Martin Wong is recognized for his depictions of social, sexual, and political scenographies from the US in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. Poetically weaving together narratives of queer existence, marginal communities, and urban gentrification, Wong stands out as an important countercultural voice at odds with the art establishment’s reactionary discourse at the time. Heavily influenced by his immediate surroundings, the artist’s practice merges the visual languages of Chinese iconography, urban poetry, graffiti, carceral aesthetics, and sign language. His work offers rare insight into decisive periods of recent US American history as told through its changing urban landscapes, unfolding hidden desires and complexities.

On the Languages of Martin Wong is two-day conference accompanying the exhibition Martin Wong – Malicious Mischief at KW Institute for Contemporary Art (25 February – 14 May 23). The conference focuses on as well as aims to shed new light on the linguistic and symbolic systems applied in Wong’s paintings by creating new points of departure through current artistic and academic practices from Berlin and elsewhere.

The conference takes form as two days of lectures, conversations, performances, music, and exchanges at KW. Organized by Sofie Krogh Christensen, Assistant Curator, with Nikolas Brummer, Public Program Coordinator.

Find the detailed program on our website: https://www.kw-berlin.de/en/conference-on-the-languages-of-martin-wong