The large-scale photographs of calyxes presented in this show by Chinese-born American artist Teresa Chen are only “gorgeous” at first sight. On closer inspection, the mostly deep red blossoms, bathed in a jelly-like liquid, provoke bizarre associations: Are they swimming in a puddle of sticky blood? Engulfed in glistening strawberry syrup? Or are they merely pseudo-abstract color studies? To date, Chen’s photos have explored her body (sometimes literally, as in Indeterminate Body, 1998), her past, her family, and the cultural coordinates she navigates between East and West. As an artist, she has no reservations: Her close-ups blend the beautiful with the horrible, the body’s erogenous zones with deformities, and harmonious idylls with grimy details. The new works are obliquely inspired by autobiography: Unable to continue her self-portrait series while pregnant, Chen turned to the blooms as a substitute, bathing them in liquid before photographing them. Immersed and surfacing, drowned and spat out, associations abound: These sensual symbols function both aesthetically and erotically.
Translated from German by Emily Speers Mears.
