topic

Laboring at home and abroad

In Migrants for Export (University of Minnesota Press, 2010), sociologist Robyn Magalit Rodriguez defines the Philippines as a “labor brokerage state”: a country “which actively prepares, mobilizes, and regulates its citizens for migrant work abroad.” This orientation by the Philippines state fundamentally shapes the lives of Filipinos everywhere. At home, the state’s focus on exporting labor manifests in a failure to cultivate the domestic economy, rendering the lives of Filipinos in the Philippines precarious and monetarily impoverished. Abroad, the state’s willingness to facilitate Filipinos’ migrant work and simultaneous inability to guarantee any protections renders Filipinos globally dispersed and vulnerable, exposing Filipinos abroad to enormous exploitation and abuse.

A Mend: A Collection of Scraps from Local Seamstresses and Tailors (Chicago)

Aram Han Sifuentes

2011 - 2013 Jean scraps and gold denim thread 14 ft. x 10 ft. x 4 ft. Courtesy of the artist Photo credit: Hyounsang Yoo

contributor

X

Aram Han Sifuentes

b. 1986
image description
  • See All Works
  • visit website

Aram Han Sifuentes is a fiber, social practice, and performance artist who works to claim spaces for immigrant and disenfranchised communities. Her work often revolves around skill sharing, specifically sewing techniques, to create multiethnic and intergenerational sewing circles, which become a place for empowerment, subversion and protest. Her work has been exhibited at the Pulitzer Arts Foundation (St. Louis, MO), Jane Addams Hull-House Museum (Chicago, IL), Hyde Park Art Center (Chicago, IL), Chicago Cultural Center (Chicago, IL), Asian Arts Initiative (Philadelphia, PA), Chung Young Yang Embroidery Museum (Seoul, South Korea), and the Design Museum (London, UK).

Aram is a 2016 Smithsonian Artist Research Fellow, 2016 3Arts Awardee, and 2017 Sustainable Arts Foundation Awardee. She earned her BA in Art and Latin American Studies from the University of California, Berkeley, and her MFA in Fiber and Material Studies from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She is currently an Adjunct Associate Professor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Sewing is a time-based practice. Fiber as a medium speaks a language of accessibility, intimacy, and time. From its inception, it has been touched. To sew, the hand, armed with a needle, pierces the cloth, pulls the needle up, pierces the cloth, and pulls the needle down. Each sewn thread creates an indexical line of invested time, gesture, and rhythm. As an artist I use this needle and thread to mine from my experiences as an immigrant to address issues of labor and identity politics. I try to unpack these complex labor and immigrant histories by engaging with people through long term projects utilizing varied social practices. At the root, is a research-based practice revolved around collecting materials: oral histories, data, commissioned artifacts, handmade objects, and remnants of handwork. I then invest in the materials with my own hands with time and labor in order to create large-scale installations and meticulously labor intensive works. However, being about invisible and Sisyphean labor, my works rarely suggest finality. The needle is a political tool. It pierces and binds membranes together. The thread that it steers is tied off and remains while the needle continues to bind and mend. In my art practice, I use that needle to stitch together various histories and discourses revolving around the simple act of sewing. However, this act is anything but uncomplicated. The creation of each stitch engages sewing’s complex histories and politics of traditional, industrial, feminist, immigrant, and artist labor.

location

X
  • Born: Seoul, South Korea
  • Based: Chicago, IL, USA

comments

X

A Mend: A Collection of Scraps from Local Seamstresses and Tailors (Chicago)

Aram Han Sifuentes

2011 - 2013 Jean scraps and gold denim thread 14 ft. x 10 ft. x 4 ft. Courtesy of the artist Photo credit: Hyounsang Yoo

contributor

X

Aram Han Sifuentes

b. 1986
image description
  • See All Works
  • visit website

Aram Han Sifuentes is a fiber, social practice, and performance artist who works to claim spaces for immigrant and disenfranchised communities. Her work often revolves around skill sharing, specifically sewing techniques, to create multiethnic and intergenerational sewing circles, which become a place for empowerment, subversion and protest. Her work has been exhibited at the Pulitzer Arts Foundation (St. Louis, MO), Jane Addams Hull-House Museum (Chicago, IL), Hyde Park Art Center (Chicago, IL), Chicago Cultural Center (Chicago, IL), Asian Arts Initiative (Philadelphia, PA), Chung Young Yang Embroidery Museum (Seoul, South Korea), and the Design Museum (London, UK).

