Praise Shadows 2.0: From Brookline to Boston with the City's Help
After five years in Brookline, MA, Praise Shadows has moved downtown. With help from the city, owner Yng-Ru Chen has relocated her celebrated contemporary art gallery to a light-filled, street-level space anchoring Boston’s historic Chinatown and Leather District neighborhoods.
Yng-Ru Chen and Joseph Henry with Praise Shadows’ Certificate from Mayor Wu. Photo: Vikram Valluri for BFA, copyright BFA.
Praise Shadows’ inaugural exhibition Summoning opened with an outpouring of solidarity and optimism. Art world boldfacers from across the country came to show support for Chen and Praise Shadows, and more broadly for the artists and creative freedom under threat by the administration.
There was Joseph Zeal Henry, Boston’s recently named Chief of Arts & Culture; Gannit Ankori, Director and Chief Curator of the Rose Art Museum and Maggie Adler, independent curator and Commissioner of Public Art in Fort Worth, TX. There was Paul Ha, Director of the MIT List Center; Pieranna Cavalchini, Curator of Contemporary Art at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum; Kris Wilton, Deputy Director of Audience Experience & Learning at the RISD Museum; Erika Umali, Curator of Collections at the ICA Boston; and Praise Shadows artists Jean Shin, Yu-Wen Wu, Nicole Wilson, Billie Mandle, Brett Angell, and Helena Metaferia.
As I wrote in the Visionary Series, Yng-Ru Chen is an art world force of nature who reminds us of how and why art survives despite. No federal efforts to silence creative voices, no skyrocketing real estate prices, no culture war chaos can stop her.
Summoning Installation view with work by (from left to right) Oliver Jeffers, Mike Glier, Cathy Lu, and Yu-Wen Wu. Photo: Dan Watkins for Praise Shadows, Boston.
I spoke with Chen about her business philosophy, her commitment to Boston, and the importance of Summoning the community during difficult times. This interview has been edited for length.
Paintings by Ekua Holmes. Photo: Dan Watkins for Praise Shadows, Boston.
Misstropolis: Congratulations on opening night. You had an unbelievable turnout, the community really came out for you. How are you feeling?
Yng-Ru Chen: I'm feeling great, definitely overwhelmed, relieved and happy. Almost 400 people came. It was funny navigating a bigger space—it took me an hour to get from one end to the other!
Misstropolis: Can you tell me about working with Mayor Wu’s office and The Space for Creative Enterprise initiative?
Yng-Ru Chen: Working with the city wasn't something I knew how to navigate in Brookline, because I didn't work in tandem with other civic organizations or Brookline Town Hall. I connected with Tiffany Chu, then Chief of Staff for Mayor Wu, during Lucy Kim's solo exhibition at the gallery. Tiffany said something about wishing Praise Shadows was in Boston. That stayed in my mind and obviously I was flattered. She connected me to Joseph Henry, who was just announced as the Chief of Arts & Culture. Joseph asked me where in Boston I wanted to be. I had never thought about the gallery as a real estate endeavor. Joseph [introduced me to] the Downtown Boston Alliance on Downtown Crossing. The DBA asked me great questions like, ‘What kind of space do you want?’ ‘What capacity do you need?’
Tobacco #1, #2 and #3, 2020, by Joiri Minaya. Gouache on Yupo paper. Photo: Dan Watkins for Praise Shadows, Boston.
“To me, art can exist anywhere. I feel fortunate that I found this space that looks beautiful and could be ready on time, and was in a neighborhood that made sense for me. I’m hoping it makes sense for people in Boston going forward.”
Gouache paintings in box frames by Brett Angell. Photo: Dan Watkins for Praise Shadows, Boston.
When I saw the space at Kingston Street from outside, through the window, I knew it was it. I remember the real estate agent saying, ‘You know this isn't Newberry Street, right? You know, this is Chinatown.’ Because in Boston, when people think of art galleries, they think of certain neighborhoods. I found that funny. I was like, ‘Yes, I’m aware. I want to be here and not there.’
I had to prove to a lot of people that this made sense. Even my parents, who took me to this neighborhood every weekend for dim sum growing up, couldn't wrap their heads around the fact that people would want to go to see art here.
I spent decades in New York where people open up art spaces everywhere. I worked at PS1 where art was installed in an abandoned school. To me, art can exist anywhere. I feel fortunate that I found this space that looks beautiful and could be ready and was in a neighborhood that made sense for me, and I'm hoping it makes sense for people in Boston going forward.
Truth Lasso works by Jean Shin and daguerrotypes in custom frames by John Shen. Photo: Dan Watkins for Praise Shadows, Boston.
Misstropolis: Working with municipal departments like the mayor's office can be challenging—there's often delays, bureaucracy, red tape. Were there surprises or challenges for you?
Yng-Ru Chen: In my previous life at PS1, I was PR director and also government liaison. So I would go to Town Hall and plead for money for HVAC, for example. I'm aware things take a long time, but Joseph Henry pushed this along. We are a for-profit commercial gallery, but in order for this to happen with the mayor's office, we needed a fiscal sponsor. That's where the Arts and Business Council of Greater Boston came in. I feel privileged to partner with entities that have been doing this sort of work for many years. I had a very positive experience.
