The fall exhibition season at Goucher continues with the opening of Rooted Shadows at the Rosenberg Gallery (Dorsey Center). This exhibition combined the works of six Asian and Asian-American artists: Bao Nguyen, Azumi O E, Lucia Shuyu Li, Setsuhi Shiraishi, Riya Devi-Ashby; and is noted as an interrogation of identity, place, and the self. In the context of Asian(-American) identity, Rooted Shadows actively reimagined the shared space of Maryland, not just as an innate backdrop but rather an active force: Maryland both shaped the works, and simultaneously was shaped through the eyes of the artist.
Being in the midst of the nuanced social, political, and physical backgrounds of Maryland, Asian (and Asian-American) means identities are usually in a state of flux. Expressions of those nuances between the personal and the social definitely differs. It can be seen with the large range of mediums within the exhibition: from the mixed media and the abstract of Riya Devi-Ashby, the display of craftsmanship from the works of Setsuhi Shiraishi, or the provision of a space for constant questioning and re-examining through the work of Bao Nguyen and the borderline between the grotesque and the artistic, as is the case with the work by Lucia Shuyu Li.
Walking through the exhibition, one can see the amount of abstraction and the space for examining and questioning the ideas behind the art throughout. This also translates to the lack of any further context within the exhibition guide – demonstrably do not feature any artist statements. In many ways, the position of Asian identities within Maryland also can be a very nuanced subject–the topic on the importance of Asian identities and preserving it–while definitely have some commonalities, experiences would differ between, say, someone who lived in the Baltimore metro area their entire life (where Asian residents are less than 2% of the population) and the suburbs of Washington D.C. where Asian residents are a sizable demographic.
The nuances can come between the ability to access cultural spaces and expressing your “Asian-ness” depending on where they live. Asian and Asian-American artists also have an additional weight from the “model minority” framework, especially when topics such as contemporary art is on the table: as Asian art within the U.S framework has overwhelmingly featured more traditional understandings of Asian art, the language of contemporary art can very much come as a shock to visitors. The works of Lucia Shuyu Li demonstrated this paradox, with the video component and the sculpture working in tandem to talk about the paradoxical paradigms within the understanding of what it means to be an Asian person in a world where you are simultaneously hyper-visible and invisible.
However, the multitudes in the exploration of Asian identity also can offer a space for constant questioning and realignment. The works that Bao Nguyen brought to this exhibition exemplifies that: while The Center for Questioning and Questioning and Questioning? offered that liminal mental space for interpretation through the medium of photography. I am a tree in your life offered a more interactive space, through the arrangement of wooden logs as both a place to rest and to pause to read the narrative within the laser-cut paper – memories from their performances at the garden of the Ivy Bookstore in Baltimore.
A special commendation should also be given to the curator, Liz Faust, whose Rooted Shadows is the second exhibit presented at the Rosenberg Gallery since her arrival at Goucher: much like My Mother’s Closet, the spirit of spaces for reflection and to accommodate the multitudes of expressions for the personal (which is such a grand part of the language of art) continues to shine within the curation and the artwork presented within the exhibition. Undoubtedly, this is a fitting selection for the second half of Goucher’s fall exhibition season; the season will continue with the opening of Hey, What’s That?: Mysteries in the Collection on November 18th at the 4th Floor Exhibition Space of the Library (note: this will feature work from members of the Visual and Material Culture department!), as well as the opening of Stephanie Mercedes’s I hold you close on the 21st at the Silber Gallery.
The Rosenberg Gallery is open between 9am-5pm on weekdays. For further inquiries, the Goucher Art Galleries can be contacted through the email address art.galleries@goucher.edu.
By Jamie Nguyen, ’25
