Major Haegue Yang exhibition announced

A leading artist of her generation, Haegue Yang (b. 1971, Seoul) is celebrated for her diverse work that evokes historical and contemporary ideas about home, migration, displacement and cross-cultural translation. This spring the AGO presents Haegue Yang: Emergence, the first North American survey of the artist’s work, including critically acclaimed installations, performative sculptures and graphic murals from the past 25 years.

Opening on April 30, 2020, the exhibition features a selection of over 70 works across various mediums. Yang is primarily known for her extraordinary transformations of everyday domestic objects—such as venetian blinds, light bulbs, drying racks, knitting yarn and bells—into deeply allegorical, meticulously constructed installations and sculptures.

Adding to the excitement, the AGO has commissioned two new installations for the exhibition: a large-scale venetian blind work in the Joey and Toby Tanenbaum Sculpture Atrium and a mural-like wallpaper at the AGO’s South Entrance.

Haegue Yang: Emergence is curated by Adelina Vlas, the AGO’s Associate Curator of Contemporary Art, who explains the title of the exhibition. “The scientific notion of emergence refers to the existence or formation of collective behaviours – what a community can accomplish that individuals cannot alone,” she says. “This idea suggests the possibility of transformation through coming together, a concept highly relevant in today’s fractured societies. When applied to the context of a survey show, emergence points to a unified reading of the artist’s extraordinarily diverse practice over two decades.”

Movement is a primary motif of the exhibition and stems from Yang’s preoccupations with physical, social and emotional movement informed by her own diasporic experience, as she has lived between countries as an international citizen for many years. The exhibition highlights works where intangible elements (light, sound, air and scent) are combined with moving components to stimulate the viewer’s multiple senses. One work, Boxing Ballet (2013-2015), is made up of six sculptures covered in brass-plated bells. The sculptures will be activated by performers in the exhibition space (performance schedule to be announced).

Yang was recently commissioned by MoMA to create an installation for its re-opening. The work, Handles, has been highly praised for its power to render and weave seemingly unrelated historical narratives into a singular immersive, mesmerizing and performative experience.

Admission to the AGO Collection and all special exhibitions is always free for AGO Members, AGO Annual Pass holders and visitors 25 and under.