Wu Tsang

Born 1982
Lives and works in Los Angeles

Education

2010 UCLA, Interdisciplinary Studio MFA, Los Angeles, CA
2004 School of the Art Institute of Chicago, BFA, Chicago, IL

Solo Exhibitions

2017
Nottingham Contemporary, Nottingham, UK (Upcoming January)

2016
365 Mission Road, Los Angeles, CA (Upcoming September)
Spring Workshop, Hong Kong

2015
FIAC Hors Les Murs Special Project, Paris, France
Clifton Benevento, New York, NY
A day in the life of bliss, Julia Stoschek Collection, Duesseldorf, Germany

2014
Not in my language, Migros Museum, Zurich, Switzerland
A day in the life of bliss, Galerie Isabella Bortolozzi, Berlin, Germany
Moved by the Motion, Diverse Works, Houston, TX

2013
Show’s Over, Gallery TPW, Toronto, Canada
Michael Benevento, Los Angeles, CA

2011
Re:New/Re:Play
Residency and Public Program, New Museum,  New York, NY
Clifton Benevento, New York, NY

Selected Group Exhibitions

2016
Bergen Assembly Triennial, Bergen, Norway (Upcoming September)
9th Berlin Biennial, Berlin, Germany (Upcoming June)
Staging Film: the relation of image and space in video art, Busan Museum of Art, Busan, South Korea
11. Forum Expanded, Akademie der Künste, Berlin, Germany

2015
Co-Workers: Beyond Disaster, Betonsalon, Paris, France
The Beast and the SovereignWürttembergischer Kunstverein, Stuttgart, Germany
Party Out of Bounds: Nightlife as Activism Since 1980, Visual AIDS, New York, NY
Looks, ICA, London, UK
America is Hard to See, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY
The heart is deceitful above all things, Cornerhouse, Manchester, UK
Real Humans, Kunsthalle Duesseldorf, Germany
The Beast and the SovereignMACBA, Barcelona, Spain
Discordant Harmony – Seoul Exhibition, Art Sonje Center, Seoul, South Korea
Transgender Hirstory in 99 Objects : Legends & Mythologies, ONE Archive, Los Angeles, CA

2014
Double Life, Contemporary Art Museum Houston, Houston, TX
Body Doubles, MCA ChicagoChicago, IL
Don’t You Know Who I am? Art After Identity Politics, MuHKA, Antwerp, Belgium
Nervous Systems – Languages of Wonder & Denial, Kunsthal Aarhus, Denmark
Made in L.A., Hammer Museum Biennial, Los Angeles, CA

2013
Affluence of the working class differentiation to collectivism, Pavilion, Bucharest, Romania
Blues for Smoke, Wexner Center for the Arts, Columbus, OH
Blues for Smoke, Whitney Museum, New York, NY

2012
Blues for Smoke, The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA, Los Angeles, CA
Nothing is Forgotten, Everything Considered, UKS, Oslo, Norway
Gwangju Bienniale 2012, Bwangju, Korea  
First Among Equals, ICA Philadelphia, PA
The Ungovernables, New Musuem, New York, NY
Whitney Biennial, New York, NY

2010
Quadruple Consciousness
, Vox Populi, Philadelphia, PA
California Biennial
, Orange County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA
After Image, S33, Baltimore, MD

2009
Dance
, Sons and Daughters Dance! Physics Room, Christchurch, New Zealand
Tainted Love
, La Mama Galleria, New York, NY
Somethings Gonna Happen Soon, Art Production Fund LAB, New York, NY

2008
Our Bodies Our Selves
, Montehermoso Cultural Center, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain
MAKE OUT!
, Studio44, Stockholm, Sweden

2007
Shared Women
, Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions, Los Angeles, CA

2006
Bunker o no Bunker: por una profiláxis del sujecto
, Galeria Ramis Barquet, Monterrey, Mexico
Cyberfem. Feminisms in the Electronic Landscape
, Espai d’Art Contemporani, Castellon, Spain
New Ghost Entertainment Entitled
, Städtische Galerie Kunsthaus, Dresden, Germany
Esthetics of Resistance, CareOf Gallery, Milan

2005
I Beg Your Pardon
, Vera List Center for Art and Politics, New York, NY
Multitudinario
, Sala de Art Publico Siqueiros, Mexico City, Mexico
Intersex 101, Neue Gesellschaft für Bildende Kunst, Berlin
Macerate, Around the Coyote Gallery, Chicago, MI

