Plain Silk, uncarved wood

curated by brent nakamoto

September 10–November 5, 2022

Associated Artists of Pittsburgh Exhibition Space
100 43rd St. Unit 107
Pittsburgh, PA 15201

Opening Reception: September 10th, 4:00-7:00pm

Exhibiting Artists: Anny Chen, Eriko Hattori, Karen Lue, Brent Nakamoto, Paul Peng, Sarah Kim, Julie Lee, Imin Yeh

Parking + Transportation

Visiting + accessibility

Plain Silk, Uncarved Wood is an exhibition of Asian American artists living in Pittsburgh, and will feature the work of Anny Chen, Eriko Hattori, Sarah Kim, Julie Lee, Karen Lue, Paul Peng, Imin Yeh. This exhibition seeks to claim space for Asian American artists in what is still predominately a white cultural space, and in doing so draw attention to the innovative work that these artists are making. It is not an attempt to define “Asian American” art, but rather, to re-define what it means to be an artist in Pittsburgh, and to examine the many ways that Asian American artists are contributing to art in the Pittsburgh area.

The opening reception will be a celebration of the Asian diaspora in Pittsburgh and will include music from DJ Formosa, food by AmBoy Urban Collective’s Rafael Vencio, and performances by Caroline Yoo & Anny Chen.

Artwork checklist

Accompanying programming

Saturday, September 10, 2022: Opening reception with performances from Caroline Yoo and Anny Chen, food by AmBoy Urban Collective’s Rafael Vencio, and music from DJ Formosa. 4:00pm–7:00pm.
Online Store (September 12 - November 5) - shop artworks, prints, and apparel from exhibiting artists.
Wednesday, September 21, 2022: Artist Workshop Happy Hour with artists Brent Nakamoto and Paul Peng. 5:00pm–7:00pm
Saturday, October 1, 2022: Artist Workshop at the Lawrenceville Pop-up Market with artists Julie Lee and Sarah Kim. Additional art-making activities provided by artist Imin Yeh. 12:00pm–4:00pm
Saturday, November 5, 2022: Coloring page workshop with Eriko Hattori + closing reception brunch. 11:00am-1:00pm.
More programs to be announced.

Plain Silk, uncarved wood artwork — Image: Paul Peng

Statement from curator, Brent Nakamoto:

“The title, Plain Silk, Uncarved Wood, comes from the nineteenth verse of the Tao Te Ching. In most english translations, the phrase is translated similar to “Show simplicity, hold fast to honesty,” but the literal meaning is closer to “Look at plain silk, hold uncarved wood.” As an artist, I like this literal translation because it grounds the idea of authenticity in the materials of painting and sculpture. It’s a taoist phrasing of the tenet of truth to materials, and it says: everything we need to know is in the materials themselves; there is a beauty in these materials even before we touch them. And yet, this understanding is also just a starting point; as artists, we are always here to add something of our own.
For the artists in this exhibition, the relationship to identity and culture—often complicated—is a fundamental material for much of the work that they make. And yet, it too, is just a starting point.
In curating this show I’m less concerned by how these commonalities tie us together—the imagined starting point—than I am by the breadth of different styles, ways of working, and ways of seeing, exhibited in the work. The show is structured less around a conceptual idea—that there is something shared—and more around a proposition: that the work included be the work that is newest, most exciting, unknown, on the edge of being. The show is not an attempt to define, but to celebrate. Not about fitting work into a conceptual framework, but about following the creative process—exploration, curiosity, liberation, joy—as a way to explode the conceptual frameworks that bind us, which define what we, or what our work, might be.”