Lee Mingwei: Rituals of Care is Taiwanese American artist Lee Mingwei’s first survey exhibition in the US and features seven projects made between 1995 and 2024 that place visitors at the center of radical acts of generosity and care, asking how art can be a conduit for social connection and healing. Inspired by personal experiences of loss and resilience and major world events such as September 11 and the COVID-19 pandemic, artist Lee Mingwei (b. 1964) has, over the course of his career, created powerful participatory mixed-media installations and performances that transform ordinary gestures like writing, sweeping, mending, or breathing into rituals of engagement and solace.
Lee Mingwei: Rituals of Care
Lee Mingwei, Our Peaceable Kingdom, 2020–present. 40 framed paintings, each 17 3/8 x 23 5/8 in., easels TKR, Installation dimensions variable. Courtesy of Lee Studio. Photo Courtesy of Gropius Bau, photo by Laura Fiorio
Lee Mingwei, The Mending Project, 2009–present. Table, two chairs, spools of thread, and fabric items provided by visitors, dimensions variable, Collection of Rudy Tseng Photo Courtesy of Taipei Fine Arts Museum
Lee Mingwei, The Letter Writing Project, 1998-present. Mixed media interactive installation, wooden booth, writing paper, envelopes, 3 pieces, 114 x 67 x 91 inches each. Photo Courtesy of Mori Art Museum, photo by Yoshitsugu Fuminari
Lee Mingwei, Guernica in Sand, 2006-present. Mixed media interactive installation: Sand, wooden island, lighting, 42.5 x 21 ft. Photo Courtesy of Taipei Fine Arts Museum
Lee Mingwei, Guernica in Sand, 2006-present. Mixed media interactive installation: Sand, wooden island, lighting, 42.5 x 21 ft. Photo Courtesy of Taipei Fine Arts Museum
Lee Mingwei, Guernica in Sand, 2006-present. Mixed media interactive installation: Sand, wooden island, lighting, 42.5 x 21 ft. Photo Courtesy of Taipei Fine Arts Museum
Lee Mingwei, Guernica in Sand, 2006-present. Mixed media interactive installation: Sand, wooden island, lighting, 42.5 x 21 ft. Photo Courtesy of Taipei Fine Arts Museum
“The Warhol Foundation aims to support the full range of artistic activity in America—from exhibitions at major museums to neighborhood projects by artist collectives. Arts writers, through the range and specialization of their individual interests, touch upon all of this activity—illuminating and interrogating it and bringing it into conversation with the public. Support for artists is not complete without support for the circulation and serious consideration of their ideas. The Arts Writers Grant program keeps artists at the center of cultural dialogue and debate—in our opinion, right where they belong.”
Joel Wachs, President