New York artist Terence Koh (b. China 1977) creates monochromatic environments, wherein minimalist and baroque aspects of his sensibility vie for dominance. From drifting-powder silencing rooms and constellations of cryptically linked objects to pristine, perfectly crafted containers that become coffins for shattered glass and mirrors, Koh’s work plays on the melancholic beauty and sublime transcendence of emptiness.
This book, produced in close collaboration with the artist and presented with text in both English and German, is published to coincide with the first solo museum presentation of Koh’s work in the United States. The exhibition is a counterpart/reaction to an earlier show at the Kunsthalle Zurich (August-October 2006). Koh’s work for the Whitney exhibition uses light as his material, transforming the gallery space into a seductive yet inaccessible diorama and creating a psychological interaction that evokes desire and loss, pain and hope. Beyond documenting these ephemeral works, this innovative catalogue, featuring a new series of drawings created by Koh, functions as a complement to the two installations.
Bilingual (English/German)
Shamim M. Momin is an associate curator at the Whitney Museum of American Art and branch director and curator of the Whitney Museum at Altria. Beatrix Ruf is director/curator of the Kunsthalle Zurich. https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300123968/terence-koh
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