Shuang Li: I’m Not | Whitewall

If you happen to be in town for sonorous fairs like Frieze and 1-54, be sure to check out these top exhibitions and debuts in New York from luminaries including Maurizio Cattelan, Paul Klee, Shuang Li, and more.

As a spectacle of international art fairs take place in New York, a parade of captivating exhibitions is unveiled throughout the city by principal galleries such as Maurizio Cattelan at Gagosian, Paul Kleeat David Zwirner, Amy Sillman at Gladstone, and more.

Shuang Li’s “I’m Not” at the Swiss Institute 

May 1 — August 25, 2024
The debut solo presentation of Berlin and Geneva-based artist Shuang Li is unveiled at Swiss Institute (SI) with riveting commissioned video installations and sculptures. A prodigious examination of technology and the internet’s effect on our modern relationships, languages, and identities ensues, and Li delves into her personal experience with fandom. The visionary’s love affair with musical group My Chemical Romance began while growing up in Southeast China, and endures today, providing fertile ground for an intimate study of one’s fervent devotion and connection to something far removed.

In the fantastical music video I’m Not (2024), Li offers rewritten lyrics to Chemical Romance’s emo anthem “I’m Not Ok” in both Mandarin Chinese and English, uniquely performed by an acapella group. The ensemble in army attire, led by a young female, honors Li’s memories of teenage angst embodied then by youthful men in another part of the world. Seen through glimmering bleachers of prismatic resin, the installation is a tour de force of fan artwork.