2004
Lesbians To the Rescue, New Image Art, Los Angeles, CA

2003
Listen Translate Translate Record
, Andrew Kreps, New York, NY

Selected Screenings

2015
WILDNESS, Spike Island, Bristol, UK
WILDNESS, ICA London, UK
WILDNESS, Basilica Hudson, Hudson, NY

2014
WILDNESS, MACBA, Barcelona, Spain
WILDNESS, Guggenheim Museum, New York, NY

2013
WILDNESS, Nottingham Contemporary, Nottingham, UK
Tied and True as part of Future Perfect: States of Time, Tate Modern, London, UK
WILDNESS and State of a Right Statement, Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam
Kinoapparatom presents:Cinéma Oblique, Kunsthaus Bregenz, Austria
WILDNESS, Palais de Tokyo, Paris, France
WILDNESS, Beursschouwburg, Brussels, Belgium
WILDNESS, www.Vdrome.com
WILDNESS, The Tanks at Tate Modern,  London, UK

2012
The Contenders
, MoMA, NY
Liverpool Biennial, Liverpool, UK
Frieze Film, Frieze Foundation, Frieze Art Fair, London, UK
SANFIC 8 Film Festival, Santiago, Chile
WILDNESS, Gene Siskel Film Center, Chicago, MI
Documentary Fortnight, MoMA, NY

2011
Hail the New Puritans, with Charles Atlas and Matt Wolf in Conversation, New Museum, NY

2010
OUTFEST, Redcat, Los Angeles, CA
Newfest, New York, NY
Burnt House, Gambia Castle, Aukland, New Zealand
Fusion, Los Angeles, CA

2009
Freaky Film Club
, Berlin, Germany
Identities Film Festival
, Vienna, Austria

2008
Troca-Trocas
, Capacete, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
The Young and Evil
, TankTV (tank.tv)
Multiplicity of Desires
, Impakt Film Festival, Utrecht Netherlands

2007
Dead, Absent, and Fictitious
, Documenta 12, Kassel, Germany
The Museum as a Brothel
, Oberhausen International Film Festival, Oberhausen, Germany

2004
Elusive Quality
, Liverpool Biennial @FACT Centre, Liverpool, UK

Selected Performances

2016
Moved by the Motion (featuring boy child), Bonniers Kunsthalle Stockholm, Stockholm, Sweden (Upcoming September)
Moved by the Motion (featuring boychild), EMPAC, Albany, NY (Upcoming April)
Moved by the Motion (featuring boychild), Outview Film, Athens, Greece (Upcoming April)

2015
Moved by Motion (featuring boychild), Donaufestival, Austria

2014
Untouchables (featuring boychild)Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Moved by the Motion (featuring boychild), DiverseWorks, Houston, TX
Moved by the Motion (featuring boychild),  The Geffen Contemporary, Los Angeles, CA
Moved by the Motion (featuring boychild)MCA ChicagoChicago, IL

2013
Guilt for Shame, as part of Pride Goes Before a Fall/ Beware of a Holy Whore, Artists Space, New York, NY
Breakdown in collaboration with Kelela and Ashland Mines, The Tanks at Tate Modern, London, UK

2012
Blasting Voice, The Suzanne Geiss Company, New York, NY

2011
Full Body Quotation, Performa 11, The New Museum, New York, NY
HOW TO CUT A QUEEN: A Conversation with Jonathan and Ivan Monforte, New Museum, New York, NY
THE TABLE, with TOTAL FREEDOM (Ashland Mines), KINGDOM (Ezra Rubin), and NGUZUNGUZU (Asma Maroof & Daniel Pineda), New Museum, New York

2010
Ecstatic Resistance, X Initiative, New York, NY

2009
New Original Works Festival
, REDCAT, Los Angeles, CA
Nostalgia Ain’t What it Used to Be
, La Mama Theater, New York, NY

2008
Open Studio
, REDCAT, Los Angeles, CA

2006
Positively Nasty
, Susan Veilmetter Los Angeles Projects, Los Angeles, CA
New Ghost Entertainment Entitled
, Or Gallery, Vancouver, BC

2003
Listen Translate Translate Record
, Andrew Kreps, New York, NY

Bibliography

2016
Paige K. Bradley, “Wu Tsang Discusses her film debuting in Hong Kong at Spring Workshop,” Artforum, March
Joseph Akel, “An Artist’s Monograph That Tests the Limits of Language,” T Magazine, January 25

