As the air turns crisp, nothing feels more like fall than curling up with a good book and getting lost in the worlds held between its pages. Books have a way of shaping our perspective, often influencing us far beyond what we realize. With a new season ahead, V reading ahead on the literary releases worth knowing, spotlighting the fantastical new titles making their way to bookstores this fall. Sharing has always been a love language, and V can’t help but put you on.
MARTIN WONG: CHINATOWN USA SHOWCASES THE LATE ARTIST’S FORMATIVE RELATIONSHIP TO ASIAN-AMERICAN CULTURE
Identity is a persuasive influence, as late-20th century artist Martin Wong knew well. If you’re unfamiliar with Wong’s work, now’s the time to pick up the catalog Martin Wong: Chinatown USA, based on the exhibition of the same name at Chicago gallery Wrightwood 659 earlier this year. The catalog celebrates Wong’s paintings of life in American Chinatowns, some of which were originally presented in 1993, along with ephemera from his life and work. Wong’s Asian and queer identity shaped his relationships to environments like American Chinatowns. His death in 1999 of AIDS-related causes adds additional weight to his work, allowing viewers to reflect on the artist, what he represented, and when he represented it.
–George Piper