Collections: Contemporary Art: Untitled (Vitrines)

• Download
• Add to set
• Favorite
• Posse icon
• Share
• Print

Untitled (Vitrines)

Composed of thirty-three glass cases, Terence Koh’s mixed-media sculpture at first glance might be mistaken for a display in a museum of natural history. Most of the vitrines contain one or two whitewashed objects— organic matter, mock artifacts, and seemingly random knickknacks—that are tokens from his childhood, friends, and lovers, and from flea markets. Koh celebrates the ephemeral nature of the work by embracing the effects of entropy, including the eventual decay of the slowly molding replica of his head. Taken together, the capsules stand almost as a shrine preserving meaningful relics from various chapters of the artist’s life. Infamous for his sexually explicit performances, photographs, and Web site, Koh first gained attention as his online alter ego, “asianpunkboy.” Untitled (Vitrines) provides a quiet, introspective counterpoint to this flamboyant public persona.


• Artist: Terence Koh, born China, 1977
• Medium: Mixed media
• Dates: 2006
• Dimensions: variable
• Collections: Contemporary Art
• Museum Location: This item is on view in Contemporary Art Galleries, 4th Floor
• Accession Number: 2008.34
• Credit Line: Gift of Peres Projects, Inc.
• Image: Installation, 2008.34_Courtesy_Peres_Projects_Berlin_Los+Angeles_001.jpg. Courtesy_Peres Projects, Berlin Los Angeles. © Lutz Bertram, Berlin, 2008
Terence Koh (born China, 1977). Untitled (Vitrines), 2006. Mixed media, variable. Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Peres Projects, Inc., 2008.34 (Photo: Courtesy_Peres Projects, Berlin Los Angeles. © Lutz Bertram, Berlin, 2008.34_Courtesy_Peres_Projects_Berlin_Los+Angeles_001.jpg)
• Catalogue Description: 33 glass cases with objects of various media, including porcelain, wood, metal, bone, plastic, bronze, plaster, and paint. Dimensions vary with installation.