Aram is a 2016 Smithsonian Artist Research Fellow, 2016 3Arts Awardee, and 2017 Sustainable Arts Foundation Awardee. She earned her BA in Art and Latin American Studies from the University of California, Berkeley, and her MFA in Fiber and Material Studies from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She is currently an Adjunct Associate Professor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Sewing is a time-based practice. Fiber as a medium speaks a language of accessibility, intimacy, and time. From its inception, it has been touched. To sew, the hand, armed with a needle, pierces the cloth, pulls the needle up, pierces the cloth, and pulls the needle down. Each sewn thread creates an indexical line of invested time, gesture, and rhythm. As an artist I use this needle and thread to mine from my experiences as an immigrant to address issues of labor and identity politics. I try to unpack these complex labor and immigrant histories by engaging with people through long term projects utilizing varied social practices. At the root, is a research-based practice revolved around collecting materials: oral histories, data, commissioned artifacts, handmade objects, and remnants of handwork. I then invest in the materials with my own hands with time and labor in order to create large-scale installations and meticulously labor intensive works. However, being about invisible and Sisyphean labor, my works rarely suggest finality. The needle is a political tool. It pierces and binds membranes together. The thread that it steers is tied off and remains while the needle continues to bind and mend. In my art practice, I use that needle to stitch together various histories and discourses revolving around the simple act of sewing. However, this act is anything but uncomplicated. The creation of each stitch engages sewing’s complex histories and politics of traditional, industrial, feminist, immigrant, and artist labor.

location

X
  • Born: Seoul, South Korea
  • Based: Chicago, IL, USA

comments

X

A Mend: A Collection of Scraps from Local Seamstresses and Tailors (Chicago)

Aram Han Sifuentes

2011 - 2013 Jean scraps and gold denim thread 14 ft. x 10 ft. x 4 ft. Courtesy of the artist Photo credit: Hyounsang Yoo

contributor

X

Aram Han Sifuentes

b. 1986
image description
  • See All Works
  • visit website

Aram Han Sifuentes is a fiber, social practice, and performance artist who works to claim spaces for immigrant and disenfranchised communities. Her work often revolves around skill sharing, specifically sewing techniques, to create multiethnic and intergenerational sewing circles, which become a place for empowerment, subversion and protest. Her work has been exhibited at the Pulitzer Arts Foundation (St. Louis, MO), Jane Addams Hull-House Museum (Chicago, IL), Hyde Park Art Center (Chicago, IL), Chicago Cultural Center (Chicago, IL), Asian Arts Initiative (Philadelphia, PA), Chung Young Yang Embroidery Museum (Seoul, South Korea), and the Design Museum (London, UK).

Aram is a 2016 Smithsonian Artist Research Fellow, 2016 3Arts Awardee, and 2017 Sustainable Arts Foundation Awardee. She earned her BA in Art and Latin American Studies from the University of California, Berkeley, and her MFA in Fiber and Material Studies from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She is currently an Adjunct Associate Professor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Sewing is a time-based practice. Fiber as a medium speaks a language of accessibility, intimacy, and time. From its inception, it has been touched. To sew, the hand, armed with a needle, pierces the cloth, pulls the needle up, pierces the cloth, and pulls the needle down. Each sewn thread creates an indexical line of invested time, gesture, and rhythm. As an artist I use this needle and thread to mine from my experiences as an immigrant to address issues of labor and identity politics. I try to unpack these complex labor and immigrant histories by engaging with people through long term projects utilizing varied social practices. At the root, is a research-based practice revolved around collecting materials: oral histories, data, commissioned artifacts, handmade objects, and remnants of handwork. I then invest in the materials with my own hands with time and labor in order to create large-scale installations and meticulously labor intensive works. However, being about invisible and Sisyphean labor, my works rarely suggest finality. The needle is a political tool. It pierces and binds membranes together. The thread that it steers is tied off and remains while the needle continues to bind and mend. In my art practice, I use that needle to stitch together various histories and discourses revolving around the simple act of sewing. However, this act is anything but uncomplicated. The creation of each stitch engages sewing’s complex histories and politics of traditional, industrial, feminist, immigrant, and artist labor.

location

X
  • Born: Seoul, South Korea
  • Based: Chicago, IL, USA

comments

X

contributor

X

Aram Han Sifuentes

b. 1986
image description
  • See All Works
  • visit website

Aram Han Sifuentes is a fiber, social practice, and performance artist who works to claim spaces for immigrant and disenfranchised communities. Her work often revolves around skill sharing, specifically sewing techniques, to create multiethnic and intergenerational sewing circles, which become a place for empowerment, subversion and protest. Her work has been exhibited at the Pulitzer Arts Foundation (St. Louis, MO), Jane Addams Hull-House Museum (Chicago, IL), Hyde Park Art Center (Chicago, IL), Chicago Cultural Center (Chicago, IL), Asian Arts Initiative (Philadelphia, PA), Chung Young Yang Embroidery Museum (Seoul, South Korea), and the Design Museum (London, UK).

