Kenneth Tam

March 18, 2025

Kenneth Tam (b. 1982 Queens, NY) is an interdisciplinary artist based in Houston, TX and Queens, NY. Kenneth received his BFA from the Cooper Union and an MFA in 2010. Tam has had solo exhibitions at Queens Museum, New York, NY; ICA LA, Los Angeles, CA; Commonwealth and Council, Los Angeles, CA; Ballroom Marfa, Marfa, TX; and elsewhere. Tam is a recipient of a Foundation for Contemporary Arts Grant to Artists and an Art Matters Foundation Foundation Grant. He was a Fellow at The Core Program and has participated in residencies at the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council (LMCC), Pioneer Works, and The Kitchen.

Can you tell us about your practice?

I am an interdisciplinary artist who works across video, sculpture, installation, and movement. My work examines themes including the performance of masculinity, the transformative potential of private rituals, and expressions of intimacy within groups.

Some of your recent projects (including at Bridget Donahue) explore very specific communities/ practices. Can you tell us about the process of choosing such projects and when/how you know when a project is complete?

I actually have a hard time knowing when a project is complete. More often than not, an exhibition deadline will determine that, but there are certain ideas that span multiple projects and it can be difficult to know when something has been completely exhausted artistically. My process for choosing a subject matter to engage with is somewhat random, usually more a product of happenstance than something I intentionally seek out. For example, my interest in Asian American fraternities and the taxi medallion crisis both came about from reading pieces of excellent investigative journalism in the NYTimes.

Can you talk about the importance of incorporating bodily movement (particularly in the absence of spoken words) in recent films?

My interest in movement, as performed by non-professionals, is a way to explore embodied forms of vulnerability. Particularly with the taxi drivers, whose form of labor I feel is incredibly physical despite its sedentary appearance, the movement became a way of engaging with the men in ways that were unfamiliar to them. Through labor we become alienated from our own bodies, and movement was a way for the drivers to express some kind of agency over their own bodies in a way not afforded to them by their work as drivers.

Your installation at Bridget Donahue creates a somewhat precarious setting for the viewers beaded seat cushions on the floors can be slippery, demanding focus. Can you speak a bit about these choices and their relationship to the audience?

The exhibition began as a response to a short film I made about the drivers titled Brother Driver. When I was invited to do an exhibition with Bridget, I knew I wanted to incorporate some of the material from that film, while also creating a physical experience that elaborated on some of the themes I was exploring. In contrast to the film, which I felt was more didactic and had to explain itself a bit more, I wanted to re-edit the footage into something that was more suggestive and oblique in relationship to the subject matter of the medallion and debt.

With the installation, I had a desire to create something ambitious but that was not ostentatious, and the floor seemed like a really interesting opportunity, sculpturally speaking. The tiled seat covers transformed the gallery into a more contemplative space, connecting the mundane world of driving and car interiors to a more ritualistic, otherworldly experience, so even walking into the installation required a certain amount of intention and focus as you say. It felt like a fitting way of translating the vulnerability of the drivers into an embodied experience for the audience.

What has been inspiring you?

It has been difficult to find inspiration post-election. Feelings of anger, despair, and general disappointment were channeled into productive energies in the studio. One month into this new presidency/regime, I’ve been looking for small acts of political resistance to feel inspired by. The Ralph Lemon survey at PS1, and its related live performance program, continue to be a bright spot in an otherwise dark time.

What are you investigating these days? Is there anything we can look forward to seeing in the future?

I’m in the very early stages of a possible new body of work for a future exhibition. All I can say now is that it likely will involve working with lion-dance troupes and the young people who participate and find community in these groups. But I’m also thinking about how to continue expanding on ‘The Medallion’, the feedback I’ve been hearing from the exhibition has been very helpful and clarifying.

Kenneth Tam

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