Tuesday, July 11th, 2006

kearny street workshop presents a new exhibition about home and belonging

Featuring work by

KEVIN B. CHEN
MAX CHEN
AMY LEE
PETER JOSEPH MACAPUGAY
SUE PAK
ROBYNN TAKAYAMA
CHRISTINE WONG YAP
JIAYI YOUNG

Above: Kevin B. Chen's Midtown, Midnight, conte crayon, chalk, pencil, 2006

In a world characterized by constant motion, migration, and relocation, the idea of “home” becomes both increasingly precious and increasingly complex. For immigrant communities, informed by the experience of relocation and tied to a constant, if subconscious, searching and uncertainty about what is home – the country of birth or America - the meaning of home is further entangled, particularly in the context of a political climate in which immigrants are often viewed with suspicion and fear. This July and August 2006, eight artists will explore the concept of home,and belonging, at a new Kearny Street Workshop exhibition.

Please click here for full exhibition and  artist info.

Date/Time:            Opening Reception: Tuesday, July 11th; 6.30 – 9.30PM

Exhibit Runs July 11 –  August 31st, 200; Gallery Hours: Tues – Fri, 12 – 4 PM and by appointment. Gallery is also open during select evening events. Contact KSW for info.

 

Location:               Kearny Street Workshop’s space180, 180 Capp Street, 3rd Floor, @17th street, SF.

 

Cost:                      Opening reception: $5 suggested donation; no one turned away for lack of funds.

Gallery: Free and open to the public; donations accepted.

 

Info:                        sam@kearnystreet.org; 415.503.0520; www.kearnystreet.org

This exhibit was curated with the following members of Kearny Street Workshop's space180 gallery curatorial committee: Samantha Chanse, Pratap Chatterjee, Gerry Chow, Derek Chung, and Han Pham.

About the artists

Kevin B. Chen (b. 1972) has exhibited his own work locally at Southern Exposure, New Langton Arts, Ampersand Gallery, Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts, Pond Gallery, ProArts, Oakland Asian Cultural Center, Somarts, Kala Art Institute, Holden Street Gallery, Annual Emeryville Art Exhibition, and nationally at Angel?s Gate Cultural Center (San Pedro, CA), the California Museum of Art (Santa Rosa, CA), City of Brea Art Gallery (Orange County, CA), The Kitchen (New York, NY), and Carleton College (Northfield, MN).

Information about Max Chen can be found at his website, www.oilycog.com.

Amy Lee is an artist from South Pasadena currently living and working in the Bay Area. After graduating from UC Berkeley with a double major in art and architecture, she moved to San Francisco where she currently works as an artist.   Amy has been drawing since she was three years old, painting since she was thirteen, and making zines since she was twenty-three.  Her paintings range from self-portraits to fantastical works with horned creatures.  Recently she has been painting the neighborhood of Oakland where she currently works as a Kindergarten literacy program leader.  Amy Lee is also interested in bookmaking and has produced a number of artist books.  She is part of the arts and crafts trio, “Catnip Dream” with Christina Steurer and Andrea Lofthouse. 

A San Diego native turned Bay Area transplant, Peter Joseph Macapugay discovered photography in the year 2000 as a method of self-expression, as well as a way of documenting his experiences and the world around him.  After a long 6-year stretch at Southwestern Community College in San Diego, he has moved to San Francisco to jumpstart his artistic endeavors and experience everything that the city has to offer.  He is currently attending SFSU studying art history and photography. With about a year of San Francisco living under his belt, he plans on branching out into the Asian American community through the arts.  With a newfound inspiration from this beautiful city, Peter intends to strengthen his sense of community through networking and collaboration with fellow artists, writers, entrepreneurs and just plain old good folks.

Sue Pak creates work based on ideas of identity, family, home, and translation of storytelling.  She currently teaches sculpture classes with San Francisco Art Institute’s community programs.

Robynn Takayama (aka Nonogirl) is an award winning community audio producer. Her work has shown in Los Angeles, Chicago, and the Bay Area as video, radio, and gallery installation. She is a contributor to Pacific Time, Latino USA, the National Radio Project, and NPR’s Day to Day, and she is a segment producer for Crossing East, an eight-part Asian American history series. 

Christine Wong Yap, née Christine Wong, is a cross-disciplinary visual artist. Her work – including drawings, paintings, prints and installations – has been exhibited locally and nationally. Her past work includes narrative critiques of consumer culture. Recent art explores abstraction, anxiety, language and failure.  Born in Santa Rosa, CA in 1977, Wong Yap holds a BFA from the California College of Arts, where she is currently a Masters of Fine Art candidate. Her recent exhibitions include Fling at SomArts Gallery (San Francisco). She has also just participated in fundraisers to benefit Southern Exposure, Intersection for the Arts and the API Wellness Center. In addition, Wong Yap is an award-winning community artist. She apprenticed with an internationally recognized muralist and has lead 17 mural projects around the country. She has been recognized with a San Francisco Bay Guardian Local Hero Award, an Active Element grant and the Women of Color Resource Center's Sister of Fire Award.

Born in Shanghai, China, Jiayi Young is a participating visual artist and a full-time faculty member in the Art New Media department at American River College.  She works in the area of large-scale mixed media installation incorporating digital and traditional media. Young began her art career as a Chinese traditional painter with an interest in its philosophies and history. In addition to her MFA in multimedia, she also holds a Master of Science in Atomic Physics. With this strong science background, she is able to explore and utilize the new means of artistic expression through digital media. In addition to making art, she also worked as an atomic physicist. As an artist who is actively working and exhibiting, she is particularly sensitive to contemporary issues surrounding the postmodern world.  Her works have been exhibited internationally from Taiwan to France and nationally from California to New York.

Please contact KSW for images, artist statements, and more information.