Celestial Bodies

CURATED BY Neena Wang

February 21 - June 7, 2025

OPENING RECEPTION February 21st, 6-8 PM

statement -

Celestial Bodies contemplates the human body as a reflection of the universe, an idea embedded in ancient and modern cosmology, acupuncture, and traditional medicine. The term “celestial,” once a racial slur used against Chinese American laborers in the 19th century, is reclaimed and dedicated to a shared cosmic connection among the Asian diaspora. Featuring fourteen AAPI artists with ties to the American South and Midwest, this exhibition reflects on how migration reshapes personal and cultural mythologies, birthing new visual languages and collective imaginations. Nearly all the elements that comprise the human body were formed from stars over billions of years, meaning the constellations are our oldest ancestors. Just as stars chart ancestral pathways across the night sky, these works trace the journeys of those who came before us—seeking belonging, forging new homes, and dreaming beyond borders. Weaving together ancestral histories, personal narratives, and speculative futures, Celestial Bodies is a constellation map proposing that even as we traverse unfamiliar landscapes, we are forever connected by the sky.

Participating Artists -

Participating Artists: Soeun Bae, Danqi Cai, In Kyoung Chun, Yiran Guo, Chieko Murasugi, Dana Lynn Harper, Clare Hu, Gyun Hur, coco liao, Ivan David Ng, Marina Peng, Narong Tintamusik, Jan-Ru Wan, Neena Wang

ABOUT THE CURATOR -

Neena Wang - Neena Wang is a multidisciplinary artist and curator from Memphis who lives and works in Los Angeles. Her creative practice spans curation, sculpture, painting, installation, performance and music to imagine alternative futures and create them into the present. Her most recent curatorial project was the exhibition Between Heaven and Earth, We Build Our Home at UrbanArt Commission in Memphis, and she previously held the position of Curatorial Assistant at the Pulitzer Arts Foundation in St. Louis. She has been an artist-in-residence at Eureka Springs School of Art, Jentel Arts, Stove Works, Crosstown Arts, and Paul Artspace. Her work has been exhibited in shows in Los Angeles, Memphis, Chattanooga, and St. Louis, and she has been the recipient of grants from Tri-Star Arts, the Foundation for Contemporary Arts, and Q-Wave.