Skip to content
Image of BILL VIOLA's Small Saints, 2008

BILL VIOLA

Small Saints, 2008

Color High-Definition video polyptych on six OLED flat panels mounted on shelf

13 x 62 x 11 in.

33.02 x 157.48 x 27.94 cm

Edition of 7 plus 2 artist's proofs (AP 2/2)

 

JCG3784.AP2

Image of JESSE WINE's Love and other strangers, 2021

JESSE WINE

Love and other strangers, 2021

Ceramic, paint, sand, graphite powder, steel

77 x 68 x 30 in.
195.6 x 172.7 x 76.2 cm

 

JCG13123

Courtesy of the Artist and Simone Subal Gallery, New York

Image of SIMON EVANS's The Land that Time Reshot, 2021

SIMON EVANS ™

The Land that Time Reshot, 2021

Mixed media

30 x 40 in.
76.2 x 101.6 cm

 

JCG13053

close up of multimedia collage

SIMON EVANS ™

The Land that Time Reshot, 2021

 

Detail

Image of Paul Mpagi Sepuya's Darkroom Mirror (_2160168), 2018

Paul Mpagi Sepuya

Darkroom Mirror (_2160168), 2018
Archival pigment print
32 x 24 in. (81.28 x 60.96 cm)
print size

33 x 25 x 2 in. (83.82 x 63.5 x 5.08 cm) framed
Edition 1 of 5, 2 AP


JCG12879

Courtesy of the Artist and Vielmetter, Los Angeles

Image of Paul Mpagi Sepuya's Drop Scene Study (0X5A1121), 2018

Paul Mpagi Sepuya

Drop Scene Study (0X5A1121), 2018
Archival pigment print
75 x 50 in. (190.5 x 127 cm) print size

76 x 51 x 2 in. (193.04 x 129.54 x 5.08 cm) framed
Edition 1 of 5, 2 AP


JCG12880

Courtesy of the Artist and Vielmetter, Los Angeles

Image of BRANDON NDIFE's Evolution of a Corn Chip, 2021

BRANDON NDIFE

Evolution of a Corn Chip, 2021

Aquaresin, wood, insulation foam, corn, silver leaf, enamel,
latex

34 × 22 × 32 in.
86.36 × 55.88 × 81.28 cm

 

JCG13120

Courtesy of the Artist and Bureau, New York

drawers filled with debris

BRANDON NDIFE

Evolution of a Corn Chip, 2021

 

Detail

Image of TERESA MARGOLLES's A TRAVÉS, 2007 - 2022

TERESA MARGOLLES
A TRAVÉS, 2007 - 2022
Action that took place on the windows of 52 Walker St. on January 9, 2022.

Realized by a young migrant from Guatemala, who covered the panes with residual sweat left on the t-shirts of undocumented migrants from Mexico, Central America, and South America who live and work in New York. The garments were obtained by exchange carried out across the city’s five boroughs.

Dimensions variable


JCG13181

Image of TERESA MARGOLLES's Nudo Rojo (Red Knot), 2022

TERESA MARGOLLES
Nudo Rojo (Red Knot), 2022
Wool, linen and cotton
35 3/8 x 27 1/2 in.
90 x 70 cm


JCG13233

Image of WARDELL MILAN's Amerika: Klansman, Robert, 2019

WARDELL MILAN
Amerika: Klansman, Robert, 2019
Charcoal, graphite, colored pencil, pastel, and oil stick on hand dyed paper
49 3/4 x 37 7/8 in. (126.4 x 96.2 cm)
framed: 54 x 42 1/4 in. (137.2 x 107.3 cm)


JCG13208

Courtesy of the Artist and David Nolan Gallery, New York

Image of Wardell Milan's Amerika: Klansman, Pulaski, 2019

Wardell Milan
Amerika: Klansman, Pulaski, 2019
Charcoal, graphite, colored pencil, pastel, and oil stick on hand dyed paper
49 3/4 x 37 7/8 in (126.4 x 96.2 cm)
framed: 54 x 42 1/4 in (137.2 x 107.3 cm)


JCG13189

Courtesy of the Artist and David Nolan Gallery, New York

Image of TUAN ANDREW NGUYEN's  Radiant Remembrance, 2021

TUAN ANDREW NGUYEN

Radiant Remembrance, 2021

Concrete, bamboo, brass, steel, epoxy resin

32 x 31 1/2 x 31 1/2 in.
81.5 x 80 x 80 cm

Edition of 3 plus 2 artist's proofs (AP 1/2)

 

JCG12827

bamboo rods emerging from a cube

TUAN ANDREW NGUYEN

Radiant Remembrance, 2021

 

Detail

Image of TUAN ANDREW NGUYEN's Spirit of Bidong, 2020

TUAN ANDREW NGUYEN

Spirit of Bidong, 2020

pigment print on Hahnemuhle paper

48 x 32 in
121.9 x 81.3 cm

Edition of 5 plus 2 artist's proofs (#2/5)

