Jun 22 – Aug 05, 2022

96 Bowery, Floor 2

In Defense of Secrets

Hou Zichao, Priscilla Jeong, Li Hei Di, Pauline Shaw

Exhibition view of In Defense of Secrets. Tara Downs, New York, 2022.

Hou Zichao, 刺二段困速安 Puncture speed two part trap, 2022. Acrylic on canvas, 59 1/4 × 47 1/4 in / 150 × 120 cm

Hou Zichao, 刺二段困速安 Puncture speed two part trap, 2022. Acrylic on canvas, 59 1/4 × 47 1/4 in / 150 × 120 cm

Exhibition view of In Defense of Secrets. Tara Downs, New York, 2022.

Priscilla Jeong, Workers of Five Point Chamber: Red 2 (Hex 3), 2021. Aluminum, wood, brass, steel, acrylic, thermoplastic, artificial flower, artificial garlic, PLA, plastic, pigment, foam, 3d model. 60 × 60 × 6 in / 152,4 × 152,4 × 15,2 cm

Priscilla Jeong, Workers of Five Point Chamber: Red 2 (Hex 3), 2021. Aluminum, wood, brass, steel, acrylic, thermoplastic, artificial flower, artificial garlic, PLA, plastic, pigment, foam, 3d model. 60 × 60 × 6 in / 152,4 × 152,4 × 15,2 cm

Exhibition view of In Defense of Secrets. Tara Downs, New York, 2022.

Li Hei Di, Tipping the Velvet , 2022. Oil on canvas, 47 1/4 × 67 in / 120 × 170 cm

Li Hei Di, Tipping the Velvet , 2022 (detail). Oil on canvas, 47 1/4 × 67 in / 120 × 170 cm

Exhibition view of In Defense of Secrets. Tara Downs, New York, 2022.

Pauline Shaw, gift horse, 2022. Wool, bamboo silk, cotton scrim, 60 × 39 in / 152,4 × 99,1 cm

Pauline Shaw, gift horse, 2022 (detail). Wool, bamboo silk, cotton scrim, 60 × 39 in / 152,4 × 99,1 cm

Exhibition view of In Defense of Secrets. Tara Downs, New York, 2022.

Hou Zichao, 抢尾金旋抱藏手 Tailing grab ruby spun hands hidden, 2022. Acrylic on canvas, 65 × 59 1/4 in / 165 × 150 cm

Hou Zichao, 抢尾金旋抱藏手 Tailing grab ruby spun hands hidden, 2022 (detail). Acrylic on canvas, 65 × 59 1/4 in / 165 × 150 cm

Exhibition view of In Defense of Secrets. Tara Downs, New York, 2022.

Priscilla Jeong, Workers of Five Point Chamber: Red 1 (Safe 16), 2021. Brass, acrylic, aluminum, steel, iron, pvc, wood, hydrogen peroxide, thermoplastic. 48 × 100 × 5 in / 121,9 × 254 × 12,7 cm

Priscilla Jeong, Workers of Five Point Chamber: Red 1 (Safe 16), 2021 (detail). Brass, acrylic, aluminum, steel, iron, pvc, wood, hydrogen peroxide, thermoplastic. 48 × 100 × 5 in / 121,9 × 254 × 12,7 cm

Exhibition view of In Defense of Secrets. Tara Downs, New York, 2022.

Pauline Shaw, tears on the floor, 2022. Blown glass, carved basswood, cloth, pearl, hardware, ø7 × 14 in / ø17,8 × 35,6 cm

Pauline Shaw, tears on the floor, 2022 (detail). Blown glass, carved basswood, cloth, pearl, hardware, ø7 × 14 in / ø17,8 × 35,6 cm

Exhibition view of In Defense of Secrets. Tara Downs, New York, 2022.

Pauline Shaw, under her breath, 2022. Wool, silk, viscose, 92 1/2 × 62 in / 235 × 157,5 cm

Pauline Shaw, under her breath, 2022 (detail). Wool, silk, viscose, 92 1/2 × 62 in / 235 × 157,5 cm

Li Hei Di, Night Time Tea, 2022. Oil on canvas, 22 1/4 × 25 1/2 in / 56 × 65 cm

Li Hei Di, Night Time Tea, 2022 (detail). Oil on canvas, 22 1/4 × 25 1/2 in / 56 × 65 cm

Pauline Shaw, flip flop, 2022. Blown glass, carved basswood, paint, silver, stone, paper, hardware, ø8 × 13 1/2 in / ø20,3 × 34,3 cm

Press Release

"Voluntary transparency serves voluntary servitude."

