Cato Ouyang
Cato Ouyang
Cato Ouyang engages object-making, interdisciplinary environments, and time-based projects to indicate counter-narratives around representation and self-definition. Through expansion, fragmentation, and abstraction, Ouyang proposes the body as a politicized landscape subject to partition. Working gnostically with materials ranging from hand-carved wood and stone to appropriated literature and historic artifacts, Ouyang also attends to critical reimagining of historical formation wherein monstrosity, animality, and toxicity act as ciphers for the psycho-affective alienation of the minor subject.
Cato Ouyang has exhibited work at Lyles & King, New York; Night Gallery, Los Angeles; Nasher Sculpture Center, Dallas; Cantor Arts Center, Stanford; Columbus Museum of Art, Columbus; Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, Ridgefield; Make Room, Los Angeles; No Place Gallery, Columbus; Real Art Ways, Hartford; Kimball Art Center, Park City; Institute of Contemporary Art at MECA&D, Portland; Jeffrey Deitch, New York and Los Angeles; James Fuentes, New York; Galerie Kandlhofer, Vienna; Simon Lee Gallery, London and Hong Kong; and Micki Meng, San Francisco; and Murmurs, Los Angeles; among many others. Ouyang is the recipient of numerous awards and grants, and was a 2024 Artist in Residence at Fountainhead, Miami and 2020-21 Smack Mellon Artist in Residence. Their work has been written about in publications including Artforum, Flash Art, Frieze, Cultured, The Cut, Flaunt Magazine, the New York Times, and Momus. Their work is held in the public collections of Brooklyn Museum, New York; Pérez Art Museum Miami, Miami; High Museum, Atlanta; Cantor Arts Center, Stanford; Kadist Foundation, San Francisco; Nasher Sculpture Center, Dallas, Columbus Museum of Art, Columbus; and Faurschou Foundation, New York. Ouyang received an MFA from Yale University and is based in New York. They are represented by Lyles & King, New York and Night Gallery, Los Angeles. Ouyang lives and work in Brooklyn, New York.
Cato Ouyang
Brank, 2024
Steel
16 feet 4 inches x 11 feet 6 inches x 13 feet 5 inches
4.98 x 3.6 x 4.09 meters
Cato Ouyang
Sphinx Study (profile), 2024
Oil and acrylic on linen
84 x 72 inches, 213.4 x 182.9 cm
Cato Ouyang
Heads, 2024
Mid-century display case, plywood, concrete, deconstructed scythes,
papier-mâché, plaster, handmade eye, found textiles, artist’s skirt, shaving mirror
76 x 71 x 32 inches, 193 x 180.3 x 81.3 cm
Cato Ouyang
(From left)
Value study (silver tetradrachm of Kyrene, circa 480-435 BC), 2024
Oil, acrylic, dye transfer print, graphite, and pastel on found textile
8 x 8 inches, 20.3 x 20.3 cm
Value study (silver hemidrachm of Kyrene, 500-480 BC), 2024
Oil and dye transfer print on found textile
8 x 8 inches, 20.3 x 20.3 cm
Value study (silver tetradrachm of Kyrene, 430-400 BC), 2024
Oil, dye transfer print, and pastel on found textile
8 x 8 inches, 20.3 x 20.3 cm
Cato Ouyang
Untitled, 2024
Antique pallet, glass, drywall, rebar, maple, papier-mâché, resin, fabric, soapstone
312 x 48 x 26 inches, 792.5 x 121.9 x 66 cm
Cato Ouyang
Untitled, 2024 (detail view)
Cato Ouyang, Trick, Installation view at Lyles & King, New York, 2024
Cato Ouyang
Untitled, 2024
Steel, apple wood, canvas, gesso, artist’s shoes, concrete, soapstone, plywood, twine, gel medium, horse hair, fabric, resin
36 x 56 x 26 1/2 inches, 91.4 x 142.2 x 67.3 cm
Cato Ouyang
Untitled, 2024 (detail view)
Cato Ouyang
Untitled, 2024 (detail view)
Cato Ouyang
Sphinx Study (rear), 2024
Oil, gouache, watercolor, dye, bleach on linen bedsheet
84 x 72 inches, 213.4 x 182.9 cm
Cato Ouyang, Trick, Installation view at Lyles & King, New York, 2024
Cato Ouyang
Finders, 2024
Glass, textile, plywood
70 x 24 x 36 inches, 177.8 x 61 x 91.4 cm
Cato Ouyang
Finders, 2024 (detail view)
Cato Ouyang
Deed, 2024
Oil on panel
48 1/2 x 5 3/4 inches, 123.2 x 14.6 cm (6 panels)
Cato Ouyang
Plots I, 2024
Oil paint, resin, shellac, #220 body trap
12 1/2 x 9 1/2 x 6 1/4 inches, 31.8 x 24.1 x 15.9 cm
Cato Ouyang
Procession figure study, 2024
Oil on fabric on panel
8 x 16 inches, 20.3 x 40.6 cm