Aram is a 2016 Smithsonian Artist Research Fellow, 2016 3Arts Awardee, and 2017 Sustainable Arts Foundation Awardee. She earned her BA in Art and Latin American Studies from the University of California, Berkeley, and her MFA in Fiber and Material Studies from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She is currently an Adjunct Associate Professor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Sewing is a time-based practice. Fiber as a medium speaks a language of accessibility, intimacy, and time. From its inception, it has been touched. To sew, the hand, armed with a needle, pierces the cloth, pulls the needle up, pierces the cloth, and pulls the needle down. Each sewn thread creates an indexical line of invested time, gesture, and rhythm. As an artist I use this needle and thread to mine from my experiences as an immigrant to address issues of labor and identity politics. I try to unpack these complex labor and immigrant histories by engaging with people through long term projects utilizing varied social practices. At the root, is a research-based practice revolved around collecting materials: oral histories, data, commissioned artifacts, handmade objects, and remnants of handwork. I then invest in the materials with my own hands with time and labor in order to create large-scale installations and meticulously labor intensive works. However, being about invisible and Sisyphean labor, my works rarely suggest finality. The needle is a political tool. It pierces and binds membranes together. The thread that it steers is tied off and remains while the needle continues to bind and mend. In my art practice, I use that needle to stitch together various histories and discourses revolving around the simple act of sewing. However, this act is anything but uncomplicated. The creation of each stitch engages sewing’s complex histories and politics of traditional, industrial, feminist, immigrant, and artist labor.

location

X
  • Born: Seoul, South Korea
  • Based: Chicago, IL, USA

comments

X

Sewing Highways (detail)

Bovey Lee

2011 Chinese xuan (rice) paper on silk, hand cut 25 in. x 21 in. Courtesy of Bovey Lee

contributor

X

Bovey Lee

image description
  • See All Works
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  • visit website

I am a cut paper artist currently based in Los Angeles, California, USA. Born in Hong Kong and having practiced Chinese calligraphy since the age of ten, I studied painting and drawing in my formative years and completed my B.A. degree in Fine Arts at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. In 1993, I came to the United States as a painter and earned my first Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of California at Berkeley. Subsequently, I earned a second M.F.A. in computer graphics and interactive media at Pratt Institute in New York in 1999. From 2000-2014, I lived and worked in Pittsburgh where I created my first cut paper work in summer 2005. Since 2008, I have maintained a full-time studio practice. Exhibitions include Museum Kunst der Westkueste, Foehr, Germany; Museum of Craft & Design, San Francisco; Nevada Museum of Art; Mesa Contemporary Arts Museum, Arizona; Cornell Museum of Art & American Culture, Delray Beach, Florida; Wing Luke Museum, Seattle, Washington; Brooklyn Museum of Art; Shelburne Museum, Vermont; Museum Bellerive, Zurich, Switzerland; National Glass Centre, Sunderland, UK; Blackburn Museum, UK; Museum of Fine Arts, Beijing, China; Fukuoka Museum of Art, Japan; Hong Kong Museum of Art; Museum Rijswijk, The Netherlands; among others. Over a dozen books featuring my cut paper include Paper Secret Iⅈ (Hightone, Guangzhou); Paper Play (Sandu, Guangzhou); Freehand (Chronicle Book, San Francisco); 500 Paper Objects (Lark Crafts, Asheville); Art of Paper (Monsa, Barcelona); Paradise of Paper Art (Designerbooks, Beijing); Material World (Virgin Books, London); Paper Works (Sandu, Guangzhou); Push Paper (Lark Books, New York); l’art de la decoupe (Editions Alternatives, Paris); The New Encyclopedia of Origami and Papercraft Techniques (Quarto, London); and High Touch, Illusive 3, Papercraft 2, and Papercraft (Gestalten, Berlin). Institutional collections include the Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology, Oxford University, UK; Pacific Asia Museum, Pasadena, California; Hong Kong Museum of Art; The Chinese University of Hong Kong; BNY Mellon Corporate Art Collection; Fidelity Corporate Art Collection; Headland Capital Partners, Greater China & Asia; Park Hyatt Sanya, China; and Progressive Corporate Art Collection. Corporate commissions and editorials include Lancome, China; APM, Hong Kong; The Washington Post; Panasonic; The New York Times Magazine; Art@Government Buildings, Hong Kong; Hugo Boss; Pacific Place, Hong Kong; F.P. Journe; and Annabelle Magazine, Switzerland; among others. Grotto Fine Art in Hong Kong; Rena Bransten Gallery in San Francisco, California; and Gavlak Gallery in Palm Beach, Florida and Los Angeles, California represent my works. Selected works are also available at Fost Gallery, Singapore.

