Soft Sculpture

Ghada Amer

Ghada Amer was born in Cairo in 1963. In 1974, her parents relocated to France where she began her artistic training ten years later at Villa Arson, Nice, France. She currently lives and works in New York and has exhibited among others at the Venice Biennale, the Sydney Biennale, the Whitney Biennale, and the Brooklyn Museum.

Realistic, shape, public/private space, symbol, pattern, concept

Work Concepts

By depicting difficult subject matter with the delicacy of needle and thread, Amer’s work assumes a tenderness that simple objectification ignores. Amer continuously allows herself to explore the complexities of an uneasy world and confronts the language of hostility and finality with unsettled narratives of longing and love.

Do Ho Suh: Bio

Do-Ho Suh is an artist originally born in Seoul, Korea in 1962. He earned his oriental painting degree at the Seoul National University, and later earned a Bachelor's of Fine Arts in painting from the Rhode Island School of Design and a Master's of Fine arts in sculpture from Yale University.

Realistic, shape, volume, symbol, pattern, concept, globalization, public/private space

Work conceptsThrough architecture and narrative, Korean artist Do Ho Suh's intricate sculptures and installations define and re-define the notion of identity and individuality, public and private space. Having moved from South Korea to the United States, Suh's investigation—and in particular the notion of "infinite movability" of �space and unconventional notions of scale and site-specificity—developed around his personal experiences of cultural displacement and struggle with cultural identity.

Ernesto Neto: Bio

Ernesto Neto was born in 1964 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He attended the Escola de Artes Visuais do Parque Lage and the Museu de Arte Moderna, both in Rio de Janeiro, where he continues to live and work.

Abstract sculpture, public/private space, concept, mass, shape

Work concepts

Ernesto Neto has gained acclaim for his large experiential environments that dramatically alter our surroundings, engage the senses, and invite interaction. Organic, womblike, Neto’s seek to remove the visitor from the assault and grind of the everyday world and provide an opportunity to slow down and reconnect for a few moments with essential sensory experiences.

Yin Xiuzhen

A leading female figure in contemporary art, Yin Xiuzhen (b. 1963, Beijing, China) began her career in the early 1990s following her graduation from Capital Normal University in Beijing where she received a B.A. in oil painting from the Fine Arts Department in1989

Abstract sculpture, globalization, concept, mass, shape

Work conceptsKnown for her works that incorporate second-hand objects, Yin uses her artwork to explore modern issues of globalization and homogenization. By utilizing recycled materials such as sculptural documents of memory, she seeks to personalize objects and allude to the lives of specific individuals, which are often neglected in the drive toward excessive urbanization, rapid modern development and the growing global economy. The artist explains, "In a rapidly changing China, ‘memory’ seems to vanish more quickly than everything else. That’s why preserving memory has become an alternative way of life."

Mike Kelly: Bio

Michael Kelley (October 27, 1954 – January 31, 2012) was an American artist born in Michigan. His work involved found objects, textile banners, drawings, assemblage, collage, performance and video.

Concept, shape, pattern, symbol

Work concept

Kelly’s work, with their martyred dolls and ruined promise of warmth, suggest the trauma of hurt and loss that underlay the juvenile delinquent antics that surrounded them. -- Holland Cotter