Owen Fu’s Journey Through Memory and Desire
Owen Fu’s first solo exhibition in New York, Own Alone, is a quiet meditation on the intersection of personal longing, history, and the complexity of queer experience.
Owen Fu: Own Alone, installation view, P•P•O•W. Courtesy the artist and P•P•O•W, New York
Owen Fu’s debut solo exhibition at PPOW gallery in New York, Own Alone, offers an introspective exploration of personal longing, queer identity, and the passage of time. The works, both intimate and unflinching, unfold in a space that allows Fu to express a sense of freedom previously unavailable to him. His pieces, marked by soft yet deliberate hues, evoke a feeling of yearning for connection while navigating between memory, desire, and loss.
Among the exhibition’s standout pieces are three near-monochromatic paintings—each painted in varying shades of red, blue, and green. While these works seem to draw from traditions of stained painting and color field, their boldness is punctuated by subtle hints of contrasting color. These accents shift the compositions, giving them a sensual undertone, one that speaks to hidden histories—of spaces once veiled in secrecy, where bodies and desires sought refuge. The works are both abstract and deeply narrative, offering a glimpse into the foggy memories of experiences that have long been relegated to the margins.
One piece in particular, My Father's Back (2024), stands apart in its lighter palette. Dominated by soft whites with delicate accents of green and purple, this painting offers a moment of reflection and reverence. It serves as an homage to Fu’s father—a figure whose legacy and kindness form the cornerstone of his identity. The calmness of the composition contrasts with the more intense works surrounding it, making it a poignant symbol of the artist’s relationship with his family and his heritage.
Owen Fu, My Father’s Back, 2024, oil on canvas, 60 x 84 ins. (152.4 x 213.4 cm). Courtesy the artist and P•P•O•W, New York
Owen Fu: Own Alone, installation view, P•P•O•W. Courtesy the artist and P•P•O•W, New York
In the second gallery, Fu shifts the tone with a series of works that seem steeped in history. These pieces, marked by thin veils of washed paint on raw linen, feel like memories just beyond reach. The translucent surfaces give the paintings an aqueous quality, as though they are suspended in time, their fragility underscored by the exposed linen. These works bring the process itself into view, making the viewer aware of both the artist’s labor and the delicate balance between the personal and the historical.
With Own Alone, Fu invites us into a space where narrative and abstraction coexist, where the unspoken truths of identity and memory are explored with quiet intensity. The exhibition speaks to the complexity of the artist’s journey, offering a deeply personal yet universally resonant glimpse into the nature of longing, belonging, and self-discovery.
Owen Fu: Own Alone, installation view, P•P•O•W. Courtesy the artist and P•P•O•W, New York
Owen Fu, Untitled (Partridge 鹧鸪天), 2022, oil on linen, 42 x 42 ins. (106.7 x 106.7 cm). Courtesy the artist and P•P•O•W, New York
Owen Fu: Own Alone is on view through March 8, 2025 at P•P•O•W, New York.
