Past Exhibition
Fang Ling-An
"Everything Is Stitching Together Simultaneously"
May 29 - June 27, 2010
Fang Ling-An essay by Manu S. Shetty (PDF)
June, 2010 ArtScene
preview by Michael Buitron
CB1 Gallery proudly presented its first solo exhibition of the work of artist Fang Ling-An, Everything is Stitching Together Simultaneously, from May 29 to June 27, 2010. Deeply aware of her family’s historic and turbulent journey from Mainland China to Taiwan, Fang Ling-An has consciously reflected upon issues of ‘displacement’ and sense of ‘belonging’ that is common to most Chinese immigrants. As a result, her pieces center on issues of migration, displacement, tradition and identity.
Convinced that artists have missions, Chicago-based artist Fang Ling-An’s quest is to develop and resurrect Chinese philosophical and aesthetic views that are set in a contemporary framework. “Determining what the true merits of Chinese traditions and philosophies are is something Chinese artists must decide for themselves and transmit to the rest of the world. I want to make art a tool to revive culture, and hope it will enable Chinese to become conscious about their heritage again.”
The work in the upcoming show reflects on the artist’s continuing exploration of how traditional Chinese culture has overlapped into contemporary American culture and of how the East meets and blends into the West. Using materials ranging from industrial tarp, silk and gold thread to silkscreen, Fang Ling-An experiments with their application onto the traditional Chinese handicraft and technique of embroidery. In Everything is Stitching Together Simultaneously, the embroidered pieces are perfectly stitched highlighting every minuscule detail and figure. While only a few pieces by the artist show this ‘perfect’ handwork, most of her other pieces will be showing a more abstract side, which, intriguingly, stand in stark contrast to the perfect images.
Fang Ling-An is a Chinese-American artist born in Taipei (Taiwan) and now living in Chicago. She graduated Magna Cum Laude from Temple University, Tyler School of Art (BFA, 2003) and also the University of Illinois in Chicago (MFA, 2005). Her work has been exhibited in numerous national and international institutions, including Hyde Park Art Center (Chicago, IL), Artspace (New Haven, CT), DIVA International Video Art Fair (Miami, FL), City of Nanjing Art Center for Painting and Sculptures (China), CAMAC Centre D'art (France) and the Media Art Festival at the Armenian Center for Contemporary Art (Armenia).