Artists Represented

My work is about being, memory and place. As an immigrant to the United States who grew up in the hybrid and transitory environment of colonial Hong Kong, I am particularly interested in the complexities of cultural identity. I seek to voice the stories of my culture from the inside - the ethos, sensibilities and unspoken details of daily living which are often difficult to discern from the outside - as well as touch on the universals between cultures. Through my work I try to connect past and present, memory and idea, the personal and the universal, and find a home in this shifting world.

Parallel these concerns, my recent work has focused on developing a visual and structural language which comes from and speaks across my different cultural sources. In this language I am looking for the poetry that connects word, object, place, sound and time, in the way that the Chinese language combines concise tonal units of sound and meaning into a fluid whole. I am interested in building a textuality of materials, ideas and spaces, to convey the idea as well as the emotions of a piece.

I work most often in installation form. I like the way it allows discourse across categories and boundaries in a way similar to life experiences, and it provides a platform from which I can connect my roots in Chinese lyrical-narrative sensibilities with my interest in Western conceptual thinking.

While installations in art venues allow a certain kind of aesthetic experimentation and control, I have found it important to bring the dialogue on belonging and identity to community and public art projects. Since 1992 I have worked with youth, and in particular the elderly, from diverse communities. I find the direct connection to these individuals' lives and stories both empowering and humbling, and the exposure to the process of civic space planning and implementation a sobering reality-check and reminder of the necessity of dreaming-imagination.

For further information, please contact:

