Amos Kang
SCULPTURE
Amos Kang (b. 1999, NJ) is an artist based in Brooklyn, NY and has received a BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design in 2021.
Kang, in the form of speculative objects and installations, explores Kawaii: a cultural lexicon embodying the aesthetics of cute, questioning themes of cultural consumption and reproduction. Crafted from synthetic materials and processes like plastic and 3D-printing, Kang creates anthropomorphized kawaii objects that serve as representations of “asianized” bodies.
MAY 18, 2025
Your work often recontextualizes familiar objects — how do you choose the materials or items that become part of your visual vocabulary?
Yes, I definitely create objects that latch on to familiarity and the significance embedded in the quotidian.
When deciding on what object or image to create I often think about how familiarity is defined as racial and political dynamics shape cultural production and consumption- and what it means to pull and situate these images into my work.
I am interested in images that juxtapose and contradict the materiality of plastic and the cultural context of kawaii/cute aesthetics. Whether it be synthetic and authentic, for instance, like kawaii plastic leaves glued onto a branch I picked up somewhere in the city, or Kafka’s Gregor Samsa reimagined as an anime girl: And using these homuncular images, in my work I create anthropomorphized objects or creatures.
Yes, I definitely create objects that latch on to familiarity and the significance embedded in the quotidian.
When deciding on what object or image to create I often think about how familiarity is defined as racial and political dynamics shape cultural production and consumption- and what it means to pull and situate these images into my work.
I am interested in images that juxtapose and contradict the materiality of plastic and the cultural context of kawaii/cute aesthetics. Whether it be synthetic and authentic, for instance, like kawaii plastic leaves glued onto a branch I picked up somewhere in the city, or Kafka’s Gregor Samsa reimagined as an anime girl: And using these homuncular images, in my work I create anthropomorphized objects or creatures.
How do you approach making work generally?
I think when I’m making work, I approach my practice as a way of world-building- speculative ideas in which the work consists of these scenarios where, within the object as almost a vessel, there is an environment, and within the environment there is a character.
I will say, coming from a background in furniture design, I do endear objects the most: well-made, thoughtfully crafted objects.
Can you talk a little bit about working with sculpture in a real-life 3D environment?
For me, the scale or space where the work exists is very much dependent on the image, its pre-existing context, and story I build.
Recently I had the amazing opportunity to be a part of a duo show at Tutu Gallery @gallerytutu with artist Yizhi Liu @lllizgrranny curated by Shuang Cai @fkialmostforgot: Tutu Gallery is an alternative exhibition space/ apartment gallery in Brooklyn. It was a fascinating experience to see how the work is activated in different ways when, in this case, embedded in a living environment and how that changes how the work then performs and is consumed.
There were a lot of fun moments working with our curator Shuang and my duo show partner Yizhi, where we had to navigate how our work would be in conversation with not only each other but also with the atmosphere and environment the space has already built as someone’s living room/kitchen/personal space.
Is there a recurring object, material, or shape that feels like a personal symbol for you — something that keeps resurfacing across your work?
Plastic grass and wood houses. White fences, white dogs, white walls, crystals, astrology, alternative meat, and Taylor Swift.
Recently I’ve been thinking a lot about Dungeons and Dragons, bunkbeds, football, and Lana Del Rey.
You mentioned plastic grass, white fences, and Taylor Swift — can you tell us in what way they are inspiring to you?
I’m interested in working with images that imagine and draw from the short history and traditions of American culture to recontextualize.
I think my recent interests have been expanding into moments that are celebrated by an even smaller group of people within its culture. I never considered myself a Lana Del Rey fan after her mesh mask but recently I’ve been listening to her a lot and realizing how much of a master she is of her own craft and vision. Or like learning about how, although being fiction, dungeons and dragons struggle with cultural representation and stereotyping and thinking about the communities that d&d is celebrated by.
Looking forward, are there forms or formats you’re excited to explore — like video, performance, or collaborations outside the art world?
Yes!! I am currently in the works of developing one of my characters/ sculptures, Bella Boo. Bella is a Moe-anthropomorphized kafkaesque humanoid cockroach who is a hard-working K-pop trainee that goes through a plastic surgery metamorphosis to become a K-pop star. I am working with visual artist Soo Park, @donkeysoo, to develop and help Bella Boo to rise further as a K-pop gyaru-anime-style virtual Vocaloid (synthetic/immaterial) popstar.
With the help of collaborative artists- music producer J2NA, @j2n_jem and choreographer Yannie Lo, @yannie.yl, we are in the works of developing her new song with a music video and dance performance piece in New York Times Square on July 5th and 6th. Her instagram is @goki.bella.boo, in which we will be updating more shows, performances, and video work soon!
It seems like your future practice involves lots of explorations across different fields and media. What does it feel like to work on digital projects versus sculptural?
I mean I think what we define as sculptural is constantly in movement and I think my physical sculptures involve a heavily digital procedure as well.
While thinking about Bella Boo, it definitely leans into an even more ‘digital’ project conceptually as with her, we’re interested in examining the idea of virtuality and semiotic immateriality in relation to digital consumption in the west; although I think the images she intentionally references and pulls from don't necessarily limit her to a physical or digital identity but rather she exists in a post-digital orientalist conversation.
Working on her is definitely a different experience than working on my physical sculptures as it feels like building a collective brand or a character/persona as it is a collaborative project that encompasses not only physical mediums and visual arts but also music, choreography, and design (as k-pop is).
I think my recent interests have been expanding into moments that are celebrated by an even smaller group of people within its culture. I never considered myself a Lana Del Rey fan after her mesh mask but recently I’ve been listening to her a lot and realizing how much of a master she is of her own craft and vision. Or like learning about how, although being fiction, dungeons and dragons struggle with cultural representation and stereotyping and thinking about the communities that d&d is celebrated by.
Looking forward, are there forms or formats you’re excited to explore — like video, performance, or collaborations outside the art world?
Yes!! I am currently in the works of developing one of my characters/ sculptures, Bella Boo. Bella is a Moe-anthropomorphized kafkaesque humanoid cockroach who is a hard-working K-pop trainee that goes through a plastic surgery metamorphosis to become a K-pop star. I am working with visual artist Soo Park, @donkeysoo, to develop and help Bella Boo to rise further as a K-pop gyaru-anime-style virtual Vocaloid (synthetic/immaterial) popstar.
With the help of collaborative artists- music producer J2NA, @j2n_jem and choreographer Yannie Lo, @yannie.yl, we are in the works of developing her new song with a music video and dance performance piece in New York Times Square on July 5th and 6th. Her instagram is @goki.bella.boo, in which we will be updating more shows, performances, and video work soon!
It seems like your future practice involves lots of explorations across different fields and media. What does it feel like to work on digital projects versus sculptural?
I mean I think what we define as sculptural is constantly in movement and I think my physical sculptures involve a heavily digital procedure as well.
While thinking about Bella Boo, it definitely leans into an even more ‘digital’ project conceptually as with her, we’re interested in examining the idea of virtuality and semiotic immateriality in relation to digital consumption in the west; although I think the images she intentionally references and pulls from don't necessarily limit her to a physical or digital identity but rather she exists in a post-digital orientalist conversation.
Working on her is definitely a different experience than working on my physical sculptures as it feels like building a collective brand or a character/persona as it is a collaborative project that encompasses not only physical mediums and visual arts but also music, choreography, and design (as k-pop is).