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Museum Hours
Thu: 1 PM–8 PM
Fri–Mon: 10 AM–5 PM
Tue–Wed: Closed
Location
200 Larkin Street
San Francisco, CA 94102
415.581.3500
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Contemporary Art

Zheng Chongbin: I Look for the Sky

Nov 20, 2020 – Jan 30, 2023
Bogart Court

Bay Area artist Zheng Chongbin’s site-specific installation uses transparency and light to explore how ephemeral changes can alter our perception of place.

“Experiencing the world is a cognitive journey.” — Zheng Chongbin

How do artists think about space? That question animates the site-specific installation I Look for the Sky by Marin County–based artist Zheng Chongbin (b. 1961). In dialogue with the museum’s transformation project, I Look for the Sky explores how the manipulation of light can profoundly change our perception of architectural space.

As an artist trained in classical Chinese figurative painting at the China Academy of Art who went on to study performance, installation, and conceptual art at the San Francisco Art Institute, Zheng brings a singular approach to contemporary art.

I Look for the Sky, suspended below the skylights in Bogart Court, comprises panels that vary in transparency and pattern that direct the flow of natural light and manipulate visual sightlines to create a novel spatial experience. Zheng was interested in engaging with ideas of transparency and the free flow of light that architect Gae Aulenti emphasized in her 2003 renovation of the museum building that once served as the city’s Main Library. Zheng’s exploration of transparency and light as mediums is also influenced by the Southern California Light and Space artists of the 1960s and 1970s.

I Look for the Sky invites you to bring a new awareness to your environment.

 

Image: Installation view of I Look for the Sky, Asian Art Museum. Photograph © Asian Art Museum.

Installation of Zheng Chongbin: I Look for the Sky (2:54 min.)
Organizers & Sponsors

Zheng Chongbin: I Look for the Sky is organized by the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco. Presentation is made possible with the generous support of East West Bank, Lucy Sun and Warren Felson, and an anonymous donor. This installation is a part of the Asian American Experience, which is made possible with the generous support of Glen S. and Sakie T. Fukushima, an anonymous donor in memory of Ambassador and Mrs. Sampson Shen, and Claudine Cheng.

Sustained support generously provided by the following endowed funds:
Akiko Yamazaki and Jerry Yang Endowment Fund for Exhibitions
John S. and Sherry H. Chen Endowed Fund for Chinese Art and Programming
Arlene Schnitzer Endowed Fund for Chinese Art
Kao/Williams Contemporary Art Exhibitions Fund