My hand cut paper explores the tension between man and the environment in the context of power, sacrifice, and survival. These three “motivators,” as I call them, drive all our desires and behaviors toward one another and the environment. We live in a time when we overdo everything from technology to urbanization to consumption. My recent work is informed by our precarious relationship with nature in the twenty-first century, i.e., what we do to the environment with our super machines and technologies and what nature does back to us in reaction. I hand cut each work on a single sheet of Chinese xuan (rice) paper backed with silk; both are renewable and eco-friendly materials. The tools I use are simple: a cutting mat, an X-acto knife and blades, staples, clips, and paperweights. Before the final hand cutting process, I compose the images using the computer and software. I then print out the digital images and use them to cut with. The images are photographic and I translate them into patterns of solid and void, while cutting free-hand without any rulers or stencils. My work is like drawing with a knife and is rooted in my study of Chinese calligraphy and pencil drawing. Cutting paper is a visceral reaction and natural response to my affection for immediacy, detail, and subtlety. The physical and mental demand from cutting is extreme and thrilling; it slows me down and allows me to think clearly and decisively.

location

X
  • Born: Hong Kong, China
  • Based: Los Angeles, CA, USA

comments

X

Ironing Oceans

Bovey Lee

2011 Chinese xuan (rice) paper on silk, hand cut Courtesy of Bovey Lee

contributor

X

Bovey Lee

image description
  • See All Works
  • facebook
  • visit website

I am a cut paper artist currently based in Los Angeles, California, USA. Born in Hong Kong and having practiced Chinese calligraphy since the age of ten, I studied painting and drawing in my formative years and completed my B.A. degree in Fine Arts at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. In 1993, I came to the United States as a painter and earned my first Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of California at Berkeley. Subsequently, I earned a second M.F.A. in computer graphics and interactive media at Pratt Institute in New York in 1999. From 2000-2014, I lived and worked in Pittsburgh where I created my first cut paper work in summer 2005. Since 2008, I have maintained a full-time studio practice. Exhibitions include Museum Kunst der Westkueste, Foehr, Germany; Museum of Craft & Design, San Francisco; Nevada Museum of Art; Mesa Contemporary Arts Museum, Arizona; Cornell Museum of Art & American Culture, Delray Beach, Florida; Wing Luke Museum, Seattle, Washington; Brooklyn Museum of Art; Shelburne Museum, Vermont; Museum Bellerive, Zurich, Switzerland; National Glass Centre, Sunderland, UK; Blackburn Museum, UK; Museum of Fine Arts, Beijing, China; Fukuoka Museum of Art, Japan; Hong Kong Museum of Art; Museum Rijswijk, The Netherlands; among others. Over a dozen books featuring my cut paper include Paper Secret Iⅈ (Hightone, Guangzhou); Paper Play (Sandu, Guangzhou); Freehand (Chronicle Book, San Francisco); 500 Paper Objects (Lark Crafts, Asheville); Art of Paper (Monsa, Barcelona); Paradise of Paper Art (Designerbooks, Beijing); Material World (Virgin Books, London); Paper Works (Sandu, Guangzhou); Push Paper (Lark Books, New York); l’art de la decoupe (Editions Alternatives, Paris); The New Encyclopedia of Origami and Papercraft Techniques (Quarto, London); and High Touch, Illusive 3, Papercraft 2, and Papercraft (Gestalten, Berlin). Institutional collections include the Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology, Oxford University, UK; Pacific Asia Museum, Pasadena, California; Hong Kong Museum of Art; The Chinese University of Hong Kong; BNY Mellon Corporate Art Collection; Fidelity Corporate Art Collection; Headland Capital Partners, Greater China & Asia; Park Hyatt Sanya, China; and Progressive Corporate Art Collection. Corporate commissions and editorials include Lancome, China; APM, Hong Kong; The Washington Post; Panasonic; The New York Times Magazine; Art@Government Buildings, Hong Kong; Hugo Boss; Pacific Place, Hong Kong; F.P. Journe; and Annabelle Magazine, Switzerland; among others. Grotto Fine Art in Hong Kong; Rena Bransten Gallery in San Francisco, California; and Gavlak Gallery in Palm Beach, Florida and Los Angeles, California represent my works. Selected works are also available at Fost Gallery, Singapore.

