Curatorial Deviations

Installation view of Theater of Energies. Courtesy of Arsenal Contemporary.

When the Beijing-born curator gaoyuan and I first met, we discussed our frustrations over the necessary evil of a curatorial statement. Expectedly, she was obligated to write one for the group show Theater of Energies at the New York location of Arsenal Contemporary. But the recent graduate of Columbia University’s curatorial master’s program (MODA) found a way to deviate from the norm nonetheless. 

Curatorial statements too often end up reading as an overly prescriptive guidebook to the artworks and artists which compose a show. Pseudo-prose flattens out three-dimensional artworks and stands as a tinted membrane through which the viewer understands each work in front of them. Somewhere along the way, curatorial traditions have developed a tone which suggests a singular set of acceptable interpretations for the works, disservicing both the artists and the curator. A curator occupies an important role in any situation where art will be viewed—even more so in contexts where multiple artists’ work will be displayed together. The role of the curator is to identify relationships between artworks and develop a choreography of display where the works stand in harmony together as opposed to a clogged cacophony. 

It’s a delicate balance for the curator; weaving a thread between artworks without binding them so tightly as to cut off their circulation. In such an unyielding model, curators are sometimes reduced to the role of translator for a language that isn’t necessarily asking for a translation in the first place. 

In response to some of these chafing standards, gaoyuan has found a way to sneak out after dark. Her curatorial approach to Theater of Energies toes the line of a traditional gallery show but begins to explore a more pliable curatorial style that expands upon the static object-viewer relationship of the display space. 

3AM Provocations: In Lieu of a Curatorial Statement has served as a major tipping point for gaoyuan’s curatorial experimentation. It is a living document that chronicles the intersection of the preparation for Theater of Energies with the curator’s personal thoughts that evoke entries in a journal. 3AM Provocations is an ode to the curator as artist. It clears the smoke from the room and illuminates the relationships between the artist, artwork, curator, and institution. 

The text opens with the first section “Mindrifts”—the most freeform section of the text. “Can art be possessive too? Can man made objects carry spirits too,” gaoyuan muses as her mind wanders between beer foam and the cold New Jersey Shore’s foaming tide in Entry #6. In a following entry, #8, the language jolts towards show preparation, and the distant knocking of anxious thoughts—“But seriously, why is there a howling person in my study”—ebbs into a distant rhythm. “Mindrifts” serves as an astonishingly honest portrait of the curator. With this as the entrance portal to Theater of Energies, the viewer is drawn into the personal.

gaoyuan, detail from 3AM Provocations: In Lieu of a Curatorial Statement. “Mindrifts: Entry 16,” 2024, curatorial zine. Courtesy of the curator. 

The next section of the text, “Glimpses,” offers a more fragmentary documentation of gaoyuan’s curatorial process. Screenshots of texts and emails sent to friends familiar with the project. Sketches for exhibition design. gaoyuan invites the viewer into the daily moments of the curatorial role. While this section of the text is less diaristic, “Glimpses” contributes to the viewer’s understanding of the curatorial process. It loops them into all the seemingly minute decisions a curator makes when preparing for a show. The barrier breakdown between the preparatory work and the polished outcome highlights the creative process of the curator. 

gaoyuan, detail from 3AM Provocations: In Lieu of a Curatorial Statement. “Glimpses: Note on frolicking,” 2024, curatorial zine. Courtesy of the curator. 

Following “Glimpses” there is “Souls.” This section of the text dives deeper into the artists participating in the show. It features photos of the artists and their work. But this section is not merely intended to emulate a list of artist biographies. “Souls” presents each artist in relation to the curator. Of her mentor Bingyi, an artist included in Theater of Energies, gaoyuan writes: “She is a galaxy of her own. Every particle of the ink and paper is a star in the Bingyi galaxy.” These are personal relationships expressed, recorded, and made public. Through this section, the artworks in Theater of Energies are made more personal as well. 

gaoyuan, detail from 3AM Provocations: In Lieu of a Curatorial Statement. “Souls: Leah Ying Lin,”2024, curatorial zine. Courtesy of the curator.

The last section of 3AM Provocations transitions the curator’s musings into the formal curatorial statement for Theater of Energies. It guides the viewer step by step through the exhibition, emphasizing the performativity of a gallery show. A show in 3 acts, artworks in Theater of Energies are divided into “Streams,” “Obsessions,” and “Continuums.” gaoyuan’s understanding that artworks are possessed by energy allows her to poignantly arrange the works included in Theater of Energies to create a living gallery space. When accompanied by 3AM Provocations, Theater of Energies deepens into an intimate portrait of the curator and artists. 

Theater of Energies at Arsenal Contemporary features the work of Nicolas Baier, Bingyi, Michelle Bui, Patrick Coutu, Cui Fei, Nicolas Lachance, Amy Hui Li, Leah Ying Lin, Motohiro Takeda, and Julian Zehnder. The group exhibition is on view until August 24, 2024.

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