Curatorial Statement

Although currently a popular theme, Asian group shows have not always been so prevalent. Reflecting their overall acceptance in America, the art of earlier generations of Asian Americans was regarded with varying degrees of interest. In the 1930’s a group called the Oriental artists, Tyrus Wong, George Leung, Hideo Date and Benji Okobu, showed together in Los Angeles. Having attended Otis College of Art and Design, they banded together artistically and socially. At the same time, artists such as Ruth Asawa and George Chann worked in northern California. Stylistically many of the San Francisco artists were known more for their realism and interest in traditional landscapes, but Chann and Asawa, were exceptions and became well known for their abstractions. More recent graduates of Otis, such as Ji-Sun Kim, continue this exploration of abstraction.

Cal Asia, a multi-generational group exhibition of Asia artists from California, will present art that spans the period from 1940 through 2007. While the combination of traditional Asian art forms with Western paintings styles has been a reoccurring theme for decades, as seen in the works of Tyrus Wong and Rene Yung, the issue of identity has played a larger roll in current subject matters of Asian-American artists such as Benny Chan and Aragna Ker. Cal Asia will create a visual dialogue between generations and art forms, and address issues of identity and assimilation of Asian American artists. The artists included in the exhibition are Ruth Asawa, Benny Chan, George Chann, Emily Cheng, Aragna Ker, Ji-Sun Kim, Arthur Ou, Jung Eun Park, Tyrus Wong, and Rene Yung.

-Chip Tom, Los Angeles, 2007