Make Room returns to Frieze Los Angeles with artist Yeni Mao’s debut presentation "Freemartins," featuring a new body of work by the Mexico City-based, Chinese-American sculptor. "Freemartins" will consist of seven sculptures made of steel armatures, interspersed with porcelain, leather, and volcanic rock. Additionally, the exhibition will feature two felt wallworks created in 2017 shortly after the artist relocated to Mexico City from the US.
The exhibition builds upon the artist's exploration of a set of tunnels underneath the Mexico–U.S. border town of Mexicali. These tunnels were inhabited by Chinese and Chinese-Mexican populations at the beginning of the 20th century, during the time of the Mexican Revolution and as the U.S. enacted discriminatory policies against Asian immigrants. The artist cut the tunnel floor plans in steel plates, creating sculptures of extruded space by linking them with steel bars. Inside these anthropomorphic sculptures, visible pieces of organic matter represent the life within the architectural host. The presentation of the sculptures can also be interpreted as an imaginary urban scape, blending the past, present, and future.
Mao's interest in this tunnel system lies in how these sites both preserve and obscure history. The liminality of the tunnel as a space and its territorial designation mirrors the experience of diasporic identities.
The term "building systems," influenced by Mao's background in the construction industry and understanding of construction industry standards, is often used to describe Mao’s practice. With only a grinder and a welder, the artist creates “moments of suspension” exploring abstract concepts of strength and balance.
"Freemartins" addresses the preservation and obscurity of history, as well as the experiences of diasporic identities. It invites viewers to engage with its compelling narrative and unique interpretation of space and identity.
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Yeni Mao's sculptures possess a captivating narrative undertone, often drawing from the artist's transnational background. Themes of displacement, migration, fragmented and sexualized bodies, and their connection to the built environment are interwoven throughout Mao's work. Using a variety of materials (such as ceramic, volcanic rock, brass, steel, and leather), Mao skillfully contrasts textures, volumes, and densities to create sculptures and installations that evoke both abstract and anthropomorphic elements, occasionally taking on a zoomorphic quality. These artworks possess a domestic allure or industrial character, serving as a subtle nod to the cultural influences surrounding the artist and the non-Western traditions he has left behind. Mao’s practice is alchemic insofar as his work is reduced to the most primal materials in order to transform them into what he terms “objects of significance”.
Yeni Mao (b. 1971) is a Chinese-American sculptor based in Mexico City. He received a BFA from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago and subsequently trained in foundry work in California and the architectural industries of New York. Among his recent notable exhibitions are “Yerba Mala” at Campeche in Mexico City, “I desire the strength of nine tigers” at Fierman Gallery in New York, and a public sculpture with Brooke Benington at Canary Wharf, London. Additionally, his work is included in the collection of the Kadist Foundation, and he was recently commissioned by the new SOHO House Mexico City for an installation.
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