This week in Hong Kong, New York-based artist Dominique Fung unearthed “Beneath the Golden Canopy” at MASSIMODECARLO’s radiant gallery, on view through May 16. Remaining faithful to her trademark synthesis of historical motifs and allusions, the visionary’s latest presentation of hypnotizing paintings is stunningly paradoxical. The noble and the disturbing are placed side by side in conversation, and artifacts of the past rumble with untold sagas.
Dominique Fung Invokes Empress Dowager Cixi in “Beneath the Golden Canopy”
Installation view of Dominique Fung’s “Beneath the Golden Canopy,” Courtesy of the artist and MASSIMODECARLO Hong Kong.
Fung pensively invokes Empress Dowager Cixi in “Beneath the Golden Canopy,” the Manchu noblewoman who stood as the ruler of China throughout the late Qing dynasty, from 1861-1908. Cixi has been seen through The West’s eyes as heartless and calculating, and in China her life is continually examined and debated. Here, Fung intriguingly employs the Empress as a spark which unfurls a haunting dialogue on womanhood, authority, and the fabrications weaved into history as we know it.
The artist’s rich memories manifest as a central focus of her creative practice, where fragments of a book here, a period drama there, and the realization of falsities overflowing from colonial narratives at once interlace and tighten. Set within “Beneath the Golden Canopy” is an opulent carpet of Cixi’s court, producing an evocative atmosphere which balances truth with mystique. Fung’s personal voyage through time and space, and her own familial memories, are echoed and amplified.
Multidimensional Paintings Unveil Labyrinthine Power Dynamics
Installation view of Dominique Fung’s “Beneath the Golden Canopy,” Courtesy of the artist and MASSIMODECARLO Hong Kong.
As visitors explore Fung’s multidimensional paintings, they will embark upon spellbinding patterns set across imperial robes, a sensorial spread of ancient delicacies, and a myriad of hands and feet carrying the weight of the world. Momentous triptych The She Dragon, The Fragile Phoenix, and The Limping Dragon, provides insight into labyrinthine power dynamics. Empresses, concubines, and emperors engage in a surreal yet all too familiar realm.
Fung investigates vital historical figures in each skillful panel: The She Dragon as Empress Dowager Cixi, The Fragile Phoenix as Empress Consort Ci’an, and The Limping Dragon as the Xianfeng Emperor. The Empresses command our attention in prismatic hues, paired with the artist’s latest technique of two-tone transitions. This clever creative process allows for multiple perspectives and horizons, seamlessly linking with a multi-canvas structure inspired by traditional Chinese scrolls.
A Sanctuary of Female Storytelling Unfolds in Hong Kong
Installation view of Dominique Fung’s “Beneath the Golden Canopy,” Courtesy of the artist and MASSIMODECARLO Hong Kong.
Femininity is an overarching theme of Fung’s analysis, as well as the women who have been dangerously fetishized, restrained, and dismissed throughout human history. Abandoned concubines of the past rise in conversation with the women of today, speaking to shared adversities and aspirations. Energized by Dutch masters including Rembrandt and Vermeer, Fung choreographs a theatrical, candlelit environment of searing juxtapositions.
In this sanctuary of storytelling, 20th century lacquered jewelry boxes represent the profound spirit of the female figure in a timeworn palette of green, amber, gray, and gold. Sculptural and enthralling, these treasures speak to the ways in which women have been tragically limited to objects of beauty, when in reality their interior selves beam and evolve with shadows and intensity.
Installation view of Dominique Fung’s “Beneath the Golden Canopy,” Courtesy of the artist and MASSIMODECARLO Hong Kong.
Installation view of Dominique Fung’s “Beneath the Golden Canopy,” Courtesy of the artist and MASSIMODECARLO Hong Kong.
