Lost In Lacma's New Galleries, A Serene Still Life Serves As A Compass

Stephanie Shih, “梅國 (Still life pinch chamoy and Dirty T Tamarindo),” 2025/2026. Archival pigment people connected wood panel, varnish, glue, acrylic, frame. 38.25×48.25×3.75.

(From nan artist)

Much has been written astir nan acquisition of aimlessness successful the caller David Geffen Galleries astatine LACMA, but it is different point to acquisition it firsthand. The meandering level plan, pinch its rooms of various sizes and orientations alongside their resulting passageways and corners, demands that you wander, not map, your perusal of nan galleries. As a result, a visitant tin easy consciousness disoriented, aliases successful my case, a touch deconstructed. A small depersonalized, if you will.

Fortuitously, I was location to meet pinch multidisciplinary creator Stephanie Shih, whose photo-based compositions person nan other effect, grounding nan spectator successful their personhood and experience. Her still lifes are made some beautiful and meaningful done their intentional statement of circumstantial food, florals and ephemera, rubbing connected diasporic understandings of self, Western and European appropriations of nan “exotic” and nan juxtaposition of nan earthy pinch nan fabricated. In different words, to position a Shih portion is to collaborate pinch nan creator connected reconstructing or, successful immoderate cases, reclaiming an knowing of spot and self.

We were talking about, and successful beforehand of, Shih’s caller piece, “梅國 (Still life pinch chamoy and Dirty T Tamarindo),” which was not only commissioned by LACMA, but created successful a impermanent workplace Shih constructed wrong nan assemblage itself complete nan people of 2 weeks precocious past year. The image features 2 ceramic vessels, 1 somewhat successful beforehand of nan other, wrong a accepted still life scene. The inheritance jar stands alone, while nan portion successful nan foreground overflows pinch a rainbow of plants, flowers, fruit, chamoy candies, gummies and a azygous existent butterfly. To get to nan mini but sunny corridor that houses nan work, 1 mightiness make a fewer indirect turns and transverse nan assemblage containing Andreas Gursky’s “Ocean” series. Flanked by 4 wall-size photographs of vast, overhead perspectives of nan heavy bluish Indian Ocean, it’s easy to consciousness mini among nan elephantine panels. Luckily, erstwhile I met Shih astatine LACMA, she intercepted maine extracurricular and led america confidently up nan Geffen’s melodramatic exterior staircase and to “The Global Appeal of Blue-and-White Ceramics” installation — nary crossing of oceans necessary.

After our conversation, I stayed to rotation nan galleries for a fewer much hours. I americium a completist and I wanted, no, needed to spot everything. Without nan prescribed navigation I was accustomed to successful a museum, this became a fool’s errand. I sewage physically mislaid and a spot mislaid to myself. Had I already seen that statue aliases did it conscionable look for illustration different visage besides rendered successful marble a fewer galleries back? I was beautiful judge I had already taken these 2 authorities and past a near before, but what if I hadn’t and would past miss a full different room? The 360-degree curved solid walls encasing nan galleries offered galore glimpses of a look that belonged to maine but someway wasn’t mine. Who was I? I felt for illustration I would ne'er spot everything connected display, but besides possibly ne'er again beryllium beyond nan funhouse of nan Geffen Galleries. In my confusion, I passed by “梅國 (Still life pinch chamoy and Dirty T Tamarindo)” much than erstwhile and was reminded of Shih’s expertise to articulate analyzable reconstructions of aforesaid done her exquisite, serene compositions. It was capable to reassure maine that I could find myself again, if only I slowed down and considered my discourse pinch curiosity alternatively of fear.

This curiosity led maine to “Shaping Dutch Identity: The Mr. and Mrs. Edward Carter Collection.” It was a serendipitous brushwood for 2 reasons: One, nan ocular and symbolic relationship betwixt Shih’s painterly usage of protector successful her food- and floral-centered compositions, and nan still life masterpieces of nan 17th period Dutch. And two, because overmuch for illustration her activity itself, our question and reply included layered chat of constructing and shaping identities. Take nan caller Peter Zumthor-designed building successful which we recovered (and successful my case, lost) ourselves, which builds upon nan existing galleries of LACMA while redefining nan museum’s identity. Or Shih’s in-situ studio, which was created for creation’s sake, past taken down pinch only a photograph of its contents remaining — contents which were constructed by nan artist, too.

There was besides nan progression crossed cultures and continents of blue-and-white ceramics, which mirrors nan improvement of chamoy, a pickled consequence condiment successful Mexican cuisine that, on pinch a blue-and-white Talavera jar, is astatine nan halfway of Shih’s piece. Both nan ceramic and nan chamoy traditions symbolize layers of civilization arsenic shaped by globalism and localism.

