Winter Garden

I’ve been chosen to exhibit my artwork at the Chicago Public Library during May in celebration of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month! I’ll be exhibiting at the Harold Washington Library Center—the massive main library downtown on State Street! Thank you, CPL!

In 2018, I was at the West Chicago Avenue Branch in Austin; in 2019, I was at the Coleman Branch in Woodlawn; and in 2020, I was going to show in Logan Square, but it was cancelled when COVID hit.

This year, my exhibit will essentially be a photographic love letter to Chicago, featuring photographs I’ve taken around our wonderful city throughout the past decade—a fitting display, since (unbeknownst to me when I dreamt up the idea) CPL happens to be celebrating its 150th anniversary! Super stoked for spring.

Harold Washington Library. Photo via Chicago Public Library.

Speaking of exhibits and thoughts of spring, I’ve curated a new online exhibition of 30 artists from around the world, at all stages of their careers, working across all media, and it’s all about getting cozy with art. Read the press release for HYGGE below (and, if you’re navigating from the blog’s main page, after the jump).

He[art]h

I am thrilled to announce the online opening of HYGGE international exhibition! And it’s the perfect weather for this show too! (Freezing, my friends!) I’m so excited to share with you the amazing group I’ve curated; they’re 30 talented artists working in all mediums and forms (painting, illustration, photography, sculpture, multimedia, textiles, you name it) at all stages of their careers (for some of them, this is their first exhibition ever) from all over the world (for a couple of them, it’s actually summer). They are:

Alix Anne Shaw, Andrew Nelson, Anthony Le, Caroline Walser, Charles Inge, Christine Lozano, Cristy Corso, Danielle Pontarelli, Darcie Denton, Darin Latimer, David Martinez, Diane Ponder, Eli Tatosian, Emily Calvo, Glenn Wexler, Han Songyun, Karen I. Hirsch, Katharine Joy Houpt, Kristel Becares, Kristen Neveu, Kurt Kreissl, Marie Magnetic, Mark Pol, Mendy, Nancy Bechtol, Nancy Natow-Cassidy, Patricia Biesen, Sami Mark, Su Lin Lim, and Tony Tran.

View the exhibition here (main page) and here (click on each thumbnail to read each artist’s story and browse their artwork).

Collect the art here.

Stay in, get cozy, and enjoy!

Beginnings

Happy and healthy new year, everyone!

Looking back: These were my top liked Instagram videos and photos of 2022. (View ‘em in full here.) Thanks, friends.

Looking forward: As announced in the previous post, I’m starting 2023 by curating a new online exhibition, HYGGE, and here’s the call for artists! All artists working in all mediums and forms (painting, illustration, photography, sculpture, multimedia, installation, textiles, performance, etc.) from anywhere in the world are invited to apply. Deadline: January 16, 11:59pm.

Call for Artists: HYGGE

Artists on the Lam invites all artists to submit work for this online group exhibition, opening January 30, 2023

hyg·ge (pronunciation: hyoo-guh) noun

1. a quality of coziness and comfortable conviviality that engenders a feeling of contentment or wellbeing, evoked by simple comforts such as being wrapped in a blanket, having good conversations, enjoying food, etc.
2. a form of everyday togetherness; a pleasant and highly valued everyday experience of safety, equality, personal wholeness and a spontaneous social flow

We’ve all been there: trudging through snow, trying to shield our faces from wind so cold it hurts, questioning our lives and life itself.

One thing this pandemic has taught us is how to better appreciate the simple joys of staying in, being with people you care about, and enjoying art together, from watching a film to browsing an online art exhibition—really!

Creating interactive exhibitions—such as 2016’s acclaimed LEXICON and 2012’s acclaimed I CAN DO THAT—had been in Chicago artist and independent curator Jenny Lam’s wheelhouse. When Lam pivoted to digital exhibits during the pandemic, this resulted in such shows as 2020’s acclaimed SLAYSIAN, which not only garnered praise but also had outlets remarking on the very nature of the virtual platform:

Sixty Inches from Center: “Since she couldn’t bring audiences to see the show in person, she brought SLAYSIAN directly to audiences, transforming it into an online exhibition we can view from the safety of our homes. It’s now available for us to click through in digital space, where we are free to take our time and linger over the amazing work of all the artists she brought together, including extra multimedia content that wouldn’t have been possible in a traditional physical exhibition space.”

Winter’s Bloom: “Every one of the featured artists [has] a rich story to share and I encourage you to take a moment to sit with them, to share them. Just this morning my pieces came into bed with me, snuggling on a lazy Sunday. On a whim I pulled up Jenny Lam’s website and we spent the morning scrolling through the exhibit, reading about the artists and choosing your favorite pieces.”

South Side Weekly: “The digital forum offers the opportunity for at-home viewers to take part in this important work—to help these stories grow, evolve, and be seen.”

This new year, Artists on the Lam presents HYGGE, a new online art exhibition. Stay in your PJs, grab your drink of choice, and experience art, all without braving the elements.

All artists working in all mediums and forms—painting, illustration, photography, sculpture, multimedia, installation, textiles, you name it—from anywhere in the world are welcome to apply.

Claude Monet, The Magpie.

Application: