Artist Statement

My paintings map ideas, activities and memories. They are a dialectic of my practices in realism and abstraction, and a cross pollination of Chinese and Western art influences.  I’m interested in multiple layers and like to put figures and objects in ambiguous relationships.

I believe that life is layered and that time, space and value systems exist relationally. However, fusing different cultures and contrasted visual languages without losing sight of my initial intention is a struggle - one that gets increasingly complex.  Its value lies in my continual experimentation in the process.

The challenge, of course, is to decide how to transcribe random moments of daily activities and dots of thought and observation to create layers that shift between memories and existences both abstractly and realistically.  I love to conjure up a range of moods that express cultural differences here and now while including my journey of self-understanding.

I usually start a painting with drawings at any area of a canvas, and then gradually organize the drawings in connection with the overall space. Figures, shapes, pencil and brush gestural marks may appear arbitrary, but my goal is always a balanced composition.

I like to work with a group of canvases, three, four or more at a time. This allows my thoughts to flow and to give time and space for ideas to develop. I use color schemes to create tones of light for each piece of work while being open to multiple media that serve me visually and conceptually.  I often use image groups that cohere as crowd patterns when viewed from a distance.  Up close, these figures and objects fragment into their own narrative spaces.  By allowing for interplays between elements of different visual languages, I open my art up for associations and interpretations by individual viewers.

Although painting has been my primary medium, I also like to create paper cutout installation projects. Chinese paper-cuts have captivated my imagination since childhood. For me, cutting paper shapes with an X-acto knife is like drawing on paper with pencils. I visualize morphing shapes and forms. Sometimes I make paper cut-outs to become part of my painting elements.  Or they flow into their own specific spaces as installations.