At 1 constituent successful our conversation, I was momentarily embarrassed erstwhile I couldn’t callback nan Filipino word for dried sour plums (kiamoy), a precursor to Mexico’s chamoy. It was an facet of my personality arsenic a third-generation Filipina that was besides irretrievable to maine that day. Shih was knowing and gracious successful her response: “One of nan really nosy parts of nan activity I get to do is learning a batch of these histories that get hidden from us.” Given Shih’s world inheritance — she holds a PhD from Stanford University successful linguistics — it makes consciousness that she brings heavy investigation to her practice. Her creation is rich | pinch symbolism and history. But Shih’s activity is besides playful and, overmuch for illustration her consequence to me, generous successful nan invitation it extends to viewers to bring their ain identities to her pieces successful bid to conception meaning for themselves. I whitethorn person felt unmoored among nan Geffen’s myriad corners and paths, but ne'er erstwhile I was opinionated successful beforehand of Shih’s piece.

Installation position of nan inaugural position successful nan David Geffen Galleries, April 2026, featuring (top) Stephanie Shih’s 梅國 (Still life pinch chamoy and Dirty T Tamarindo) (2025- 26) and (bottom) Jar (c. 1700-50).

(Museum Associates / LACMA)

Claire Salinda: Your creation captures flowers, chamoy and different candies and consequence sumptuously arranged successful and astir a ceramic jar from LACMA’s imperishable collection. How did you determine connected chamoy arsenic a subject? And really is it contextualized wrong nan caller David Geffen Galleries?

Stephanie Shih: “梅國 (Still life pinch chamoy and Dirty T Tamarindo)” is connected show successful “The Global Appeal of Blue-and-White Ceramics.” The assemblage presents a condensed history of blue-and-white ceramics globally successful dishes, starting successful nan Middle East pinch a 9th period Iraqi piece. From nan Middle East we really sewage nan usage of cobalt successful designs, and that joined pinch nan preamble of porcelain from China. We besides person nan Iznik kilns successful Turkey, which are still operating today, and influences into Southeast Asia, and truthful on. Later on, nan power dispersed farther afield into Japan and France, wherever they started adding moreover much to it. The blue-and-white contented has really dispersed globally, truthful this assemblage is simply a bully microcosmic communicative of nan effects of globalism earlier modern globalism.

For a agelong clip I’ve been wanting to make a portion astir chamoy and was conscionable waiting for nan opportunity to do so. The communicative of chamoy really parallels this travel of blue-and-white ceramics, which sewage to Mexico because of Spanish colonialism and past was adopted by section artisans. They really made it their ain successful nan Talavera tradition. Chamoy likewise comes from Asia done pickled plums, peculiarly China via nan Philippines. Filipino laborers came to Mexico via colonialism, and adapted and adopted champoy pinch spices and chilies from Mexico to go chamoy.

The curator, Susie Ferrell, gave maine a full database of blue-and-white surveys that they were looking at. We went to retention and to nan conservation labs to look astatine each nan pieces and we ended up choosing 2 pieces to activity with. The 1 successful “梅國 (Still life pinch chamoy and Dirty T Tamarindo)” is simply a Mexican Talavera jar from nan 1700s. It’s nan first non-Asian root organization ceramic I’ve gotten to activity pinch successful my career, which is nan logic that I gravitated toward it.

Chamoy has been utilized by a batch of modern time nutrient makers and chefs pinch American nostalgic candies, for illustration peach rings and gummy worms, and my individual favorite, Gushers. One of these nutrient makers, Alana Solis, who’s based successful Tucson, runs Dirty T Tamarindo, a chamoy candy business she started during nan pandemic. It was from her that I learned nan history of chamoy, and truthful I wanted to do a portion pinch her candies for a agelong time. And this is conscionable a really cleanable opportunity pinch nan Talavera jar.

I had sounded to Susie that it mightiness beryllium bully to person a 2nd ceramic successful nan piece, a companion that demonstrates nan origins and precursors of nan blue-and-white ceramics successful Mexico, a Chinese portion aliases something. She really picked nan 1 pictured here, which is besides from nan LACMA collection. It’s a 12th period Qingbai ware prunus vase, a meiping jar. When Susie sounded it to me, I didn’t moreover recognize really cleanable it was: A prunus vase is usually what they put plum blossoms in, and meiping intends beautiful plum vase. It conscionable ended up being a really, really bully prime from her.

CS: You built a workplace abstraction wrong nan assemblage to create nan piece. I’m funny astir nan constraints and what was astonishing for you.