2015
Matthew Shen Goodman, “Wu Tsang, Clifton Benevento,” Frieze, November Issue, p165
Rachel Rakes, “Wu Tsang, Clifton Benevento,” Art Agenda, October 26
Sonia Kolesnikov-Jessop, “Wu Tsang, Swarovski Unveil Light Installation at FIAC 2015,” Blouin ArtInfo, October 21
Kevin McGarry, “FIAC Brings Larger-Than-Life Art to Paris,” The New York Times Style Magazine, October 21
Risa Puleo, “Wu Tsang and Fred Moten Trade Voicemail at Clifton Benevento,” Blouin Artinfo, September 26
“Wu Tsang, Clifton Benevento,” Cura Online, September 22
Nicolas Linnert, “Wu Tsang,” Artforum Online, September 11
“Opening: Wu Tsang at Clifton Benevento,” ArtNews, August 31
“Looks at ICA: Posthuman Bodies and Over-edited Identities,” Sleek Magazine, April 28
Alice Hattrick, “Bliss Out, Interveiw with Wu Tsang, ” Noon, Issue 03, SS15
Gabriel Coxhead, “Looks, Five artists question how identity is constructed,” Time Out London, May 5
Harry Burke, ” We speak to the artists behind the ICA’s new exhibition, Looks,” i-D online, April 22
Charles Lim, “Wu Tsang, Not in my language Migros Museum für Gegenwarskunst, Zurich 22 November – 8 February,”Art Review Asia, May 2015
Risa Puleo, “Poignancy, Potency, and Presence: “Double Life” Takes Over CAMH,” Blouin ArtInfo, March 1, 2015
Daniel Horn, “Wu Tsang Migros Museum Für Gegenwartskunst,” Artforum, March, p 296

2014
Hannah Ellis-Petersen, “Institute of Contemporary Arts show on gender, sexuality and celebrity culture, ” The Guradian, November 18
Christian Viveros-Fauńe, “The 50 Most Exciting Artists of 2014,” ArtNews, December 29
Adela Yawitz, “Wu Tsang in Berlin: A Day in the Life of Bliss,” Turn on Art, July
Nonso Christian Ugbode, “You’re Dead to Me, A Mother’s Love and Regret,” Black Public Media, July 2
Michael Herren, “The Hammer Debuts ‘Made in L.A.,'” Los Angeles Confidential (online), July
Carol Cheh, “Artists at work: Wu Tsang,” East of Borneo (online), June,
Ming Lin, “Wu Tsang: Invisible Boundaries,” Art Asia Pacific, May/June, p84-85

2013
Joseph Henry, “Jon Davies Talks His New Wu Tsang Exhibition and Queer Curation,” Blouin Artinfo Canada, November 13
Paul Soto, “Wu Tsang, Michael Benevento,” Flash Art, October, p.162
Travis Diehl, “Wu Tsang, Michael Benevento,” Artforum, Vol 52. No.2, October, p.304
“Wu Tsang at Michael Benevento,” Mousse Magazine, Summer 2013, Issue 39, p.284
Robin Newman, “Wu Tsang, Michael Benevento, Los Angeles,” art agenda, July 1
Adham Faramaky, “Wanna make love in this club (in this club),” I-D Magazine, June p254
Christopher Knight, “Wu Tsang at Michael Benevento Gallery,” L.A. Times, June 6
Andrew Berardini, “Wu Tsang, Wildness,” Vdrome online, May
Catherine Wangley, “Five Artsy Thing to Do in L.A., This Week Including a Whistling Performance,” L.A. Weekly, May 15-17 2013, Vol.35 Issue 26, p142
Thomas J. Lax, “Feeling Conceptual,” Mousse Magazine, April/May, p130-139
Andrew Russeth, “Foundation for Contemporary Arts Grants for Wu Tsang, Matt Hoyt, MPA and More,” Gallerist NY, January 16

2012
Jacob Brown, ” Twelve Out of ’12,” T -Magazine, December, p.157
Rosalia Jovanovic, “The 15 Hottest Artists of the Summer,” Gallerist NY, July 24
Kate Linthicum, ” Outfest: Wu Tsang’s ‘Wildness’ documents the Silver Platter scene,” L.A. Times, July 13
E.A. Zimmer, “Myth and Legacy in WILDNESS,” Performa Magazine, June 12
Alice Gregory, “Twist of Fête,” Bullet Magazine, June, p.218-219
Nicci Yin, “Wu Tsang in the Biennial and Triennial,” Artlog, March 13
Howard Halle, “Review: Whitney Biennial 2012,” Time Out Magazine, March 2
Roberta Smith, “A Survey of a Different Color – 2012 Whitney Biennial,” New York Times, March 2
Chloe Wyma, “‘I Dislike the Word Visibility”: Wu Tsang on Sexuality, Creativity, and Conquering New York’s Museums,” Artinfo, March 2
Alex Gartenfeld, “Wu Tsang,” Interview Magazine, February
Sam Thorne, “Focus: Wu Tsang,” Frieze, Issue 145
Stephen Holder, “Documentary Fortnight 2012,” The New York Times (online), February 17
Dan Duray, “Meet Wu Tsang, Soon to  Be Featured in Every Show in Town,” The New York Observer (online), February 14
Aimee Walleston, “In Both Bi-and Triennial, Wu Tsang Talks Community,” Art in America, February 14
Jerry Portwood, “American Realness,” Out Magazine, February 14
Hilarie M. Sheets, “Feb 15: The Ungovernables,” W Magazine, February
Chloe Wyma, ” The Show Down: Handicapping the Great Whitney Biennial Vs. New Museum Triennial Face Off of 2012,” February 14
Rachel Corbett, Emily Nathan and Walter Robinson, “The Ungovernables – The New Capital: A Cheat Sheet,” Artnet, February 13

