Fay Ku — Darkness Against the Glittering Sky
Material Gallery is very pleased to present a solo exhibition of drawings by Taiwan-born, New York City-based artist Fay Ku, on view in Salt Lake City from November 15, 2024 to January 11, 2025. The exhibition, titled "Darkness Against the Glittering Sky," is a curated selection of works spanning several years that represent the artist's love of playing with materials and processes within the drawing discipline.
Fay Ku is, at heart, a drawer, though she often uses materials and processes not traditionally associated with drawing. These works on paper incorporate paper and paper-like substrates, from traditional Asian papers to translucent drafting film, and processes from collage, hand printmaking, and embroidery. Whatever the media, she creates worlds inhabited by women and children engaged in often troubling or even demonic behaviors. Ku is inspired by many historical techniques and styles—especially traditional East Asian art—but her narratives draw from contemporary concerns. They explore cultural, sexual, and political identities, power dynamics, social, familial, and internal conflicts—in short, the full spectrum of human experience. Fay Ku's work, while not autobiographical, is informed by her experiences as a woman and immigrant, as well as her interests in language, culture, histories, and mythologies across various cultures.
In her artist's statement for "Darkness Against the Glittering Sky", Ku says, "While my subject matters are grounded in contemporary times and issues, I aim for a sense of timelessness in my work, reflecting my interest in art and cultural histories across diverse civilizations. As an immigrant brought up in two cultures, I was aware from a young age how worldviews are encoded within the language, social customs, and material culture. Because I was constantly crossing from one world to another, I realized early on the fluidity of identity and how we tell multiple stories of ourselves. While I challenge expectations and constraints, I also want to acknowledge resonances inherited from history as well as the darker elements of our human nature.”
Material co-founder Colour Maisch says, "We are honored to present the profoundly beautiful and masterful work of nationally and internationally celebrated artist Fay Ku. Fay's intricately detailed drawings, inspired by myths, folklore, and her own experiences of displacement, are simultaneously thought-provoking and playful. She invokes Eastern and Western traditions in her drawings, combining fluid draftsmanship and exacting detail. Fay's depictions of humans and their relationships with animals, such as fish and birds, are embedded with an alluring psychological energy and undeniable appeal. Fay is no stranger to the community as she spent time in Utah in 2013 for a residency at Birch Creek Ranch, Ephraim, UT, and her work was in "superHUMAN," a traveling exhibition curated by Material co-founder Jorge Rojas, presented at Central Utah Art Center (CUAC) in 2012. We have followed Fay's career with great interest and couldn't be more excited for Utah audiences to get better acquainted with her creative process and overall practice."
Material will host an opening reception for Fay Ku on Friday, November 15, from 6:00-9 p.m., with an artist talk from 5:30-6:00 p.m. The exhibition will also be available for viewing on Friday, December 6, 6:00-8 p.m., as part of Salt Lake City's Gallery Stroll, during the closing reception on Saturday, January 11, from 6:00-8 p.m., and by appointment. Fay Ku will be present at the opening reception and give an artist talk, providing a unique opportunity for visitors to engage with her and gain a deeper understanding of her work.
About the Artist
Fay Ku is a Taiwan-born, New York City-based artist whose work is figurative, narrative, and connects with past and present cultural histories. She is the recipient of a 2007 Louis Comfort Tiffany Grant, a 2009 New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) fellowship grant, and was a Finalist for the NYFA fellowship in 2023. She has exhibited both nationally and internationally, including solo exhibitions at the Honolulu Museum of Art (Honolulu, Hawai'i), Marlboro College (Marlboro, VT), New Britain Museum of American Art (New Britain, CT), and Snite Museum of Art (South Bend, IN). Her work is in the collections of the Honolulu Museum of Art, the Marjorie Barrick Museum of Art (Las Vegas, NV), the New Britain Museum of American Art, the University of New Mexico Art Museum, and the Wadsworth Atheneum (Hartford, CT). Ku has participated in numerous residencies including the Hermitage Artist Retreat in Sarasota, FL, Tamarind Institute in Albuquerque, NM, as well as extended residencies at the Bemis Center for Contemporary Art, Lower East Side Printshop in New York, the Santa Fe Art Institute and Women’s Studio Workshop, Rosendale, NY.
Ku is a Visiting Assistant Professor at Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY, and for their Pratt in Venice Summer Program in Venice, Italy. She has also taught at New Jersey City University and the University of Nevada-Las Vegas, served on NYFA's Artist Advisory Committee, and as a panelist on the U.S. Fulbright Student Program National Screening Committee, Brooklyn Arts Council, and other non-profit organizations. She attended Bennington College, Bennington, Vermont, for her B.A. and holds both an M.F.A. in Studio Art and an M.S. in Art History from Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY. Ku is represented by H Gallery, Paris, France.
Ku's work is currently on view in The Brooklyn Artists Exhibition, Brooklyn Museum, through January 26, 2025.
About Material
Built on the collective vision of artists Jorge Rojas and Colour Maisch, Material is a multifaceted art space housing a commercial gallery, artist studios, classes and community events. Material exhibits local, national, and international artists through community-centered events and collaborations.
