Louise Nevelson and Yin Xiuzhen

Pace Hong Kong’s joint exhibition of contemporary Chinese artist Yin Xiuzhen and renowned 20th century sculptor Louise Nevelson (1899–1988) appeared to present a curious combination, but this juxtaposition succeeded in highlighting concepts important to both artists.

A Russian-born American artist who worked tirelessly until her death, Nevelson drew much of her inspiration from Cubist and Constructivist theories and motifs, despite being categorized later in her career as an Abstract Expressionist. Presented in the first room of the exhibition space were several of Nevelson’s signature all-black sculptures, mostly assembled from wood objects she had found near her New York studio. The artist began employing a dark monochromatic palette in the mid 1950s, associating it not with death but totality and “completeness, maybe eternity.” The Cubist influence was immediately perceptible in Untitled (1976–78), a wall-based collapsed sculpture of horizontal motifs and interrupting vertical slats, underscored by a circular band. Altogether, these geometric elements develop a symbol of the yoni, feminizing the piece. Installed adjacent to this was an Untitled (1971), diagonally oriented “bookshelf,” its rigid facade harking back to Nevelson’s Constructivist influences. The “books” within the cubbies are abstracted forms, wood carved to twist, wave, and bend, catching the light in the gallery to create an indistinguishable depth. The forms within this hard-edged cage are organic and free-flowing, representing the fluidity of consciousness. 

Further into the gallery were sculptures by Yin. Born in Beijing in 1963, she experienced her childhood in the throes of the Cultural Revolution (1966–76). She became enchanted with fabrics as she would help her mother knit clothing for her family—a crucial influence of her later artworks. Today, she is known for sculptural pieces made using books and second-hand clothing—which the artist views as indexes of human memory and experience—along with furniture and concrete, interrogating issues of heritage and collective consciousness amid globalization and industrialization.