Young Joon Kwak; "The Crossing"

Young Joon Kwak; "The Crossing"

From The Modern Art Notes Podcast by Tyler Green

July 16, 2026 · 1h 27m · Episode 767

About this episode

This episode features artist Young Joon Kwak and curator Laura Igoe discussing Kwak's work and the exhibition 'The Crossing'.

Episode No. 767 features artist Young Joon Kwak and curator Laura Igoe. Kwak is featured in the 2026 Whitney Biennial at the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York. Curated by Drew Sawyer and Marcela Guerrero with assistance from Beatriz Cifuentes and Carina Martinez, it's on view through August 23. Kwak uses sculpture, performance, and collective action to explore bodily transformation, intimacy, and the politics of visibility. Through visually lush, often highly detailed sculptures, Kwak challenges traditional and dominant modes of representation while manifesting ways that trans and queer bodies might be seen. Kwak is the co-founder of Mutant Salon and lead performer in the electronic-dance-noise band Xina Xurner with Marvin Astorga. They have had solo exhibitions at museums such as the Berkeley Art Museum & Pacific Film Archive, University of California, Berkeley; the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art, New York; and ARKO Art Center, Seoul. Kwak's work is in the collections of BAMPFA, the Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento; the Dallas Museum of Art; the Speed Art Museum, Louisville; and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Igoe is the curator of "The Crossing: Picturing the American…

People in this episode

Host: Tyler Green

Guests: Young Joon Kwak, Laura Igoe

Topics covered

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Whitney Museum of American Art, Mutant Salon, Xina Xurner, Berkeley Art Museum & Pacific Film Archive, Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art, ARKO Art Center, Crocker Art Museum, Dallas Museum of Art, Speed Art Museum, Los Angeles County Museum of Art

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