O-1 Visas
After a long evening of clubbing, the next day dawns hazy and struggling. Two artists, born in China and finding themselves amid the queer culture of Chicago, explore this tricky midland with delight and questions in Fruity Night, a two-person show at Heaven Gallery. Linye Jiang presents her ongoing photographs of fruit that has been pierced, bound and bedazzled. Blown-up, framed with fluorescent acrylic sheeting, and cut out, the resulting photo-sculptures surprise with outrageous style and empathic personification. Yiwei Leo Wang plays the club kid somewhat self-mockingly in a quartet of artworks, among them a Jenga-tower of colorful resin bricks and a pile of yellow “caution: dance floor” signs whose falling stick figure hints at the perils of the nightclub. In place of a mirrored disco-ball he hangs a dozen round fabric quilts, edged with shiny silver and tie-dyed in rainbow hues, perfect for providing comfort when the party ends.
—Lori Waxman 2025-12-18 11:14 AM