Brooklyn Galaxy

Ni Youyu

1 of 87

Object Label

Ni Youyu’s Brooklyn Galaxy consists of sixty-six coins from different nations, each hammered flat and ornamented with a miniature ink painting created by the artist, using a magnifying glass. It is inspired by Chinese cosmology and ancient star charts, reinterpreted with new materials and meanings. The artist’s Galaxy installations are a critique of consumerism and the global commodification of art; in Chinese, the word for “galaxy” translates as “silver river” (yin he), and the expression “to pound money” (za qian) can refer to a businessman who spends prolifically to make a fast profit.

This work was commissioned by the Brooklyn Museum for the new galleries of Chinese art. Some of the coins in this unique work have images of landscapes reminiscent of the Song (960–1279) or Yuan (1279–1368) dynasties: birds with lush feathers, vibrant flowers, and scholar’s rocks. On others, Ni has painted images of some of the masterworks from the Museum’s collection of historical Chinese art. Viewers are invited to match the coins from Ni’s galaxy with the objects on display in the adjacent gallery for the Arts of China.

Caption

Ni Youyu Chinese, born 1984. Brooklyn Galaxy, 2014. metal alloy with paint / resin, component (one coin - pc 1 - see report for full list): 1/16 × 1 in. (0.2 × 2.5 cm) overall (as installed - without plexi and frame elements): 39 3/8 × 70 7/8 × 1/2 in. (100 × 180 × 1.3 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Bequest of Dr. Bertram H. Schaffner, by exchange and Designated Purchase Fund, 2019.9. © artist or artist's estate

Gallery

Not on view

Collection

Asian Art

Artist

Ni Youyu

Title

Brooklyn Galaxy

Date

2014

Medium

metal alloy with paint / resin

Classification

Installation

Dimensions

component (one coin - pc 1 - see report for full list): 1/16 × 1 in. (0.2 × 2.5 cm) overall (as installed - without plexi and frame elements): 39 3/8 × 70 7/8 × 1/2 in. (100 × 180 × 1.3 cm)

Credit Line

Bequest of Dr. Bertram H. Schaffner, by exchange and Designated Purchase Fund

Accession Number

2019.9

Rights

© artist or artist's estate

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