2011
Anja Isabel Schneider, “Wu Tsang,” Kaleidoscope, Issue 12, Fall, p102
Kevin McGarry, “Wu Tsang: body quotations, back-breaking sparkle and the dissemination of wildness”, Mousse Magazine, Issue 30, October/ November p127-129
Holland Cotter, “Wu Tsang”, The New York Times, July 8, p27
Claire Barlinat, “Wu Tsang,” The New Yorker, July 11, 2011
Kimberly Lightbody, “BashCompactor: Wu Tsang’s Clan,” June 29
Gillian Tozer, “When Tables Turn: The Table at the New Museum,” Opening Ceremony, June 24
Antonio Scoccimarro, “Preview: Wu Tsang,” Mousse Magazine, Summer Issue
Lauren Cornell, “Two Questions for Wu Tsang,” Rhizome, June22
Ashley W Simpson, “Silver Screen,’ Interview, June/July, p33
Vargas, Chris, “Interview: Wu Tsang,” Original Plumbing, February 20
Corrine Fitzpatrick, “Critics Pick,” Artforum.com, June
“Critics Pick, ” Time Out New York, July

2009
Jennifer Doyle, “Art Versus Sport,” X-TRA Magazine, Summer
Julia-Bryan Wilson, “Mixed Signals: Artists Consider Masculinity and Sports,” LACMA

2008
Tyler Coburn, “Then and Now: Desire on Screen,” rhizome.org, August 5
Katie Brewer Ball, “Marriage, the union of Wu Tsang and Math Bass,” PSi #14: Interregnum: In-Between States
Gregg Bordowitz, “Sentiment, Belief, and Medium,” Film, Avant-Garde and Biopolitics

2006
The Uncertain States of America Reader, “New Live Queer Art.” Wolf, Matt. Sternberg Press

June 4 – August 5th, 2011

Clifton Benevento is proud to present the New York solo debut of Los Angeles based visual and performance artist Wu Tsang, featuring video, collage and site-specific installation.

Central to the exhibition is DAMELO TODO (Give Me Everything), 2010, a hybrid narrative-documentary installation incorporating elements of Tsang’s lived experience organizing WILDNESS, a party/performance night for two years at the Los Angeles bar Silver Platter. The film depicts a fictional protagonist, Teódulo Mejía, a 15 year-old Salvadorian civil war refugee arriving to Los Angeles in 1985, who discovers community support among trans women at the bar. Based on a short story written by Raquel Gutierrez, and adapted to screen by Tsang, DAMELO TODO fictionalizes a larger narrative about the collaboration and tenuous coalition between the Silver Platter and the young artists of WILDNESS.

Silver Platter not only provides narrative and aesthetic inspiration for DAMELO TODO, but also for the overall installation components and themes of the exhibition, which meditate on the formal, conceptual, and physical resonances of the bar as a ‘safe space’ for marginalized communities. A gold lamé curtain evokes an area for a stage; a neon metal structure based on the bar’s exterior signage is also present, text altered from “Silver Platter” to “The Fist Is Still Up,” pointing towards intersections of politics and pleasure.

Pushing further entanglements of performance, experimental documentary, narrative film and queer nightlife, Tsang’s collages and alter piece – collaborations with artist R.J. Messineo – incorporate Silver Platter ephemera to raise issues of memorialization and still-life. Reorienting Tsang’s medium as the social relationships and environments built through daily actions and inspired by nightlife, Tsang’s practice opens a series of questions about ambiguities of being.

WU TSANG is a performer and filmmaker in Los Angeles. His projects have been presented at X-Initiative (New York), Sala de Art Publico Siqueiros (Mexico City), Oberhausen (Germany), REDCAT (Los Angeles), and the California Biennial (2010). Tsang was an IFP Documentary Fellow for his first feature WILDNESS (in post-production). He is currently developing a performance project entitled FULL BODY QUOTATION in residence under commission by the New Museum, which will be presented as part of Performa 2011, with exhibition of a resulting short film in 2012.

Corrine Fitzpatrick, “Wu Tsang, Clifton Benevento”. Artforum.com. July 2011.
PDF OF REVIEW

Robin Newman, “The Fist is Still Up”. Dossier Journal. June 20, 2011.
PDF OF REVIEW

Ashley Simpson, “Silver Screen”. Interview Magazine. June 6, 2011.
PDF OF REVIEW

Antonio Scoccimarro, “Wu Tsang”. Mousse Magazine. Issue 29 2011.
PDF OF REVIEW

Claire Barliant, “Wu Tsang”. The New Yorker. July 11, 2011.
PDF OF REVIEW