Outreach Exhibitions at
Gateway Theatre
As part of its community outreach program the Richmond Art Gallery organizes exhibitions of quality art work for display in off-site venues such as the Gateway Theatre and Richmond City Hall.
Tony Yin Tak Chu, Wine, Coffee and Black
January 12 to March 16, 2010
This local artist’s solo exhibition, entitled Wine, Coffee and Black, is on display at the Gateway Theatre from January 12 to March 1, and features a selection of new paper drawings from his Mountain and Rivers series.
ARTIST STATEMENT
I am a mixed media painter, which means I use anything to create a piece of work. By rejecting conventional media, such as oil and acrylic paints, I investigate the possibility of creating a different kind of painting in a contemporary world.
Wine, Coffee and Black is a group of mixed media drawings intended for WHODUNIt?, an annual fund raising event in Ontario. In order to explore different media and extend my portfolio, I expanded this series during the project. This set of drawings incorporate some fragmented images of architecture; they are either drawn or digitally transferred. The diminished images of houses target the shortage of housing projects for low income British Columbians, despite the speedy recovery of our economy. In terms of composition, by juxtaposing the traditional and more recognizable images (old houses) in the abstract environment (scribbling marks), tension is foiled between two different elements: abstract and reality, tradition and modern, temporary and permanent. Finally, incorporating the more familiar images to confront the current environment, I investigate the possibility of creating a different kind of work in a contemporary world.
I feel good about this series, not because some of these works were secretly scribble at my work place without my employer’s knowledge, but it was the sense of contribution that makes me feel good. Since funding cuts will become an everyday experience for Canadians, the recent announced arts funding cut in BC is a sign of our time.
ARTIST BIOGRAPHY
Tony Yin Tak Chu was born in China, brought up in Hong Kong and currently resides in Richmond, British Columbia since March 1996. To view more of Tony's work please visit his website at http://newdrips.blogspot.com/
-
Sylvia Wong & Jing Jia, Urban Copy
March 16 - April 27, 2010
ARTIST STATEMENT
Our installation project Urban Copy will serve as a vehicle for us to address China's new attitude towards internationalism. It will focus on the uncertainty of China's future and the rapid transformations that are taking place within China's historical landscape. It questions China's militaristic economy and the sacrifices being made by China in the early stages of urbanization. The printmaking process also serves as a metaphor and questions the issues modern China's factory workers are facing today, and most importantly their sense of lost identity. Our mission is to have individuals gain a better understanding about historical interconnectedness of people and ideas throughout the world, and to gain new perspectives and awareness on contemporary globalization.
ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES
Sylvia Wong received a Master's Degree in Art Education from Simon Fraser University, a BFA from Emily Carr University of Arts and Design, and an ARCT from the Royal Conservatory of Music of Toronto. As an art specialist, she has taught at Crofton House School and coordinated a visual arts program for the Down Syndrome Research Foundation. She has exhibited locally through the Malaspina Printmakers Society, has participated in Vancouver’s Biennial International Miniature Print Exhibition (BIMPE), and her work “Urban Warriors” was one of the selected works of the 7th Annual Painting On The Edge Exhibition, 2009.
Before moving to Canada Jing Jia was a graphic designer and layout editor for the Chinese Government News Agency. This demanding position gave her the opportunities to work in many media from TV programming, newspaper and magazine to outdoor billboards. After coming to Canada, Jing Jia studied at UBC Okanagan. She has exhibited locally and her work is currently represented by Hambleton Gallery of Kelowna, the Lloyd Gallery of Penticton, and Aurora Gallery in Vancouver. She is also an active member of the Federation of Canadian Artists.
-
For over twenty years, the Richmond Art Gallery’s outreach program has organized exhibitions that promote local artists in off-site venues such as the Gateway Theatre and Richmond City Hall. Art work displayed in the Gateway’s second floor lobby is open for viewing 9 am – 1 pm and 2 to 5 pm Monday to Friday plus one hour before show times which are available on the Gateway’s website.
Left: Tony Yin Tak Chu, Untitled 32, 2009, mixed media drawing on paper