LI QIANG: WHERE THE PILE LIES FORGOTTEN
Artists: LI QIANG
Exhibition on View:
November 15 – December 15, 2024
Opening Reception:
November 15, 2024
5:30 - 8:30 PM
Location:
SOJOURNER GALLERY
178 Bleecker Street 2nd Floor
New York, NY 10012
Sojourner Gallery is pleased to present "Where The Pile Lies Forgotten," a solo exhibition by an amazing artist, Li Qiang. The exhibition will be on view from November 15, 2024, to December 15, 2024, with an opening reception on November 15, 2024, from 5:30 - 8:30 PM in our New York Greenwich Village location.
This exhibition delves into themes of memory, media, and the persistence of cultural history through Li's innovative "book tearing" installations, a technique he began in 2009. Using old magazines and books as primary materials, Li’s works evoke a haunting resonance, reflecting on the transient yet enduring essence of printed media in the digital age.
Li Qiang’s practice is rooted in a deeply contemplative exploration of materiality and meaning. Inspired by the erosion of traditional print media, Li’s “book tearing” process dissects and deconstructs magazines, layering fragments into intricate visual tapestries that challenge viewers to question what is remembered and what is forgotten. The installation's torn pieces become more than remnants; they symbolize fragments of history and human memory that resist erasure.
In Where The Pile Lies Forgotten, Li recreates walls of fragmented texts and images, guiding the audience through a landscape that combines personal narrative with collective memory. His works resonate with the richness of classical Chinese aesthetics while bridging dialogues with Western artistic traditions, from Jasper Johns to Julie Mehretu. Each layered piece holds traces of “cultural texture,” embedding both humanism and the haunting echoes of lost stories within each carefully constructed composition.
The installations invite viewers to traverse a maze of visual layers, evoking the storied atmosphere of a forgotten library or archive. Through his meticulous process of hand-tearing, he emphasizes subtraction over addition, creating art that reveals itself in layers—mirroring the complexities of memory and cultural heritage. His previous works, including Under the Surface (2020) and Library Plan (2016), have explored similar themes, receiving acclaim for their depth and provocative approach to the physicality of printed materials.
Where The Pile Lies Forgotten offers a rare, introspective experience where Li’s art becomes a silent yet powerful commentary on modern impermanence. Each piece serves as a reminder of the ephemerality of knowledge and the vulnerability of cultural artifacts, challenging the digital viewer to reflect on the material world they often overlook.
Li Qiang is a contemporary visual artist who lives and works in New York. His artistic endeavors include engraving painting, sculpture, imaging, performance art, and installation art. He started to create “book tearing” works in 2009 by using magazines and books as the medium to express the uncertainty and vulnerability of the current era through the destructive behavior of “tearing”. As a part of the works, the torn pieces became scenes of action. From “traces of land” to “cultural texture”, the artist has been practicing the art for over 20 years. His major works include “Each Tree Branch Connects with Another Branch” in 2021, “Under the Surface” in 2020, “Why Is News Always Black and White?” in 2019, “Sea Water” in 2018, “Library Plan” in 2016, “You Know” in 2015, etc.
For further information, please contact the gallery at newyork@sojournergallery.com