Icons and motifs continue to be as important to Contemporary artists as they were to Old Masters. For his most recent sculptural work, artist Jesse Small utilizes an action figure that to many around the world, particularly children, symbolizes epic power and valor to juxtapose long-lasting traditions and cultural shifts in contemporary China. In Hong Kong, artist Yuichi Sugai re-lives his own childhood through images of caricatures, calligraphy, and traditional Japanese print subject matter. Both artists attempt to remain true to aesthetic customs while bringing light to overriding personal views and manifestations.

In New York, Nancy Hoffman Gallery showcases a tantalizing collection of toy-like sculptures by artist Jesse Small (American, b.1974). Inspiration for the new pieces stems from the artist’s fascination with the mass produced toy robots distributed throughout rural China. Small, who divides his time between his ceramics studio in Jingdezhen, China’s “Porcelain Capital,” and Los Angeles, combines traditional glazing techniques with common place toy design to produce these toys. The blue-and-white motif seen in the porcelain wares produced in this region is applied to the figures in the same way it has been done for centuries. Like the plastic robots that the artist has grown fond of collecting, his porcelain figurines have limbs made up of artillery and aircrafts, among other large mechanical arms. The artist pays tribute to tradition while underlining the issues of class and cultural development sparked by the intersection of where East meets West.¹

Jesse Small: Heavy Toys will be on view from June 20 to August 2 at 520 W. 27th Street, New York, NY.

Jesse Small, ADHOCFIGHTER #2, Nancy Hoffman Gallery, New York, NY

Yuichi Sugai (Japanese, b.1952) reminisces on his childhood in Toyko in a series of mixed media works presented at the Hong Kong location of Art Statements. He uses Kimono fabric, painting, and printmaking to create pieces that bring together traditional oriental imagery, Japanese text, and animated fictional characters. When The Darkness Falls II (2010) depicts cherry blossoms, which are often seen in 19th-century Japanese woodblock prints, as well as glimpses of playing children, evoking a sense of impermanence and fleeting youth. Sugai uses this body of work as a vehicle to childhood imagination, inviting viewers to reflect upon their own personal memories.

Yuichi Sugai: Melancholy (Hong Kong) will be on view from June 20 to July 20 at Unit 6-7, 17/F, Hing Wai Centre, 7 Tin Wan Praya Road, Aberdeen, Hong Kong, China.

Yuichi Sugai, When The Darkness Fall II, 2010, Art Statements, Hong Kong, China

Browse openings by city to see where art can be found in your town!

Atlanta, GA
Big Blooms by Paul Lange at Hagedorn Foundation Gallery
June 20–August 15, 2013
425 Peachtree Hills Avenue #25, Atlanta, GA

Bangkok, Thailand
Unwrapping Culture by Pichet Klunchun at 100 Tonson Gallery
June 20–August 24, 2013
100 Soi Tonson Ploenchit Road, Lumpinee Patumwan, Bangkok, 10330 Thailand

Cologne, Germany
You and Me Beyond the Horizon – Accrochage 2013 at Galerie Brigitte Schenk
June 20–August 31, 2013
Albertusstraße 26, 50667 Cologne, Germany

Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Khaled Jarrar: Whole in the Wall’ at Ayyam Gallery
June 20–August 3, 2013
Alserkal Avenue, Exit 43 of SZR, Street 8, Al Quoz 1, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

London, UK
Barbara Myers at Catto Gallery
June 20–July 16, 2013
100 Heath Street, London, NW 3 1DP United Kingdom
FROM MILAN TO GENOA AND BACK: Between Mannerism and Baroque (London) at Robilant & Voena
June 20–July 19, 2013
1st Fl., 38 Dover Street, London, W1S 4NL United Kingdom

Milan, Italy
Turi Simeti: Anni Sessanta at DEP ART
June 20–July 27, 2013
Via Giuriati, 9, 20129 Milan, Italy

New York, NY
Woods, Lovely, Dark, and Deep at DC Moore Gallery
June 20–August 15, 2013
535 W. 22nd Street, New York, NY 10011
Under My Skin: Contemporary Nudes Curated by Mona Kuhn at Flowers
June 20–July 27, 2013
529 W. 20th Street, New York, NY 10011
Sunsets And Pussy at Marianne Boesky Gallery
June 20–August 16, 2013
509 W. 24th Street, New York, NY 10011
Cameron Gray: Birth of a Legend at Mike Weiss Gallery
June 20–August 17, 2013
520 W. 24th Street, New York, NY 10011
Katerina Lanfranco: Wildflowers & Floating Worlds at Nancy Hoffman Gallery
June 20–August 2, 2013
520 W. 27th Street, New York, NY 10011
Rebecca Norris Webb: My Dakota at Ricco/Maresca
June 20–August 17, 2013
520 W. 20th Street, 3rd Floor, New York, NY 10011
Miya Ando | Mujo [Impermanence] (New York) at Sundaram Tagore Gallery
June 20–July 20, 2013
547 W. 27th Street, New York, NY 10011
404 E 14th at Tibor de Nagy Gallery
June 20–August 2, 2013
724 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10019