My hand cut paper explores the tension between man and the environment in the context of power, sacrifice, and survival. These three “motivators,” as I call them, drive all our desires and behaviors toward one another and the environment. We live in a time when we overdo everything from technology to urbanization to consumption. My recent work is informed by our precarious relationship with nature in the twenty-first century, i.e., what we do to the environment with our super machines and technologies and what nature does back to us in reaction. I hand cut each work on a single sheet of Chinese xuan (rice) paper backed with silk; both are renewable and eco-friendly materials. The tools I use are simple: a cutting mat, an X-acto knife and blades, staples, clips, and paperweights. Before the final hand cutting process, I compose the images using the computer and software. I then print out the digital images and use them to cut with. The images are photographic and I translate them into patterns of solid and void, while cutting free-hand without any rulers or stencils. My work is like drawing with a knife and is rooted in my study of Chinese calligraphy and pencil drawing. Cutting paper is a visceral reaction and natural response to my affection for immediacy, detail, and subtlety. The physical and mental demand from cutting is extreme and thrilling; it slows me down and allows me to think clearly and decisively.

location

X
  • Born: Hong Kong, China
  • Based: Los Angeles, CA, USA

comments

X

Ironing Oceans (detail)

Bovey Lee

2011 Chinese xuan (rice) paper on silk, hand cut Courtesy of Bovey Lee

contributor

X

Bovey Lee

image description
  • See All Works
  • facebook
  • visit website

I am a cut paper artist currently based in Los Angeles, California, USA. Born in Hong Kong and having practiced Chinese calligraphy since the age of ten, I studied painting and drawing in my formative years and completed my B.A. degree in Fine Arts at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. In 1993, I came to the United States as a painter and earned my first Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of California at Berkeley. Subsequently, I earned a second M.F.A. in computer graphics and interactive media at Pratt Institute in New York in 1999. From 2000-2014, I lived and worked in Pittsburgh where I created my first cut paper work in summer 2005. Since 2008, I have maintained a full-time studio practice. Exhibitions include Museum Kunst der Westkueste, Foehr, Germany; Museum of Craft & Design, San Francisco; Nevada Museum of Art; Mesa Contemporary Arts Museum, Arizona; Cornell Museum of Art & American Culture, Delray Beach, Florida; Wing Luke Museum, Seattle, Washington; Brooklyn Museum of Art; Shelburne Museum, Vermont; Museum Bellerive, Zurich, Switzerland; National Glass Centre, Sunderland, UK; Blackburn Museum, UK; Museum of Fine Arts, Beijing, China; Fukuoka Museum of Art, Japan; Hong Kong Museum of Art; Museum Rijswijk, The Netherlands; among others. Over a dozen books featuring my cut paper include Paper Secret Iⅈ (Hightone, Guangzhou); Paper Play (Sandu, Guangzhou); Freehand (Chronicle Book, San Francisco); 500 Paper Objects (Lark Crafts, Asheville); Art of Paper (Monsa, Barcelona); Paradise of Paper Art (Designerbooks, Beijing); Material World (Virgin Books, London); Paper Works (Sandu, Guangzhou); Push Paper (Lark Books, New York); l’art de la decoupe (Editions Alternatives, Paris); The New Encyclopedia of Origami and Papercraft Techniques (Quarto, London); and High Touch, Illusive 3, Papercraft 2, and Papercraft (Gestalten, Berlin). Institutional collections include the Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology, Oxford University, UK; Pacific Asia Museum, Pasadena, California; Hong Kong Museum of Art; The Chinese University of Hong Kong; BNY Mellon Corporate Art Collection; Fidelity Corporate Art Collection; Headland Capital Partners, Greater China & Asia; Park Hyatt Sanya, China; and Progressive Corporate Art Collection. Corporate commissions and editorials include Lancome, China; APM, Hong Kong; The Washington Post; Panasonic; The New York Times Magazine; Art@Government Buildings, Hong Kong; Hugo Boss; Pacific Place, Hong Kong; F.P. Journe; and Annabelle Magazine, Switzerland; among others. Grotto Fine Art in Hong Kong; Rena Bransten Gallery in San Francisco, California; and Gavlak Gallery in Palm Beach, Florida and Los Angeles, California represent my works. Selected works are also available at Fost Gallery, Singapore.