Cato Ouyang, Trick, Installation view at Lyles & King, New York, 2024
Cato Ouyang
Untitled, 2024
Oil and shellac on gauze on furniture fragment, carved maple and oak, pine lumber, plywood, casters, soapstone
67 x 35 x 16 inches, 170.2 x 88.9 x 40.6 cm
Cato Ouyang
Untitled, 2024 (detail view)
Cato Ouyang, cargo, 2023, pine, plywood, papier-mâché, color pigment, gel medium, beeswax, artist's shoes, textile, sow bladder, found elements, 33 x 42 x 22 inches, 83.8 x 106.7 x 55.9 cm
Cato Ouyang, debt, 2022, found schoolchair, carved maple, polyester fleece, LED lights, paper collage, discarded garment rack, textile, resin, thread, plaster, epoxy clay, color pigment, beeswax, masking tape, 37 x 60 x 38 inches, 94 x 152.4 x 96.5 cm
Cato Ouyang, forgive everything, installation view, Night Gallery, 2022
Cato Ouyang, Strange Attractor, Installation View at Art Basel, Switzerland, June 14 - 19, 2022
Cato Ouyang, reliquary corpus (Thérèse sur une banquette, 1939), 2022, Pine, plaster, color pigment, shellac, wood stain, horse hair, shells, epoxy clay, beeswax, 38 x 38 x 18 inches, 96.5 x 96.5 x 45.7 cm
Cato Ouyang, reliquary corpus (Thérèse, 1938), 2022, Pine, plaster, color pigment, shellac, wood stain, horse hair, shells, epoxy clay, beeswax, 26 x 30 x 24 inches, 66 x 76.2 x 61 cm
Cato Ouyang, font X, 2022, Found marble font (18th century, French), horse sacrum, plaster, epoxy clay, beeswax, paper pulp, poplar, destroyed Cathay (Ezra Pound, centennial edition), 10 x 13 x 10 inches, 25.4 x 33 x 25.4 cm
Wonder Women, Installation view, Jeffrey Deitch Gallery, New York, NY, May 7 – June 25, 2022
Cato Ouyang, risk assessment (fugue state / : h** volant touch.), 2020-21, School desk, iron drains, paper pulp, wood, turtle carapace, plaster, epoxy clay, acrylic paint, beeswax, horse hair, fabric, resin, gauze, carpet, light, graphite, digital print on paper, document sleeve
Cato Ouyang, Recourse, 2021, fiberglass, steel, school bus emergency hatch, arrows, dimensions variable
Cato Ouyang, pronoun of love (WHAT WILL I CARE FOR GODS OR DEVILS OR FOR FATE ITSELF.), 2021, Puppy skull, epoxy clay, polymer clay, paper pulp, shellac, pigment, beeswax, horse hair, copper, wooden mirror, engraved plastic, text from Wide Sargasso Sea (Jean Rhys, 1966), 18 x 6 x 9 1/2 inches, 45.7 x 15.2 x 24.1 cm
Cato Ouyang, pronoun of love (I SAW THE HATE GO OUT OF HER EYES), 2021, Soapstone, paper pulp, copper, resin, engraved plastic, text from Wide Sargasso Sea (Jean Rhys, 1966), 18 x 6 1/2 x 10 inches, 45.7 x 16.5 x 25.4 cm
Cato Ouyang, White Male Ally, Installation View at Lyles & King, New York, NY, September 1 - October 16, 2021
Cato Ouyang, exorcism vessels (MY FIDELITY), 2021, Framed graphite drawing, steel, polymer clay, epoxy clay, masking tape, wood, copper, polymer clay, aluminum, powder pigment, beeswax, 27 x 31 x 15 1/2 inches, 68.6 x 78.7 x 39.4 cm
Cato Ouyang, ego death, 2021 wood, ceramic tiles, dirt, video projector, text and footage from: Anne Carson, “The Truth About God”; Anne Dufourmantelle, In Praise of Risk; Lisa Robertson, Lisa Robertson’s Magenta Soul Whip; the artist’s chart reading with Anne C. Ortelee; Possession (Andrzej Zulawski, 1981); Women Without Men (Shirin Neshat, 2009); Stealing Beauty (Bernardo Bertolucci, 1996); Diabel (Andrzej Zulawksi, 1972); A Ma Soeur! (Catherine Breillat, 2001); Innocence (Lucile Hadžihalilović, 2004); Nymphomaniac (Lars von Trier, 2013)
Cato Ouyang, force of will (dog self), 2021, Epoxy clay, wood, steel, paper pulp, beeswax, dog skull, horse hair, children’s fleece sweater, plaster, white ribbed tank top, stop loss trap, resin, dragonfruit husks, 79 x 6 1/4 x 35 inches, 200.7 x 15.7 x 88.9 cm
Cato Ouyang, White Male Ally, Installation View at Lyles & King, New York, NY, September 1 - October 16, 2021
Cato Ouyang, White Male Ally, Installation View at Lyles & King, New York, NY, September 1 - October 16, 2021
Cato Ouyang, let my wail heal, 2021, Carved soapstone, thermal paper, notebook paper, ballpoint pen, Stone: 5 x 5 1/2 x 2 1/2 inches, 12 2/3 x 14 x 6 1/3 cm; paper: 10 x 3 inches, 25 1/2 x 7 2/3 cm