– Anne Dufourmantelle, from In Defense of Secrets, 2015 (Trans: Lindsay Turner, 2021).

Laïus, lying with the orchids,
inlets lesions – sagittal, the #E34234 hex of the Nabis;
below, the sky is flawed.
Tell me, just then, of the retrenchment of Zhou Xun,
while the grey-green grass, thin and awash in its scent,
fakes its long, provincial axioms again.

Hou Zichao (b. China, 1988) lives and works in Beijing. Solo exhibitions include: “Child in the Woods,” Spurs Gallery, Beijing (2022); “FoodFood: Hou Zichao & Hilary Pecis,” (duo exhibition), Spurs Gallery, ART021, Shanghai (2021); “Everlasting,” Tara Downs, New York (2021); “No Time for Romance,” Mine Project, Hong Kong (2020); “Light Breaks Where No Sun Shines,” Boers-Li Gallery, Beijing (2019); “Foundation,” Aoma, YT Creative Media, Beijing (2018); “Ray. Stone. Wave,” Aura Gallery, Shanghai (2017). Hou Zichao's works and projects have been included in group exhibitions including: “The Glass Bead Game,” Mamoth Gallery, London (2021); “Clean,” Spurs Gallery, Beijing (2020); “Love Love Love: Intimate,” Today Art Museum, Beijing (2018); “Elite Young Artists Program,” Rightview Art Museum & Guan Shanyue Art Museum, Beijing & Shenzhen (2016), among others. The artist completed his BA Honors degree from Central Saint Martins College of Art & Design, London, in 2013, and earned his Master's degree from Chelsea College of Art & Design, London, in 2014.

Priscilla Jeong (b. 1990 in Bryan, TX) is an artist based in New York. Jeong earned an MFA from Columbia University in 2021. She is a recipient of the 2021 Andrew Fisher Fellowship and the Hayman Visual Arts Gift. Selected solo exhibitions include “¿Habla Turista?,” Ryan Lee Gallery, New York (2019) and “Lash Blast x 2% Flourish,” Interstate Projects, New York (2016). Jeong has also participated in a number of recent group exhibitions, including: “In Defense of Secrets,” Tara Downs, New York (2022); “The Q,” On Ground Gallery, Seoul (2020); “TEASE,” Columbia University, New York (2019); “Crockpot Crosswalk,” Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA (2018); and “ULO,” Interstate Projects, New York (2015).

Li Hei Di (b. 1997, Shenyang) lives and works in London. Exhibitions include: “In Defense of Secrets,” Tara Downs, New York (2022); “Phantasmata,” Public Gallery, London (2022); “Self-Dismiss,” Gallery Vacancy, Shanghai (2022); “A/D D/A,” Zéruì, London (2022); “4 Solos,” Linseed Projects, Shanghai (2021); and “The Glass Bead Game,” Mamoth, London (2021). She was the recipient of the Distinguished International Student Award from the Maryland Institute College of Art (2018). Li completed her BFA (Hons) at University of the Arts London, Chelsea College of Arts, in 2020, and received her MA in Painting at the Royal College of Art, in 2022.

Pauline Shaw (b. 1988, Washington) lives and works in New York. She completed her MFA at Columbia University in 2019 and received her BFA from Rhode Island School of Design in 2011. Exhibitions include: “In Defense of Secrets,” Tara Downs, New York (2022); “Open Call," The Shed, New York (2021); “Apostolic Succession,” Spurs Gallery, Beijing (2021); Half Gallery, New York (2020); “Tropical Lab 13: Erase,” Institute of Contemporary Arts Singapore (2019); “Chorus,” Almine Rech, Paris (2019); “Domestic Horror,” Gagosian, Park & 75th, New York (2019); “Body Remnants, and Other Impressions,” In lieu, Los Angeles (2019); “In Response: Scene,” The Jew ish Museum, New York (2018), and “Slightly Undercooked,” BBQLA, Los Angeles (2016). Shaw has been an artist in residence at ISCP, New York (2020), and The France Los Angeles Residency Exchange Program (2014).