 

JCG11690

Image of YUN-FEI JI's The hooded skeleton on a goat, 2021

YUN-FEI JI

The hooded skeleton on a goat, 2021

Ink and watercolor on paper

23 1/4 x 16 3/8 in.
59.1 x 41.6 cm

 

JCG12389

Image of YUN-FEI JI's The protesters, 2021

YUN-FEI JI

The protesters, 2021

Ink and watercolor on paper

27 1/2 x 17 3/8 in.
69.8 x 44.1 cm

 

JCG12390

Image of YUN-FEI JI's The three hooded men, 2021

YUN-FEI JI

The three hooded men, 2021

Ink and watercolor on paper

18 1/2 x 19 1/4 in.
47 x 48.9 cm

 

JCG12388

Image of KATHLEEN RYAN's Bad Grapes (Desert Island), 2021

KATHLEEN RYAN

Bad Grapes (Desert Island), 2021

Agate, turquoise, amazonite, tektite, aquamarine, magnesite, jasper, garnet, Ching Hai jade, onyx, serpentine, glass, steel pins on coated polystyrene, copper tube and copper fittings

38½ x 35¾ x 28½ in.
97.8 x 90.8 x 72.4 cm

 

JCG13121

Courtesy of the Artist and KARMA, New York

beaded surface

KATHLEEN RYAN

Bad Grapes (Desert Island), 2021

 

Detail

Image of JESSE MOCKRIN's The Magic Chamber, 2021

JESSE MOCKRIN

The Magic Chamber, 2021

Oil on cotton

Diptych
Overall: 40 x 84 in.
101.6 x 213.4 cm

 

JCG13119

Courtesy of the Artist and Night Gallery, Los Angeles

woman dressed in red

JESSE MOCKRIN

The Magic Chamber, 2021

 

Detail

Image of SHINICHI SAWADA's Untitled (142), c.2007-2012

SHINICHI SAWADA

Untitled (142), c.2007-2012

Wood fired ceramic

7 5/8 x 7 1/8 x 11 1/8 in.
19.5 x 18 x 28 cm

 

JCG13126

Courtesy of the Artist and Jennifer Lauren Gallery, Manchester, UK

ceramic face

SHINICHI SAWADA

Untitled (142), c.2007-2012

 

Detail

Image of SHINICHI SAWADA's Untitled (148), c.2007-2012

SHINICHI SAWADA

Untitled (148), c.2007-2012

Wood fired ceramic

5 7/8 x 5 1/2 x 14 5/8 in.
15 x 14 x 37 cm

 

JCG13127

Courtesy of the Artist and Jennifer Lauren Gallery, Manchester, UK

close up of ceramic statuette

SHINICHI SAWADA

Untitled (148), c.2007-2012

 

Detail

Image of SHINICHI SAWADA's Untitled (150), 2014

SHINICHI SAWADA

Untitled (150), 2014

Wood fired ceramic

7 7/8 x 7 7/8 x 6 3/4 in.
20 x 20 x 17 cm

 

JCG13129

Courtesy of the Artist and Jennifer Lauren Gallery, Manchester, UK

Image of SHINICHI SAWADA's Untitled (150), 2014

SHINICHI SAWADA

Untitled (150), 2014

Wood fired ceramic

7 7/8 x 7 7/8 x 6 3/4 in.
20 x 20 x 17 cm

 

JCG13129

Courtesy of the Artist and Jennifer Lauren Gallery, Manchester, UK

Image of SHINICHI SAWADA's Untitled (149), c.2007-2012

SHINICHI SAWADA

Untitled (149), c.2007-2012

Wood fired ceramic

8 1/4 x 7 7/8 x 13 3/8 in.
21 x 20 x 34 cm

 

JCG13128

Courtesy of the Artist and Jennifer Lauren Gallery, Manchester, UK

close up image of ceramic face

SHINICHI SAWADA

Untitled (149), c.2007-2012

 

Detail

Image of WANGECHI MUTU's All rosey, 2003

WANGECHI MUTU

All rosey, 2003

ink, acrylic, sequins, glitter and printed paper collage on mylar

42 x 30 in.
106.7 x 76.2 cm

 

JCG12124

close up image of collage and paint

WANGECHI MUTU

All rosey, 2003

 

Detail

Image of JES FAN's Diagram XVIII, 2022

JES FAN
Diagram XVIII, 2022
Aqua resin, glass and pigment
34 x 27 x 10 in.
86.4 x 68.6 x 25.4 cm


JCG13117

Courtesy of the Artist and Empty Gallery, Hong Kong

amorphous sculpture

JES FAN

Diagram XVIII, 2022

 

Detail

Image of BILL VIOLA's Passage into Night, 2005

BILL VIOLA

Passage into Night, 2005

Color high-definition video projection on flat panel display mounted on wall
50:14 minutes

121 x 72 x 12 cm
47 5/8 x 28 3/8 x 4 3/4 in.

