“Nothing but Nets”

Astria Suparak
Installation (athletic mesh fabric, video, aluminum), 144 x 105 inches
2026
Commissioned by Godwin-Ternbach Museum, Queens College, NY

Description
Watch video component Jordan Wept
Exhibitions
Press
From the series #Sports

An RGB (the red-green-blue color model of digital screens and TV sets) sports jersey version of a Clyfford Still canvas, looking like ripped remains of an on-court battle.

Set within Nothing but Nets is Jordan Wept, a video by Astria Suparak and Brett Kashmere spotlighting the range and utility of the long-running Crying Michael Jordan meme, which re-immortalizes one of the 20th century’s most successful athletes into an avatar of failure; an everyman for disappointment, angst, and sorrow; a tool for rapid responses to live events; and a demonstration of the increased power of (anonymous, decentralized) fan culture.

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EXHIBITION

Godwin-Ternbach Museum at Queens College, CUNY, Flushing, NY

Legends: Athleticism in Asian/American Art
Curated by Jayne Cole Southard
February 10–May 14, 2026

The global reach of sports provides a compelling framework for examining Asian and Asian American identities amidst rising nationalisms and anti-Asian sentiments. In the U.S., stereotypes surrounding Asian and Asian American athletes continue to limit visibility and inclusion in sports, even as American leagues like the National Basketball Association (NBA) thrive financially by engaging with Asian markets. As noted by Astria Suparak and Brett Kashmere: “Sports are used for political purposes all the time at different scales and offer an important site of struggle that goes unrecognized and underreported.”

LEGENDS considers how artworks that adopt the language of sport can challenge essentialist narratives, instead emphasizing individual artistic voices and the diverse, transnational concerns that shape contemporary Asian and Asian American art today.

The exhibition will debut installations by The Chinatown Basketball Club and Astria Suparak, along with a new painting by Kaarina Chu Mackenzie. Additional artists represented include: Lanna Apisukh, Christopher Chan, Jamie Chan, Maia Chao, Edward Cheng, Caroline Garcia, Jocelyn Hu, Alison Kuo, Andrew Kuo, Dustin Lin, Paul Pfeiffer, Kenneth Tam, Sixing Xu, and Johann Yamin.