked in prominent companies. It is inspired by Choo San original ballet, titled Unknown Territory (1986), which became famous for combining classical ballet with contemporary introspective movements. Many meaningful elements emerge in this room, such as the symbols of American sign language, which puts translation into perspective and challenges our notion of understanding. The use of sambe, a hemp fabric traditionally used in Korea to produce funeral vests, adds new layers of meaning and stories to the archive in honor of the lives and memories lost in the AIDS epidemic.

Sala de Vídeo: Kang Seung Lee
Curated by Amanda Carneiro, curator, MASP