Tuesday, July 30, 2024

An Inscrutable Portrait, Stare

My 2022 oil painting, Stare, portrays a precocious boy who emerged from a chaotic and somewhat menacing background. The lighter and purer figure demonstrates the relative innocence of the boy, in contrast to the murky and impenetrable swirling background surrounding him like a maelstrom. The somewhat stunned or stupefied expression denoted the moment when his attention was caught, and he stared straight ahead as if confronting the viewers; a moment of a sudden turn of events.




This painting was published in February 2024 by Artistonish, Issue 43.

Friday, February 16, 2024

Pessimistic oil painting “All that is solid”

 

A quote from Karl Marx “All that is solid melts into air, all that is holy is profaned” perfectly capture our sad epoch and this monochromatic painting of a disintegrating city/landscape reflects such pessimistic sentiment.

All That Is Solid, oil on canvas, 22x28, 2022
All That Is Solid
Oil on Canvas 22” x 28”
Completed in 2022

Thursday, December 7, 2023

Successful East Bay Open Studios at Makers Workspace Studio

On December 2 and 3, fourteen artists and artisans presented paintings, drawings, ceramics, mosaics, and jewelry at Makers Workspace Studio during the East Bay Open Studios (EBOS). It was a successful communal space. I am particularly pleased that my friend Edith Ng presented her beautiful ceramics to the public for the first time, as our guest artist. Her debut brought tremendous energy and many guests to our studio and all of us benefit from her presence.

During the EBOS event, I was able to sell more than a dozen gouache and ink paintings. Here a some of these works:

Roots, gouache on paper, 14x11, 2023
Roots, gouache on paper, 14×11, 2023

Hydrangea, gouache on paper, 14x11, 2023
Hydrangea, gouache on paper, 14×11, 2023 

 The View, India Ink on Yupo paper, 14x11, 2023
The View, India Ink on Yupo paper, 14×11, 2023

Flickering, gouache on paper, 14x11, 2023
Flickering, gouache on paper, 14×11, 2023

Profusion, gouache on Yupo paper, 14x11, 2023
Profusion, gouache on Yupo paper, 14×11, 2023

Ethereal, gouache on Yupo paper, 14x11, 2023
Ethereal, gouache on Yupo paper, 14×11, 2023

Autumn Song, gouache on paper, 11x14, 2023
Autumn Song, gouache on paper, 11×14, 2023

Red, gouache on paper, 11x14, 2023
Red, gouache on paper, 11×14, 2023

Breaching, gouache on paper, 11x14, 2022
Breaching, gouache on paper, 11×14, 2022

I am so grateful for all the support I received. Thank you!

Saturday, August 5, 2023

Hallucinatory oil painting "Disperse"

 

My 2022 oil painting, Disperse, captures a hallucinatory moment of a nighttime landscape — between the silhouettes of two monumental and interlocking trees, a group of tiny figures scurrying by, running away from their familiar ground, their fates, their tormentors or captors. The specificities are intentionally omitted, so as to leave the viewers to interpret freely and to fill in the missing details, though the title does hint at diaspora stories in the headlines of late.

Disperse, oil on canvas, 20"x30", 2022

 Disperse, oil on canvas, 20"x30", 2022

This piece will be part of the juried exhibition "Within Sight or From Imagination" at GearBox Gallery, 770 West Grand Ave, Oakland, CA 94612 (August 10 - September 9, 2023). Juror: Jeremy Morgan.
Opening Reception: August 12, Sat., 1 to 4 pm | Juror’s talk: September 2, Sat., 2 pm

Thursday, June 29, 2023

July Exhibition in City Art Gallery, San Francisco


In July, I will return to the wonderful co-op gallery in San Francisco: City Art Gallery, which “opened its doors at 828 Valencia St. in 1998 and has remained a constant in the radically changing Valencia corridor.” 

Exhibition date: July 5-30
Reception & the City Art’s 25th Anniversary Celebration: July 7, Friday, 7-10 pm Location: 828 Valencia St, San Fransisco (between 19th & 20th)
Gallery Hours: Sun, Wed-Thursday 12-9 pm, Fri/Sat 12-10 pm
My gallery sitting shifts: July 16, Sat, 12-4:30 pm, July 22, Sun, 12-5 pm

Below are the sample of the pieces I will exhibit:
 
 




Monday, March 27, 2023

Opening Reception to "Rejuvenation — Winter to Spring", a solo exhibition in Albany, CA

IMG_4377 Rejuvenation, Albany, CA, 3-26-2023-750px 

IMG_4358 Rejuvenation, Albany, CA, 3-26-2023-750px 

Yesterday afternoon, the reception to my solo exhibition "Rejuvenation — Winter to Spring" took place. 

IMG_4352 Rejuvenation, Albany, CA, 3-26-2023-750px IMG_4351 Rejuvenation, Albany, CA, 3-26-2023-750px

This art exhibition in Albany Community Center Foyer Art Gallery contains 14 gouache paintings I completed in the last three years, recording our collective emergence from frigid winter into a slowly thawing spring. These paintings and abstractions of landscape, juxtaposing dark hues and bright colors, rigid lines, and sensuous washes, echoing contradicting characteristics and features, reflect the shifting of seasons and moods. The show ends on June 26.

IMG_4303 Rejuvenation, Albany, CA, 3-26-2023-750px IMG_4292 Rejuvenation, Albany, CA, 3-26-2023-750px IMG_4338 Rejuvenation, Albany, CA, 3-26-2023-750px

IMG_4295 Rejuvenation, Albany, CA, 3-26-2023-750px IMG_4296 Rejuvenation, Albany, CA, 3-26-2023-750px IMG_4298 Rejuvenation, Albany, CA, 3-26-2023-750px 

IMG_4342 Rejuvenation, Albany, CA, 3-26-2023-750px IMG_4339 Rejuvenation, Albany, CA, 3-26-2023-750px

After several days of severe storms, balmy spring days arrived this weekend, inviting quite a few people to attend the opening reception on a beautiful spring afternoon. I was grateful for the opportunity to share my experiences and my art with these very supportive friends and art lovers.

IMG_4378 Rejuvenation, Albany, CA, 3-26-2023-750px IMG_4385 Rejuvenation, Albany, CA, 3-26-2023-750px 

IMG_4046 Rejuvenation, Albany, CA, 3-26-2023-750px IMG_4044 Rejuvenation, Albany, CA, 3-26-2023-750px

IMG_4038 Rejuvenation, Albany, CA, 3-26-2023-750px

Finally, spring had arrived.