Nick Dong: Auspicious

Nick Dong’s technologically engaged work reflects his Taiwanese-American identity and Tibetan Buddhist upbringing, referencing spirituality and heritage through a distinctly contemporary lens. At the exhibition's core are the first 11 works of an ongoing series of 88 works entitled “Auspicious 88”, which is set to be completed by 2028. Two separate series of pencil and ballpoint pen drawings on acrylic will complement this monumental project in the gallery. The primary focus of the exhibition, “Auspicious 88,” takes its inspiration from the number eight and its auspicious nature in Buddhist teachings. Its significance is represented in the Eight Auspicious Symbols (ashtamangala), a set of visual symbols that are prevalent throughout Tibetan religious art and also appear in other religious traditions outside of Buddhism, such as Hinduism and Jainism. While much of the artist’s earlier work took a tongue-in-cheek approach, portraying the commodification, Westernization, and simplification of key Buddhist concepts like “enlightenment” with an ironic tone, Dong has since come to realize the powerful effect his work has on viewers from all backgrounds, even when conceived in jest. Beguiling viewers with their multimedia facets, moving parts, and audio-visual elements, the “Auspicious 88” works are the artist’s form of phantasmagoria. The spiritual connotation of the series is underscored by its immersive, multi-sensory nature.  We are delighted to put Dong’s artistic practice in dialogue with the tech community in Silicon Valley, showing how the intersection of art and technology is at the cutting edge of contemporary creation and discourse.