On View: Lounge of A Prophet

Cuchifritos Gallery + Project Space is pleased to present Lounge of A Prophet, a solo show with recent works by former LES Studio Program resident Mo Kong, on view at 88 Essex Street from March 25 through May 21, 2022.

Mo Kong’s Lounge of A Prophet at Cuchifritos Gallery will serve as a sequel to Personal Ark®–the artist’s Queens Museum debut. The series of furniture/sculptures reference the overlapping data points of two line graphs–International Trade Rates and Natural Disaster Rates from 2009 to 2020–with each section providing a solution for shelter during ecological collapse and economic isolation. The work is reimagined and transformed into the home of a prophet; home decorations serve as makeshift fortune-telling equipment piled on top of a butt-warming bench, food preservation units, and bookshelves to create a space of refuge and respite.

The odor of the lounge will replicate a “Chinese Smell,” as described in Otis Gibson’s 1877 book Chinese in America, created only with ingredients bio-pirated from Asia by multinational corporations. Since the 18th century, olfaction has been a racializing tool against Asian Americans and has been used to limit the expansion of Chinatowns in major cities throughout the country. Inspired by the plastic-wrapped furniture of Asian moms everywhere, Lounge of A Prophet will be encased in shrinkwrap, transforming its objects and furniture into containers for the scent ingredients.

Mo Kong is a multidisciplinary artist and researcher. They are currently residing in Queens, NY. They have been the subject of solo exhibitions at Queens Museum (New York), CUE Art Foundation(New York), Artericambi Gallery(Verona), Gertrude Gallery (Stockbridgeand), Chashama (New York). Their work has been included in RISD Museum, SFMOMA, Minnesota Street Project, Mana Contemporary, Noguchi Museum, Spring Break, ARTISSIMA, Make Room Gallery, and Rubber Factory Gallery. They also received fellowship/residency from Macdowell Colony, Skowhegan School of Painting & Sculpture, Triangle art association, Drawing Center, Mass Moca Studio, Vermont Studio Center, Lighthouse Works, and Artists Alliance LES Studio Program. Their work is mentioned in Hyperallergic, Artforum, Art in America, Cultured magazine, Artnews, CoBo Social, Wall street International, SFMoMA Public Knowledge, etc.