The Armory Show 2020 | Adrian Wong

March 5—8, 2020


Pier 90/Focus Section | Booth: F31

Carrie Secrist Gallery is pleased to announce our solo booth presentation of recent (and still to be realized) artworks by Adrian Wong at the 2020 Edition of The Armory Show from March 5 to 8, 2020 in New York City.

In response to Focus Curator Jamillah James’s direction to “consider the ways in which artists construct a version of reality or self where the boundaries of fact and fiction are indistinct…”, Secrist Gallery’s booth will be divided into two parts that share and amplify this curatorial theme. The first room will present a selection of recent sculptures, photographs and paintings that Adrian Wong developed in collaboration with Lynn Schuster, a telepathic animal communicator. Then, passing through an archway, fair goers will encounter a portrait salon that will function as a “reading room”.

Over the course of the fair, Wong and Schuster will be on-site, during scheduled periods, to offer telepathic readings of fair goers’ pets (living or past). These readings may later be used to produce commissioned artworks similar to those in the booth, exclusively available during The Armory Show.

Options will include:

  • A custom piece of furniture / personalized habitat designed by the animal (i.e. a dog house, cat tree, terrarium, etc.)
  • A painted portrait of one of the animal’s past lives.
  • A cosmic geometry wall installation derived from the animal’s spirit.

The body of work on view—and limited series of commissions—propose a vast array of visual realities which may offer conceptual challenges to some, cosmic comfort to others…with a wide (Rainbow) Bridge in between.

Wong’s practice took a personal turn when creating new works for a 2019 exhibition at Carrie Secrist Gallery. On the day he returned from a trip abroad, his beloved rabbit Omar passed suddenly. Wong used his conceptual practice to move through the grief by creating works in collaboration with Omar via conversations with Lynn Schuster, a renowned animal communication expert whose mission is to “help strengthen the bond between animals and their human families. [And] to create a safe environment to connect, communicate and advocate the needs, wants and desires for both animals and their guardians.” The resulting artworks included a 9-foot kitty condo—its design led by Snoopy, revealed to have been the artist’s wife’s childhood cat who later reincarnated as the recently deceased Omar. This work, The House that Snoopy Built, will be on view alongside several cosmic geometries revealed by Omar and portraits of his past lives painted by artists from all over the country (under the direction of Ms. Schuster and Mr. Wong).

Mirroring the journey of the artist to realize the works on view, fair-goers will have the rare opportunity to participate in the process themselves with Ms. Schuster and Mr. Wong at the Armory Show. These sessions will offer fairgoers a deeper understanding of the psyches of their non-human companions, and the resulting artworks will serve as a record of any specific details the readings may reveal.

Images

  • The House that Snoopy Built, 2019
    Plywood, PVC, foam, tubing, carpet
    105 x 96 x 36 inches

  • The House That Snoopy Built Annotated Sketch, 2019
    Enamel on panel
    66 x 48 x 3 inches

  • A Very Old Soul, 2019
    Print on polyester
    192 x 48 inches
    Edition of 10

  • Snoopy Rainbow, 2020
    Photograph on paper
    36 x 60 inches

  • Omar Rainbow, 2020
    Photograph on paper
    36 x 48 inches

  • Adrian Wong
    LENTICULAR COMPOSITION no. 7 (Princess/Waterfall), 2020
    Found lenticulars, walnut, Masonite and enamel
    16 x 13 x 3 inches

  • Adrian Wong
    LENTICULAR COMPOSITION no. 10 (Wild Horses/Regular Horses), 2020
    Found lenticulars, walnut, Masonite and enamel
    13 x 16 x 3 inches

  • Adrian Wong
    LENTICULAR COMPOSITION no. 12 (Roar/Meow), 2020
    Found lenticulars, walnut, Masonite and enamel
    13 x 16 x 3 inches

  • Adrian Wong
    LENTICULAR COMPOSITION no. 14 (Cataract/Butterflies), 2020
    Found lenticulars, walnut, Masonite and enamel
    13 x 16 x 3 inches

  • Adrian Wong
    LENTICULAR COMPOSITION no. 19 (Piggy/Butterfly Nebula), 2020
    Found lenticulars, walnut, Masonite and enamel
    6 x 4.5 x 3 inches