My hand cut paper explores the tension between man and the environment in the context of power, sacrifice, and survival. These three “motivators,” as I call them, drive all our desires and behaviors toward one another and the environment. We live in a time when we overdo everything from technology to urbanization to consumption. My recent work is informed by our precarious relationship with nature in the twenty-first century, i.e., what we do to the environment with our super machines and technologies and what nature does back to us in reaction. I hand cut each work on a single sheet of Chinese xuan (rice) paper backed with silk; both are renewable and eco-friendly materials. The tools I use are simple: a cutting mat, an X-acto knife and blades, staples, clips, and paperweights. Before the final hand cutting process, I compose the images using the computer and software. I then print out the digital images and use them to cut with. The images are photographic and I translate them into patterns of solid and void, while cutting free-hand without any rulers or stencils. My work is like drawing with a knife and is rooted in my study of Chinese calligraphy and pencil drawing. Cutting paper is a visceral reaction and natural response to my affection for immediacy, detail, and subtlety. The physical and mental demand from cutting is extreme and thrilling; it slows me down and allows me to think clearly and decisively.

location

X
  • Born: Hong Kong, China
  • Based: Los Angeles, CA, USA

comments

X

Ironing Oceans (detail)

Bovey Lee

2011 Chinese xuan (rice) paper on silk, hand cut Courtesy of Bovey Lee

contributor

X

Bovey Lee

image description
  • See All Works
  • facebook
  • visit website

I am a cut paper artist currently based in Los Angeles, California, USA. Born in Hong Kong and having practiced Chinese calligraphy since the age of ten, I studied painting and drawing in my formative years and completed my B.A. degree in Fine Arts at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. In 1993, I came to the United States as a painter and earned my first Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of California at Berkeley. Subsequently, I earned a second M.F.A. in computer graphics and interactive media at Pratt Institute in New York in 1999. From 2000-2014, I lived and worked in Pittsburgh where I created my first cut paper work in summer 2005. Since 2008, I have maintained a full-time studio practice. Exhibitions include Museum Kunst der Westkueste, Foehr, Germany; Museum of Craft & Design, San Francisco; Nevada Museum of Art; Mesa Contemporary Arts Museum, Arizona; Cornell Museum of Art & American Culture, Delray Beach, Florida; Wing Luke Museum, Seattle, Washington; Brooklyn Museum of Art; Shelburne Museum, Vermont; Museum Bellerive, Zurich, Switzerland; National Glass Centre, Sunderland, UK; Blackburn Museum, UK; Museum of Fine Arts, Beijing, China; Fukuoka Museum of Art, Japan; Hong Kong Museum of Art; Museum Rijswijk, The Netherlands; among others. Over a dozen books featuring my cut paper include Paper Secret Iⅈ (Hightone, Guangzhou); Paper Play (Sandu, Guangzhou); Freehand (Chronicle Book, San Francisco); 500 Paper Objects (Lark Crafts, Asheville); Art of Paper (Monsa, Barcelona); Paradise of Paper Art (Designerbooks, Beijing); Material World (Virgin Books, London); Paper Works (Sandu, Guangzhou); Push Paper (Lark Books, New York); l’art de la decoupe (Editions Alternatives, Paris); The New Encyclopedia of Origami and Papercraft Techniques (Quarto, London); and High Touch, Illusive 3, Papercraft 2, and Papercraft (Gestalten, Berlin). Institutional collections include the Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology, Oxford University, UK; Pacific Asia Museum, Pasadena, California; Hong Kong Museum of Art; The Chinese University of Hong Kong; BNY Mellon Corporate Art Collection; Fidelity Corporate Art Collection; Headland Capital Partners, Greater China & Asia; Park Hyatt Sanya, China; and Progressive Corporate Art Collection. Corporate commissions and editorials include Lancome, China; APM, Hong Kong; The Washington Post; Panasonic; The New York Times Magazine; Art@Government Buildings, Hong Kong; Hugo Boss; Pacific Place, Hong Kong; F.P. Journe; and Annabelle Magazine, Switzerland; among others. Grotto Fine Art in Hong Kong; Rena Bransten Gallery in San Francisco, California; and Gavlak Gallery in Palm Beach, Florida and Los Angeles, California represent my works. Selected works are also available at Fost Gallery, Singapore.