Canada: tel: (1) 604.688.2633, fax: (1) 604.688.2685

Selected Solo Exhibitions
2006	University of Wyoming Art Museum, Laramie, WY
2005	Jack Straw New Media Gallery, Seattle, WA
	Salt Lake Art Center, Salt Lake City, UT
2004	Fine Arts Gallery, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA
	…nges & disappearances, Sun Valley Center for the Arts, Ketchum, ID
2002	mountainriver, Hosfelt Gallery, San Francisco, CA
1999	Cauldron, Hosfelt Gallery, San Francisco, CA
1996	The Opacity of Dreams, Hosfelt Gallery, San Francisco, CA
	Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston, TX
1994	faces, heart, seeking, San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art, San Jose, CA
1992	Moral Tales, The Lab, San Francisco, CA
Selected Group Exhibitions
2011	On the Ground, Southern Exposure Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2009	Euphrat Museum, De Anza College, Cuptertion, CA
2008	Chinaman’s Chance, Pacific Asia Museum, Pasadena, CA
2007	Falling ~ Tribute to Autumn, Art Beatus Gallery, Vancouver BC, Canada
	CalAsia, Gallery C, Hermosa Beach, CA
2006	Denver Museum of Contemporary Art
2005	DETAINED, Asian American Art Center, New York, NY
2004	The Four Dignities, Sacred Spaces, Berkeley Art Center, Berkeley, CA
2003	Happiness, Art Beatus Gallery, Vancouver BC, Canada
	The Drawing Show, The Lab, San Francisco, CA
2002	The Luggage Store, San Francisco, CA
1998	Crossings: Fourteen Asian and Asian American Artists from the Bay Area, A.T. Kearny, San Francisco, CA
1997	Four Montalvo Artists: Works on Paper, Montalvo Center for the Arts, Saratoga, CA
1996	Inaugural Exhibition, Hosfelt Gallery, San Francisco, CA
	Bay Area Portfolio: Design @ Large, Bedford Gallery, Dean Lesher Regional Center for the Arts, Walnut Creek, CA
	Betrothed: Contemporary Perspectives on the Bride, Falkirk Cultural Center, San Rafael, CA
1995	TransCulture, part of the 1995 Venice Biennale, Japan Foundation/Palazzo Giustinian Lolin, Fondazion Levi, Venice, Italy
1994	Mirror Mirror: the Beauty Myth, California College of Arts and Crafts, Oakland, CA
1993	In Out of the Cold, Inaugural Exhibition at Center for the Arts at Yerba Buena Gardens, San Francisco, CA
	Public and Private Journeys, Euphrat Gallery, De Anza College, Cupertino, CA
1992	Material Dimensions, Richmond Art Center, Richmond, CA
	Home Front, Falkirk Cultural Center, San Rafael, CA
	Telling Stories: Artists Books, Prieto Gallery, Mills College, Oakland, CA
1991	In The Outside, site-specific installation, Fort Cronkhite, Sausalito, CA
	The Breathing Room: A Site-Specific Exploration of Space and Spirit, installations for the Church, AIDS Healing Altar, Trinity Episcopal Church, Secession Gallery, San Francisco, CA
1989	Frontiers of Interactivity, sound installation, Works Gallery, San Jose, CA
1987	Pastoral Meditations, sound installation, with Bruce Hogeland, ProArts, Oakland, CA
Community Cultural Development, Public Art and Other Commissions
2006-09	East Oakland Community Library, Oakland Public Library and the City of Oakland Office of Cultural Affairs & Marketing, Oakland, CA
2004-05	VIRSA: Sikh-American Youth, collaborative installation and post-9/11 cultural education traveling exhibition, Wing Luke Asian Museum, Seattle, WA
2003-05	Wellspring, International District/Chinatown Branch Library, Seattle Office of Arts & Culture, Seattle, WA
2003	Community Youth Arts consultant, Chinese Information & Service Center, Seattle, WA
	The Story Lantern Project, intergenerational project with seniors from Telegraph Hill Community Ctr. and ESL students from Francisco Middle School, in collaboration with San Francisco Arts Education Project, Center for Youth & Elders in the Arts, and the Community Involvement Team from Levi Strauss & Co, San Francisco, CA
2002	Project Consultant, Jack Straw Productions, Seattle, WA; "Chinese Celebrations" intergenerational radio project
2001-05	Postcards in Time, an ARTS UP (Artist Residencies Transforming Seattle's Urban Places) project, in collaboration with Kawabe Memorial House (a H.U.D. senior housing facility) and Seattle Arts Commission, Seattle, WA
1999-05	Consortium on Education in the Arts for Youth and Elders (CEYA), San Francisco; inter- generational workshops with ESL students & immigrant seniors
1997-98	Hear our Voices, Broadway Auto Row, Public Art commissioned by City of Oakland Cultural Arts, Oakland, CA
1997	Newman Residence Library, San Francisco, CA
1996-97	Celebration of Aging, 25th Anniversary Commemorative Project, On Lok Senior Health Services, San Francisco, CA
1993-96	TAKE ROOT, San Francisco Chinatown Public Library Art Enrichment, San Francisco Art Commission, San Francisco, CA
Residencies and Affiliations
2007	CA Artist in Residence - Djerassi Resident Artists Program, Woodside
2001	Summer Writing Conference - Squaw Valley Community of Writers, Squaw Valley, CA
2000	Writer in Residence - Hedgebrook Writers Residency, Langley, WA
1995	Artist in Residence - Djerassi Resident Artists Program, Woodside, CA
1993	Artist in Residence - Montalvo Center for the Arts, Saratoga, CA
1990-92	Affiliate Artist - Headlands Center for the Arts, Sausalito, CA
Selected Awards and Grants
2011	California Documentary Project Planning Grant, California Council for the Humanities
2010	The San Francisco Foundation, Individual Artists Commission Grant
2007-10	Open Circle Foundation Artist’s Grants, three successive years
2007	Center for Cultural Innovation Investing in Artists Planning Grant
	California Story Fund, California Council for the Humanities
2006	Finalist, Loeb Fellowship, Graduate School of Design, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
	Creative Capital Professional Development Workshop Award
2004	New Media Grant, Jack Straw Productions, Seattle, WA
1997	The Creative Work Fund, Visual Arts Award
Collections The Boise Art Museum, Boise, ID Rena Bransten, San Francisco, CA City of Oakland Office of Cultural Arts, Oakland Carl Djerassi, San Francisco, CA Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong Jeanne Newman, San Francisco, CA Jim Newman, San Francisco, CA San Francisco Arts Commission, San Francisco, CA Seattle Public Library, Seattle, WA Stephen Oliver, San Francisco, CA
Artist Statement My work is about being, memory and place. As an immigrant to the United States who grew up in the hybrid and transitory environment of colonial Hong Kong, I am particularly interested in the complexities of cultural identity. I seek to voice the stories of my culture from the inside - the ethos, sensibilities and unspoken details of daily living which are often difficult to discern from the outside - as well as touch on the universals between cultures. Through my work I try to connect past and present, memory and idea, the personal and the universal, and find a home in this shifting world. Parallel these concerns, my recent work has focused on developing a visual and structural language which comes from and speaks across my different cultural sources. In this language I am looking for the poetry that connects word, object, place, sound and time, in the way that the Chinese language combines concise tonal units of sound and meaning into a fluid whole. I am interested in building a textuality of materials, ideas and spaces, to convey the idea as well as the emotions of a piece. I work most often in installation form. I like the way it allows discourse across categories and boundaries in a way similar to life experiences, and it provides a platform from which I can connect my roots in Chinese lyrical-narrative sensibilities with my interest in Western conceptual thinking. While installations in art venues allow a certain kind of aesthetic experimentation and control, I have found it important to bring the dialogue on belonging and identity to community and public art projects. Since 1992 I have worked with youth, and in particular the elderly, from diverse communities. I find the direct connection to these individuals' lives and stories both empowering and humbling, and the exposure to the process of civic space planning and implementation a sobering reality-check and reminder of the necessity of dreaming-imagination. For further information, please contact: Canada: tel: (1) 604.688.2633, fax: (1) 604.688.2685