Table for One

"Table for one" is what you say to the host when you decide to eat alone in public. For some, it is an experience that induces self-consciousness. For others, it is perfectly fine—one can always turn to their phone when things feel awkward. 

When the phrase is taken out of the context of restaurant dining, however, it sounds much more relaxing. You might realize that you have always had a table for one. At home, there’s a desk, a dining table, or even a stool top that doubles as a surface. These are the places where we work, eat, write, draw, stare at a screen, or simply sit. They are where we spend time with ourselves. 

The relationship with the self is one we have always had but often overlook. Most of the time we are more attuned to how we are perceived than to who we are. This exhibition is an invitation to return to that quieter relationship, by creating a series of intimate spaces that one can inhabit alone. 

Gaston Bachelard speaks of an “intimate immensity” where small, protected spaces can give rise to vast, poetic imagination, like a child in a pillow fortress, who feels not confined, but liberated. The exhibition seeks to evoke a similar feeling of wonder and comfort by staging a series of scenes of aesthetic enjoyment. The artists, designers, and curators involved all work together to create a space where one can spend time with oneself and, in doing so, step into a more expansive interior world.

Artist

Dan Fig, Peishan Huang, hm-LI Studio, Jeong Hur, Juntos Projects, Baiyang Kong, kwzt, Bowen Liu, Tom Prinsell, Danyang Song, Wesley Ware, Zoojoo

Curator

Leo Yuan (b. 1995, Hangzhou, China) is a writer and curator based in New York. He holds a BA in Art History from the University of Pennsylvania, an MA in Art Business from the Sotheby’s Institute of Art, New York, and an MA in Art History from the Institute of Fine Arts at New York University. His writings can be found on Artnet, Art Basel Stories, ARTnews China, and The Brooklyn Rail.