My hand cut paper explores the tension between man and the environment in the context of power, sacrifice, and survival. These three “motivators,” as I call them, drive all our desires and behaviors toward one another and the environment. We live in a time when we overdo everything from technology to urbanization to consumption. My recent work is informed by our precarious relationship with nature in the twenty-first century, i.e., what we do to the environment with our super machines and technologies and what nature does back to us in reaction. I hand cut each work on a single sheet of Chinese xuan (rice) paper backed with silk; both are renewable and eco-friendly materials. The tools I use are simple: a cutting mat, an X-acto knife and blades, staples, clips, and paperweights. Before the final hand cutting process, I compose the images using the computer and software. I then print out the digital images and use them to cut with. The images are photographic and I translate them into patterns of solid and void, while cutting free-hand without any rulers or stencils. My work is like drawing with a knife and is rooted in my study of Chinese calligraphy and pencil drawing. Cutting paper is a visceral reaction and natural response to my affection for immediacy, detail, and subtlety. The physical and mental demand from cutting is extreme and thrilling; it slows me down and allows me to think clearly and decisively.

location

X
  • Born: Hong Kong, China
  • Based: Los Angeles, CA, USA

comments

X

Baking McMansion

Bovey Lee

2011 Chinese xuan (rice) paper on silk, hand cut 24 in. x 30.5 in. Courtesy of Bovey Lee

contributor

X

Bovey Lee

image description
  • See All Works
  • facebook
  • visit website

I am a cut paper artist currently based in Los Angeles, California, USA. Born in Hong Kong and having practiced Chinese calligraphy since the age of ten, I studied painting and drawing in my formative years and completed my B.A. degree in Fine Arts at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. In 1993, I came to the United States as a painter and earned my first Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of California at Berkeley. Subsequently, I earned a second M.F.A. in computer graphics and interactive media at Pratt Institute in New York in 1999. From 2000-2014, I lived and worked in Pittsburgh where I created my first cut paper work in summer 2005. Since 2008, I have maintained a full-time studio practice. Exhibitions include Museum Kunst der Westkueste, Foehr, Germany; Museum of Craft & Design, San Francisco; Nevada Museum of Art; Mesa Contemporary Arts Museum, Arizona; Cornell Museum of Art & American Culture, Delray Beach, Florida; Wing Luke Museum, Seattle, Washington; Brooklyn Museum of Art; Shelburne Museum, Vermont; Museum Bellerive, Zurich, Switzerland; National Glass Centre, Sunderland, UK; Blackburn Museum, UK; Museum of Fine Arts, Beijing, China; Fukuoka Museum of Art, Japan; Hong Kong Museum of Art; Museum Rijswijk, The Netherlands; among others. Over a dozen books featuring my cut paper include Paper Secret Iⅈ (Hightone, Guangzhou); Paper Play (Sandu, Guangzhou); Freehand (Chronicle Book, San Francisco); 500 Paper Objects (Lark Crafts, Asheville); Art of Paper (Monsa, Barcelona); Paradise of Paper Art (Designerbooks, Beijing); Material World (Virgin Books, London); Paper Works (Sandu, Guangzhou); Push Paper (Lark Books, New York); l’art de la decoupe (Editions Alternatives, Paris); The New Encyclopedia of Origami and Papercraft Techniques (Quarto, London); and High Touch, Illusive 3, Papercraft 2, and Papercraft (Gestalten, Berlin). Institutional collections include the Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology, Oxford University, UK; Pacific Asia Museum, Pasadena, California; Hong Kong Museum of Art; The Chinese University of Hong Kong; BNY Mellon Corporate Art Collection; Fidelity Corporate Art Collection; Headland Capital Partners, Greater China & Asia; Park Hyatt Sanya, China; and Progressive Corporate Art Collection. Corporate commissions and editorials include Lancome, China; APM, Hong Kong; The Washington Post; Panasonic; The New York Times Magazine; Art@Government Buildings, Hong Kong; Hugo Boss; Pacific Place, Hong Kong; F.P. Journe; and Annabelle Magazine, Switzerland; among others. Grotto Fine Art in Hong Kong; Rena Bransten Gallery in San Francisco, California; and Gavlak Gallery in Palm Beach, Florida and Los Angeles, California represent my works. Selected works are also available at Fost Gallery, Singapore.

My hand cut paper explores the tension between man and the environment in the context of power, sacrifice, and survival. These three “motivators,” as I call them, drive all our desires and behaviors toward one another and the environment. We live in a time when we overdo everything from technology to urbanization to consumption. My recent work is informed by our precarious relationship with nature in the twenty-first century, i.e., what we do to the environment with our super machines and technologies and what nature does back to us in reaction. I hand cut each work on a single sheet of Chinese xuan (rice) paper backed with silk; both are renewable and eco-friendly materials. The tools I use are simple: a cutting mat, an X-acto knife and blades, staples, clips, and paperweights. Before the final hand cutting process, I compose the images using the computer and software. I then print out the digital images and use them to cut with. The images are photographic and I translate them into patterns of solid and void, while cutting free-hand without any rulers or stencils. My work is like drawing with a knife and is rooted in my study of Chinese calligraphy and pencil drawing. Cutting paper is a visceral reaction and natural response to my affection for immediacy, detail, and subtlety. The physical and mental demand from cutting is extreme and thrilling; it slows me down and allows me to think clearly and decisively.

