Doris Guo
Press release
Doris Guo: Ahead
presented by VI, VII, Oslo at Art Basel Paris
The general approach of Doris Guo’s work comes out of a desire to capture ambient dispositions toward the social patterns and ritual dimensions of living. Rather than providing an explicit narrative that her sculptures become remnants of, she suggests oblique narratives and feelings by repurposing and recreating disparate objects and materials worn by human usage.
Often produced from a journalistic approach to the feelings and affects of lived experiences, ambiences of the day-to-day remain a starting point of her practice as she works with readymades and the visual languages of interior spaces.
Previous projects by the artist have involved sensors that turn lighted sculptures and overhead projectors on when viewers are present. Continuing these explorations into the participatory and experiential, the artist’s new work for Art Basel Paris involves two sculptural elements. The first are several functionally inactive doorstops, presented slightly larger than life-size throughout the booth, enlarged for absent and impossibly large doors. The second element, a curtain-like structure constructed from black satin ribbon, intersects the booth in a meandering pattern, enshrouding certain areas of the space.
Doorstops facilitate the ease of movement between places and these curtains function as permeable walls that visitors can walk through with ease.
Made from materials found close at hand such as wood, metal and plastic, Guo’s sculptures are inspired by makeshift doorstops that come to be through casual assembly. Through this practical and impermanent solutions are solidified into something longer lasting. The curtain-like work, “The joy you have I wish for others,” (2024) made with vertical bands of satin ribbon speaks to transience and physical borders of nation-states and invokes a feeling of being in between—an interstitial plane, where one is waiting to pass through inevitable obstacles to encounter objects, no matter the level of difficulty; where crossing through means a lot of waiting, as in pinned positions, a potential loose metaphor for a version of bureaucratic migration.
The dramaturgy of the booth remains loose, inviting the viewer to pass through the curtain at their own chosen point of entry. In this way, the curtain does not arrest, or restrict the viewer for more than a moment. Through this it brings forth whatever their own apprehensions are about passing through into a space that is only partially visible. The presence of the curtain, which is extended through strands that remain on viewer’s shoulders as they pass through calls to mind the light touch of loved ones far away, something that lingers at the threshold, a stand-in for the many different emotions and transformations that are possible when experiencing something that lingers.
- Artist Biography -
Doris Guo is an American artist living in Oslo, Norway. A graduate of Pratt Institute with a BFA in painting, the artist completed their MFA at Oslo National Academy of the Arts in 2023.
Selected solo exhibitions include “Back,” Empty Gallery, Hong Kong (2023); “disorientations,” VI, VII, Oslo (2023); “XO” at Bodega, New York (2019) and “Joss” at Real Fine Arts, New York (2017).
Selected group exhibitions include “Doris Guo, Matthew Langan-Peck, Isabelle Frances McGuire, Ruben Ulises Rodriguez Montoya” at Artists Space, New York; “X Years,” VI, VII, Oslo (2022); “When the Word Becomes Flesh,” Baader-Meinhof, Omaha (2022); “Flow,” Thierry Goldberg Gallery, New York (2021); “Misunderstandings” (A Theory of Photography), Plymouth Rock, Zurich (2020); “01102020,” Fisher Parrish Gallery, Brooklyn (2020); “Cruise Kidman Kubrick,” Galerie Maria Bernheim, Zurich, (2019); “Pastoral (Grind and Drone),” 47 Canal, New York (2019); “The Parisian Nights,”Crèvecoeur, Paris (2019); “Mad child of a wise mother,” curated by Clément Delépine, CACBM, Paris (2018) where her work was exhibited alongside that of Tom Friedman, Jutta Koether, Louise Lawler and Patricio Lima Quintana.
The artist’s work can currently be seen in the exhibition “You, You,” curated by Kate Sutton at Lombardi—Kargl, Vienna. In 2025 her work will be the focus of a solo exhibition at the Kunstverein Braunschweig.
Art Basel Paris, Booth K28
Art Basel Paris, Booth K28
Art Basel Paris, Booth K28
Art Basel Paris, Booth K28
Art Basel Paris, Booth K28
Art Basel Paris, Booth K28
Art Basel Paris, Booth K28
Doris Guo, The joy you have I wish for others, 2024
Black satin
Black satin
Doris Guo, The joy you have I wish for others, 2024
Black satin
Black satin
Doris Guo, The joy you have I wish for others, 2024
Black satin
Black satin
Doris Guo, Baby foot, 2024
Oak, wood glue, wood stain, sealant, hardware
25 × 32 × 20 cm (9 ⅞ × 12 ⅝ × 7 ⅞ inches)
Oak, wood glue, wood stain, sealant, hardware
25 × 32 × 20 cm (9 ⅞ × 12 ⅝ × 7 ⅞ inches)
Doris Guo, Baby foot, 2024
Oak, wood glue, wood stain, sealant, hardware
25 × 32 × 20 cm (9 ⅞ × 12 ⅝ × 7 ⅞ inches) (9 ⅞ × 12 ⅝ × 7 ⅞ inches)
Oak, wood glue, wood stain, sealant, hardware
25 × 32 × 20 cm (9 ⅞ × 12 ⅝ × 7 ⅞ inches) (9 ⅞ × 12 ⅝ × 7 ⅞ inches)
Doris Guo, Doorstop 1, 2024
Aluminum, rubber
5 cm ø 8 cm (2 inches ø 3 ⅛ inches)
Aluminum, rubber
5 cm ø 8 cm (2 inches ø 3 ⅛ inches)
Doris Guo, Striped door, 2024
Red oak, wood glue, wood stain, sealant, hardware
23 × 18 × 17.5 cm (9 × 7 ⅛ × 6 ⅞ inches)
Red oak, wood glue, wood stain, sealant, hardware
23 × 18 × 17.5 cm (9 × 7 ⅛ × 6 ⅞ inches)
Doris Guo, Striped door, 2024
Red oak, wood glue, wood stain, sealant, hardware
23 × 18 × 17.5 cm (9 × 7 ⅛ × 6 ⅞ inches) (9 × 7 ⅛ × 6 ⅞ inches)
Red oak, wood glue, wood stain, sealant, hardware
23 × 18 × 17.5 cm (9 × 7 ⅛ × 6 ⅞ inches) (9 × 7 ⅛ × 6 ⅞ inches)
Doris Guo, Storm Log, 2024
Oak, wood glue, sealant, hardware
24 × 18.25 × 14.5 cm (9 ½ × 7 ⅛ × 5 ¾ inches)
Oak, wood glue, sealant, hardware
24 × 18.25 × 14.5 cm (9 ½ × 7 ⅛ × 5 ¾ inches)
Doris Guo, Storm Log, 2024
Oak, wood glue, sealant, hardware
24 × 18.25 × 14.5 cm (9 ½ × 7 ⅛ × 5 ¾ inches) (9 ½ × 7 ⅛ × 5 ¾ inches)
Oak, wood glue, sealant, hardware
24 × 18.25 × 14.5 cm (9 ½ × 7 ⅛ × 5 ¾ inches) (9 ½ × 7 ⅛ × 5 ¾ inches)
Doris Guo, Doorstop 1, 2024
Stainless steel, rubber
7 inches ø 4 inches (17.78 cm ø 10.16 cm)
Stainless steel, rubber
7 inches ø 4 inches (17.78 cm ø 10.16 cm)
Doris Guo, Survival charm - drawer palace, 2024
Red oak, wood glue, paint, hardware
24 × 14.5 × 18 cm (9 ½ × 5 ¾ × 7 ⅛ inches)
Red oak, wood glue, paint, hardware
24 × 14.5 × 18 cm (9 ½ × 5 ¾ × 7 ⅛ inches)
Doris Guo, Survival charm - drawer palace, 2024
Red oak, wood glue, paint, hardware
24 × 14.5 × 18 cm (9 ½ × 5 ¾ × 7 ⅛ inches) (9 ½ × 5 ¾ × 7 ⅛ inches)
Red oak, wood glue, paint, hardware
24 × 14.5 × 18 cm (9 ½ × 5 ¾ × 7 ⅛ inches) (9 ½ × 5 ¾ × 7 ⅛ inches)
Doris Guo, Water Drop, 2024
Oak, wood glue, microfiber cloth, hardware
32 × 20 × 20 cm (12 ⅝ × 7 ⅞ × 7 ⅞ inches)
Oak, wood glue, microfiber cloth, hardware
32 × 20 × 20 cm (12 ⅝ × 7 ⅞ × 7 ⅞ inches)
Doris Guo, Water Drop, 2024
Oak, wood glue, microfiber cloth, hardware
32 × 20 × 20 cm (12 ⅝ × 7 ⅞ × 7 ⅞ inches) (12 ⅝ × 7 ⅞ × 7 ⅞ inches)
Oak, wood glue, microfiber cloth, hardware
32 × 20 × 20 cm (12 ⅝ × 7 ⅞ × 7 ⅞ inches) (12 ⅝ × 7 ⅞ × 7 ⅞ inches)
Doris Guo, Friend’s parent’s house, 2024
Red oak, wood glue, wood stain, sealant, hardware
28.5 × 18 × 17.5 cm (11 ¼ × 7 ⅛ × 6 ⅞ inches)
Red oak, wood glue, wood stain, sealant, hardware
28.5 × 18 × 17.5 cm (11 ¼ × 7 ⅛ × 6 ⅞ inches)
Doris Guo, Friend’s parent’s house, 2024
Red oak, wood glue, wood stain, sealant, hardware
28.5 × 18 × 17.5 cm (11 ¼ × 7 ⅛ × 6 ⅞ inches) (11 ¼ × 7 ⅛ × 6 ⅞ inches)
Red oak, wood glue, wood stain, sealant, hardware
28.5 × 18 × 17.5 cm (11 ¼ × 7 ⅛ × 6 ⅞ inches) (11 ¼ × 7 ⅛ × 6 ⅞ inches)
Doris Guo, Wood pulley, 2024
Oak, hardware, plastic bag
20 × 30 × 22 cm (7 ⅞ × 11 ¾ × 8 ⅝ inches)
Oak, hardware, plastic bag
20 × 30 × 22 cm (7 ⅞ × 11 ¾ × 8 ⅝ inches)
Doris Guo, Wood pulley, 2024
Oak, hardware, plastic bag
20 × 30 × 22 cm (7 ⅞ × 11 ¾ × 8 ⅝ inches) (7 ⅞ × 11 ¾ × 8 ⅝ inches)
Oak, hardware, plastic bag
20 × 30 × 22 cm (7 ⅞ × 11 ¾ × 8 ⅝ inches) (7 ⅞ × 11 ¾ × 8 ⅝ inches)