Cato Ouyang, reliquary janus, 2021, Carved wood, gray wolf skull, plaster, horse hair, polymer clay, epoxy clay, acrylic, deconstructed stop loss trap, 36 x 12 x 6 inches, 91.4 x 30.5 x 15.2 cm, Photo: Kyle Knodell
Cato Ouyang, reliquary janus, 2021 (detail)
Cato Ouyang, “...that everything is a weapon, the objects themselves, and with them the fact of civilization, are annihilated: there is no wall, no window, no door, no bathtub, no refrigerator, no door, no chair, no bed.”*, 2019–21, Wood, polymer clay, graphite drawing of a Shang Dynasty bronze head, deconstructed maple frame with matte, red crayon, tiger balm, digital image of the artist’s grandfather (1929–May 2, 2020), dye-infused aluminum, thumbtacks, acrylic, Dimensions variable, Photo: Kyle Knodell
Cato Ouyang, “...that everything is a weapon, the objects themselves, and with them the fact of civilization, are annihilated: there is no wall, no window, no door, no bathtub, no refrigerator, no door, no chair, no bed.”, 2019-2021 (detail)
Cato Ouyang, In Practice: You may go, but this will bring you back, Installation view, SculptureCenter, New York, NY, March 25 – August 2, 2021, Photo: Kyle Knodell
Cato Ouyang, THE SIREN, Installation View, Real Art Ways, Hartford, CT, January 31 - April 18, 2021
Cato Ouyang, reliquary corpus, 2021, wood, soapstone, hair, gray wolf skull, plaster, paper pulp, epoxy clay, color pigment, resin, beeswax, chiffon, polymer clay, light, book, 93 1/4 x 12 1/2 x 8 inches, 236.9 x 31.8 x 20.3 cm
Cato Ouyang, reliquary corpus, 2021 (detail)
Cato Ouyang, Devotion, 2016-2021, school desk, various materials, deconstructed 风油精 box, graphite drawings on Bristol board (2016) of selfies the artist received from their ex-lover after being raped by him, maple frames, playing card, glassine, nylon net, dimensions variable; each frame 14 11/16 x 11 ⅝ inches, 37.3 x 27.9 cm, figure 41 ¼ x 31 ⅞ x 20 ¼ inches, 104.1 x 78.7 x 50.8 cm
Cato Ouyang, Devotion, 2016-2021, school desk, various materials, deconstructed 风油精 box, graphite drawings on Bristol board (2016) of selfies the artist received from their ex-lover after being raped by him, maple frames, playing card, glassine, nylon net, dimensions variable; each frame 14 11/16 x 11 ⅝ inches, 37.3 x 27.9 cm, figure 41 ¼ x 31 ⅞ x 20 ¼ inches, 104.1 x 78.7 x 50.8 cm (detail)
Cato Ouyang, Devotion, 2016-2021 (detail)
Cato Ouyang, a descent (Otherwise abandon it. Turn its face into the mud.), 2020, lime plaster, steel, hand-carved wonderstone, peanuts, acrylic image transfers scanned and printed from The Descent of Alette (Alice Notley, 1996), thread, epoxy resin, stop loss trap, gypsum plaster, shellac, discarded steel furniture parts, drag net, dimensions variable, (detail)
Cato Ouyang, cunt waifu, Installation View at Lyles & King, New York, NY, October 31 - December 6, 2020
Cato Ouyang, otherwise, spite: 1. whores at the end of the world / 2. from every drop of his blood another demon arose (1829-1840), 2020, various materials, dimensions variable
Cato Ouyang, otherwise, spite: 1. whores at the end of the world / 2. from every drop of his blood another demon arose (1829-1840, 2020 (detail)
Cato Ouyang, otherwise, spite: 1. whores at the end of the world / 2. from every drop of his blood another demon arose (1829-1840, 2020 (detail)
Cato Ouyang, otherwise, spite: 1. whores at the end of the world / 2. from every drop of his blood another demon arose (1829-1840, 2020 (detail)
Cato Ouyang, doubt II (the thing itself and not the myth / what blood relation / turning horror into power / the sea that we carried for you / Do you not love us? ), 2020, hand-carved alabaster, M1905 bayonet, lime plaster, gypsum plaster, horse hair, faux fur, pigment, epoxy resin, beeswax, burned rug, gauze, sewing pins, rat bones, 25 x 11 x 14 1/2 inches, 63.5 x 27.9 x 36.8 cm
Cato Ouyang, untitled partition, 2020, government-issue steel bunk bed (early 1980s), horse pelvis, paper pulp, gypsum plaster, pigment, epoxy resin, chiffon, extruded polystyrene, hydrocal, pigment, acrylic, cement, dimensions variable
Cato Ouyang, untitled partition, 2020 (detail)