location

X
  • Born: Hong Kong, China
  • Based: Los Angeles, CA, USA

comments

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Baking McMansion (detail)

Bovey Lee

2011 Chinese xuan (rice) paper on silk, hand cut 24 in. x 30.5 in. Courtesy of Bovey Lee

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Bovey Lee

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I am a cut paper artist currently based in Los Angeles, California, USA. Born in Hong Kong and having practiced Chinese calligraphy since the age of ten, I studied painting and drawing in my formative years and completed my B.A. degree in Fine Arts at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. In 1993, I came to the United States as a painter and earned my first Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of California at Berkeley. Subsequently, I earned a second M.F.A. in computer graphics and interactive media at Pratt Institute in New York in 1999. From 2000-2014, I lived and worked in Pittsburgh where I created my first cut paper work in summer 2005. Since 2008, I have maintained a full-time studio practice. Exhibitions include Museum Kunst der Westkueste, Foehr, Germany; Museum of Craft & Design, San Francisco; Nevada Museum of Art; Mesa Contemporary Arts Museum, Arizona; Cornell Museum of Art & American Culture, Delray Beach, Florida; Wing Luke Museum, Seattle, Washington; Brooklyn Museum of Art; Shelburne Museum, Vermont; Museum Bellerive, Zurich, Switzerland; National Glass Centre, Sunderland, UK; Blackburn Museum, UK; Museum of Fine Arts, Beijing, China; Fukuoka Museum of Art, Japan; Hong Kong Museum of Art; Museum Rijswijk, The Netherlands; among others. Over a dozen books featuring my cut paper include Paper Secret Iⅈ (Hightone, Guangzhou); Paper Play (Sandu, Guangzhou); Freehand (Chronicle Book, San Francisco); 500 Paper Objects (Lark Crafts, Asheville); Art of Paper (Monsa, Barcelona); Paradise of Paper Art (Designerbooks, Beijing); Material World (Virgin Books, London); Paper Works (Sandu, Guangzhou); Push Paper (Lark Books, New York); l’art de la decoupe (Editions Alternatives, Paris); The New Encyclopedia of Origami and Papercraft Techniques (Quarto, London); and High Touch, Illusive 3, Papercraft 2, and Papercraft (Gestalten, Berlin). Institutional collections include the Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology, Oxford University, UK; Pacific Asia Museum, Pasadena, California; Hong Kong Museum of Art; The Chinese University of Hong Kong; BNY Mellon Corporate Art Collection; Fidelity Corporate Art Collection; Headland Capital Partners, Greater China & Asia; Park Hyatt Sanya, China; and Progressive Corporate Art Collection. Corporate commissions and editorials include Lancome, China; APM, Hong Kong; The Washington Post; Panasonic; The New York Times Magazine; Art@Government Buildings, Hong Kong; Hugo Boss; Pacific Place, Hong Kong; F.P. Journe; and Annabelle Magazine, Switzerland; among others. Grotto Fine Art in Hong Kong; Rena Bransten Gallery in San Francisco, California; and Gavlak Gallery in Palm Beach, Florida and Los Angeles, California represent my works. Selected works are also available at Fost Gallery, Singapore.

My hand cut paper explores the tension between man and the environment in the context of power, sacrifice, and survival. These three “motivators,” as I call them, drive all our desires and behaviors toward one another and the environment. We live in a time when we overdo everything from technology to urbanization to consumption. My recent work is informed by our precarious relationship with nature in the twenty-first century, i.e., what we do to the environment with our super machines and technologies and what nature does back to us in reaction. I hand cut each work on a single sheet of Chinese xuan (rice) paper backed with silk; both are renewable and eco-friendly materials. The tools I use are simple: a cutting mat, an X-acto knife and blades, staples, clips, and paperweights. Before the final hand cutting process, I compose the images using the computer and software. I then print out the digital images and use them to cut with. The images are photographic and I translate them into patterns of solid and void, while cutting free-hand without any rulers or stencils. My work is like drawing with a knife and is rooted in my study of Chinese calligraphy and pencil drawing. Cutting paper is a visceral reaction and natural response to my affection for immediacy, detail, and subtlety. The physical and mental demand from cutting is extreme and thrilling; it slows me down and allows me to think clearly and decisively.

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  • Born: Hong Kong, China
  • Based: Los Angeles, CA, USA

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