Edition of 7 plus 2 artist's proofs (#7/7)

 

JCG3288

Press Release

James Cohan is pleased to present A Través, a group exhibition on view from January 14 through February 19, 2022, at 52 Walker Street. The gallery will host an opening on Friday, January 14 from 10 AM to 6 PM. Masks and proof of vaccination are required for entry. 

 

To explore the exhibition in our Viewing Room, please click here

 

Participating Artists:

Simon Evans™

Ellen Gallagher

Yun-Fei Ji

Jes Fan

Teresa Margolles

Wardell Milan

Jesse Mockrin

Wangechi Mutu

Brandon Ndife

Tuan Andrew Nguyen

Kathleen Ryan 

Shinichi Sawada

Paul Mpagi Sepuya

Bill Viola

Jesse Wine

 

Collectively and individually, we pass through thresholds, periods of transitions, and states of indeterminacy in life. In the middle stage between birth and death, there is a “cloud of unknowing,” the Romantic idea of a psychic space with no boundaries; at once freeing and equally anxiety-provoking. If ever there was a time when ambiguity and disorientation are shared sensations, it is now. This exhibition is a meditation on this transitory state. Through performance, sculpture, painting, photography and film, the artists presented offer glimpses into these subconscious states as they play out in figuration.

 

Teresa Margolles’ poignant performance and gallery intervention A TRAVÉS (2007 - 2022), whose title translated means “through,” anchors the exhibition. Margolles investigates the social and aesthetic dimensions of violence and marginality in her work. In this instance, she covers the gallery windows in the sweat of undocumented migrants from Mexico, Central America, and South America, who live and work in New York. To execute this action, t-shirts worn previously by these individuals will be smudged onto the panes of glass, serving as material evidence of their resolute bodily presence. By obscuring the view through the gallery windows, the work aims to address the exclusionary social and economic structures experienced by undocumented communities.

 

The body is referenced both directly and indirectly throughout the exhibition. Shinichi Sawada, a self-taught ceramicist based in Japan’s Shiga prefecture, creates hauntingly expressive, meditative spiked and thorned bodies. Since 2000, Sawada has attended Nakayoshi Fukushikai, a social welfare organization for individuals with disabilities, where he spends time firing ceramics in a hand-made wooden oven. The objects he creates there hover between chimerical human-animal and spirit-god forms. Jes Fan’s sculptures resist simple classification and often meld the organic and inorganic; where substances such as hormones, bodily fluids, and mold are inserted into materials like glass and resin. At its essence, Fan’s work is about fluidity and otherness, highlighting questions surrounding identity, race, and gender while exploring their intersections with biology. Jesse Wine’s Love and other strangers (2021), examines the generative space above a fictional building; a visual representation of metaphysically leaving the confines of home through the act of dreaming. Wine’s three amorphous, quasi-corporeal forms, set atop a base that consciously evokes terraced housing, explore this otherworldly domain in different directions: one points directly upward, another deviates horizontally, and the third sits into elbow-like knuckles.

 

Several artists in this exhibition examine the human figure as it moves through and between thresholds and frames. Bill Viola’s Small Saints (2008), explores the threshold of life and death. In each panel, the viewer is presented with a series of encounters where an individual slowly emerges from black-and-white darkness and breaks through the threshold of water and light. As the presence of all beings is finite, the figure eventually turns back from material existence and recedes through the wall of water. The cycle repeats without end. Like Viola, Jesse Mockrin references art historical depictions of divine and saintly bodies, framing and transposing recognizable figures to cast them into a liminal non-space. In her monumental diptych The Magic Chamber (2021), which takes its title from an act of the 1911 musical play Le Martyre de Saint Sébastien, passages are appropriated from two of Georges de La Tour’s paintings of Saint Sebastian. The androgynous Sebastian on the left panel gazes at another Sebastian being cared for by Saint Irene on the right panel. The painting captures the body traversing its physical boundaries, transforming into a hybrid site of layered meaning.

 

In his photographic works, Paul Mpagi Sepuya carefully frames his own body, sometimes alongside companions and collaborators, in the act of taking a photo. Positioning himself with his camera and tripod in front of a mirror or behind a dropcloth, Sepuya obscures and reveals the body at turns, creating compositional arrangements of limbs and photographic apparatus that parallel the medium’s processes. Sepuya creates within the space of his studio elliptical moments of psychically-charged physical space that allude to the multivalent definition of the darkroom as, in his words, “both the historical origin of the photographer’s craft as well as the privileged yet marginalized site of queer and colored sexuality and socialization.”

 

Each work in A Través aims to suggest an ephemeral stage of transition. This exhibition constitutes a meditative collection of subtle gestures in which the work of art operates as a verb rather than a noun, reflecting on a perpetual state of becoming.

 

Back To Top