Artist Stephanie Shih’s makeshift group successful nan Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) David Geffen Galleries for her two-week committee task residency; Light trial detail.

(Stephanie Shih)

SS: I was present for 2 weeks. I had a friend build a wall, we painted it downstairs and past brought it successful and had it successful nan assemblage pinch nan ray coming successful done nan windows. They gave maine a refrigerator to shop each nan food, because I wasn’t expected to person it retired successful nan assemblage space. We built retired activity tables excessively … it’s difficult to benignant of ideate pinch each nan different worldly present now.

It was successful December, and truthful nan building was successful respective stages of installation pinch nan art. There were conscionable stacks of crates and boxes, which is astonishing — it was very cool to conscionable spot statues half unpacked.

And actually, seeing everything get installed affected my reasoning astir nan frame. Originally I wasn’t going to do a framed piece, it was conscionable going to beryllium connected a panel. But past arsenic I saw everything other spell up, location was a weightiness to nan measurement everything was framed and thought about. A batch of nan frames are golden gilded, which are incredibly beautiful and historical. I wanted thing that played disconnected of that tradition, but utilizing a reddish framework made it really evident that it’s not 100% wrong tradition.

CS: How does this committee fresh into your practice?

SS: My activity started retired really reasoning astir nan creator references we get arsenic group moving successful nutrient and still life. So galore of nan references are of this very Eurocentric creation humanities tradition. But if you look astatine that tradition, galore things are taken from different cultures and utilized to symbolize nan entree and wealthiness and worth that was assigned to these objects from nan position of European imperialists, to put it nicely. It wasn’t until very precocious that group were moreover thinking, “Well, wherever are these things from? What different creator traditions does that mean that we’ve benignant of borrowed from?” And truthful a batch of my activity thinks astir responding to that, but besides taking backmost immoderate of that contented to show stories of diaspora communities coming present successful nan U.S.

From there, I’ve really started reasoning a batch astir nan building of personality and really we get to nan things that symbolize who we are, and really we usage symbols arsenic we move done nan world. As a cognitive intelligence and linguist, a batch of my investigation training is astir symbols and astir nan building of personality successful that way.

CS: Do you deliberation that this portion could person been made anyplace else?

SS: No, I don’t deliberation so. There’s thing truthful typical astir nan ngo pinch nan caller building, really it’s truthful overmuch much fluidly built and really LACMA is trying to deliberation curatorially extracurricular of nan silos that person been group up by accepted creation history. Thinking astir that really, really influenced my attack to these pieces successful position of trying to illness successful each portion nan timescales of humanities influences and modern identity, but besides nan locality.

There’s worldly successful “梅國 (Still life pinch chamoy and Dirty T Tamarindo)” that’s very world and acold away, but besides hyper section and present successful L.A. For instance, nan butterfly was recovered by my friend conscionable a mates miles northbound successful WeHo while I was moving astatine LACMA. It’s autochthonal to California.

Do you cognize who Rachel Ruysch is? She was 1 of nan large Dutch still life painters and successful immoderate of her later work, she was capable to entree flowers and plants from nan American West, which was really uncommon astatine that time. She has a portion pinch prickly pear cactus arsenic good arsenic datura successful it, which is crazy. We spot those plants correct here, but not successful England and nan Netherlands, wherever she was moving astatine nan time. Seeing that portion was portion of nan power arsenic well. In my piece, we person candy stripe ranunculus, which I was capable to find for nan candy. The cactus is from my backyard. There’s marigold and chamomile for their value successful Mexican culture, and nan hibiscus flower, which has a agelong history crossed nan Pacific Rim, tracing a batch of nan places that ended up pinch chamoy and sour plums. I wanted a small motion to Hawaii pinch nan pineapple because that’s wherever we besides get salted plum culture.

Artist Stephanie Shih poses connected set.

(From nan artist)

CS: As we guidelines and chat successful beforehand of “梅國 (Still life pinch chamoy and Dirty T Tamarindo),” I can’t thief but announcement folks stopping to return it in. How is it being present and seeing group interact pinch nan work?

SS: Oh, really fun!

CS: Do you ever want to interrupt them to reply a mobility you overhear?

SS: No. I deliberation my favourite portion of watching group interact pinch nan pieces is what they bring to it. Some group spot nan chamoy instantly and they admit their experiences successful it, which is really beautiful to see. Like, I tin spot someone’s been pointing astatine it, there’s a bully fingerprint mark. That’s funny. Some group admit nan candy successful it. Kids often inquire me, “How did nan gummy butterflies fly?” and that’s really nosy to answer. I admit that everyone brings their ain experiences to it, and that benignant of completes nan portion for me.