Misstropolis: You now have a 2,000 square foot gallery, after working with about 1,400 square feet in Brookline. How will your programming change in the new space?
Photo: Dan Watkins for Praise Shadows, Boston.
Yng-Ru Chen: And we also have 2,000 square feet upstairs, for storage and private viewing, which is great.
Crystalle Lacouture is the next solo artist who will have a show. She's ready, she's been working her butt off. I think all the artists are ready to expand physically and to engage with the light. We have these gorgeous huge windows, so I'm excited to see what they do. I can't wait. Brooke Stewart will have a show at the end of the year. She has a great idea for the windows. Our summer group show is about how artists use humor in dark times, co-curated by the comedian, Atsuko Okatsuka and her husband Ryan Harper Gray.
The programming will be rooted in what we did in Brookline, but will grow. That was why Joseph [Henry] wanted us—because we’ve already been doing these things. We've had a mentorship program since 2021. We have been investing in Boston artists and arts workers since we opened. Now that we have support from the city and we can generate more of an audience downtown, we'll see a lot of different possibilities. We have a 10-year lease, things will change and develop over the years. We will start activating the space, working with organizations like the Rose Kennedy Greenway, which is right across the street.
Yu-Wen Wu, Accumulation of Dreams VIII, 2024. Graphite, gold ink, 18 carat gold leaf on Arches paper. 68 × 451/2 inches paper, 78 ½ x 54 1/2” framed. Photo: Dan Watkins for Praise Shadows, Boston.
Misstropolis: Seeing the explosive growth of many of your artists over the last five years, and watching them try different approaches and mediums, I wonder about how you navigate your multidimensional role as advisor, mentor and dealer?
Yng-Ru Chen: And don't forget-therapist.
Yu-Wen Wu and Yng-Ru Chen. Photo: Photo: Vikram Valluri for BFA, copyright BFA.
Misstropolis: [Laughing] yes and therapist.
Yng-Ru Chen: I don't come from an art dealing background, I come from a museum background. I have always focused on the long-term sustainability and growth of artists. Not every artist is a good fit for me and I'm not a good fit for every artist. That's very much on my mind as we plan shows and develop a market.
I'm from here, I have so much respect for Boston arts and culture. I knew when I opened the gallery that all the excellent museums in Boston mean excellent patrons and supporters, people who are committed to growing arts institutions in and outside of Boston. I also think my friendships with curators, either because we went to college together or came up together early on, helped set Praise Shadows apart.
Archival pigment prints by Billie Mandle. Photo: Dan Watkins for Praise Shadows, Boston.
A lot of the sensationalism and news about the art market is about [things like] money laundering, Jeffrey Epstein, or huge amounts spent at auction. But that’s a very different ecosystem. I just keep my head down and do the work and continue to make relationships stronger for myself and for my artists. Translate that to something palatable for a general audience, for a museum audience, and for collectors—that's a lot of labor. By the time we get to this point, there's already been years and years of work. We’re hoping to expand the cultural consciousness of what our artists do. And obviously my PR background has been helpful.
“There’s a lot of noise that prevents you from actually paying attention to the piece that’s in front of you. Why does it move you? Why do you want to learn more about this artist?”
People ask me, what's happening in Boston? Last spring I welcomed so many gallery directors from New York and California because they were coming to check in—not just with me—but with their museum, their peers. It’s definitely a region and a scene that folks are paying attention to.
Gannit Ankori and Jean Shin. Photo: Vikram Valluri for BFA, copyright BFA.
Misstropolis: This is going to be your first solo show with Brooke Stewart who is not on your roster. How do you build and manage your roster of artists?
Yng-Ru Chen: The roster is something I protect like a baby, because we don't have much capacity. We put so much into the artists that we represent; every artist that we represent has had a solo show with us. And it's after that solo show, which usually comes after a group show, that we we say, is this a long-term commitment that we want to talk about? So I'm really happy to share that Lucy Kim recently joined the roster, and she is someone I've known since the beginning. She got a solo last year that was incredibly successful.
I look at things like, of her collectors, who are they regionally? Sometimes it's interesting to see: ‘Oh, this collector is in the Midwest, this collector is in another region, this artist has potential for growth beyond the region.’ And then I look at the expansiveness of their practice and what else they can do. Because we don't show anyone who's a one trick pony [just because] they do one thing that sells really well.
“You have to lead and program by integrity and believe in yourself and not follow the winds of popularity.”
Misstropolis: The gallery business is vulnerable to shifts in the economy and socio-political mood swings. What grounds your sustained success?
Yng-Ru Chen: Having Mayor Wu stand behind us makes us really proud. [Chen holds up a Certificate from the mayor and admits, ‘I'm putting it at the front desk for a week,’ ] . Arts organizations and commercial galleries around the world are wondering, ‘How do we make this work?’ I think about that every single day. It's not as if we're set. But I think it’s been by giving a little bit of ourselves over the last five years the way we have. I'm really fortunate to be in Boston where people understand the importance of that, and that they’ve been able to share and give back a little bit towards us.
Summoning is on view at Praise Shadows’ new space at 129 Kingston Street, Boston through April 11, 2026.
Cover image: Nicole Wilson, Full-term, 2025. Unbuffered tissue impregnated with methyl cellulose. Approximately 92 × 36 × 14”. Dan Watkins for Praise Shadows, Boston.
