PHOENIX Holly Wong
Phoenix: Holly Wong
SLATE contemporary, Oakland, Spring 2021
“The mind is burning, ideas are burning, mind-consciousness is burning, mind-contact is burning . . . Burning with what? Burning with the fre of lust, with the fre of hate, with the fre of delusion” —Adittapariyaya Sutta: The Fire Sermon, Buddha
PHOENIX
SLATE contemporary is pleased to present Phoenix, a solo exhibition of mixed media work by artist Holly Wong, displayed at the Oakland gallery in Spring 2021.
This is the frst solo show of Wong’s works in the San Francisco Bay Area and the frst exhibition at SLATE contemporary since she joined the gallery in Summer 2020. All of the works featured in the exhibition were created during the shelter-in-place order over the past year. They refect her spiritual and visual responses to the pandemic, social injustice, and her want for personal and social transformation.
Wong sees Phoenix as an expression of her desire for purifcation, cleansing and rebirth. It spans across a wide variety of expressive modes, including both large and small scale works on paper, assemblages, and the monumental drawing-based installation titled Phoenix, to which this show is dedicated. Feeling a deep sense of loss and grief at the state of world afairs, Wong built Phoenix as a large mythical bird, a grand metaphor for struggle and healing that takes place on a personal level (even in the artist’s own body) and on a public level, with current challenges to public health and social justice, to name just a few.
Wong’s process begins with the act of improvisational drawing: creating lyrical, tangled forms that are often layered with materials such as drafting flm, paint, fabric, and candle smoke. Wong continues to work into the drawings, layering elements. She often cuts up her work and then reassembles it with a sewing machine, making use of her history as a fber artist. Drawing and sewing sometimes become interchangeable in Wong’s work. For her, the sewn line is a kind of bloodline.
Though Wong’s practice is drawing-based, which is typically very intimate, she also utilizes line, shape, and pattern as a jumping- of point to create immersive environments. In the case of her sculptural installations, the immersion is quite literal, as they may fll a room or be large enough for viewers to move around inside of them. With Wong’s smaller-scale two-dimensional works, the worlds she creates are on an almost microcosmic scale, made by layering intricate line work, textures, and patterning.
Holly Wong earned her MFA in New Genres from the San Francisco Art Institute, leading to an interdisciplinary studio practice that is apparent in every inch of her work through the variety of materials, details, and sizes. Although Wong’s art is broadly abstract, natural forms such as coral, seaweed, seed pods, and feathers are frequently referenced. Her approach is also inspired by Buddhism, Greek mythology, and the universal power of myth. She is attracted to strong feminine archetypes from ancient cultures, who give her hope as she copes with personal and political challenges of the present day. Some of Wong’s mid-sized framed works on paper are named specifcally for goddesses, such as Arachne, Bia, and Persephone, the Greek goddess of the underworld. To Holly, the underworld is the place of the unconscious. The re-processing of psychological trauma is personifed through the metaphor of traveling within the underworld. Persephone, as well as many of the other works in the show, represents Wong’s fearless process of looking within her past and through the layers of memory, bringing forth the potential for new life.
Hope feels very fragile to Holly Wong. However, with the early eforts of vaccinations taking hold and the new presidential administration, she holds the hope that viewers can fnd comfort and healing in her work as we pioneer this new era of transition, renewal, and rebirth. Phoenix, 2021 Graphite with drafting flm with sewing, suspended from the ceiling with monoflament wire 132 x 132 in AURORA
“Aurora is the Roman Goddess of the dawn. I was working on this series as the months progressed into Fall and Winter and the days became shorter. As the pandemic worsened and racial injustice and economic inequality were highlighted, I wanted to create a visual space of silence and contemplation, a drawing inward in many ways, as I began these works with graphite and then layered with candle smoke, gouache, and hand cut drafting flm. I think these works refect my need to look deeper to fnd solutions both within myself and the world around me.” photo credit: John Janca Aurora I, 2021 Gouache, graphite and candle smoke on paper with hand cut drafting flm, netting and thread. 48 x 60 in, framed to 53 x 65 in. Aurora II, 2021 Gouache, graphite and candle smoke on paper. 48 x 48 in framed to 53 x 53 in ARACHNE
“For this series, I chose the mythical fgure of ‘Arachne’ who was a very talented weaver in Greek mythology. She was so gifted that she challenged the goddess Athena to a weaving competition. Ultimately, because Arachne’s weaving portrayed the hubris of the Gods, Athena transformed Arachne into a spider. As an artist, my work frequently involves the hand weaving of elements that I have drawn and cut out into intricate patterns, as in the Arachne wall assemblages. In many ways, I feel like the artist and the spider that embodies the manipulation of complex elements into a whole like a web. In my self-identifcation with the spider, I named the piece Arachne.” photo credit: Al Wong Arachne I, 2020 Colored pencil with graphite on woven drafting flm, mounted directly to the wall 42 x 42 x 3 SOLD Arachne II, 2020 Colored pencil with graphite on woven drafting flm, mounted to a 48x48 circular wood panel wrapped with white linen 42 x 36 x 3 in BIA
“For this series, I chose the Greek goddess ‘Bia’ who represented the female personifcation of power, force, and raw energy. The Bia assemblages were created this past spring under the shelter-in-place order in San Francisco. I felt a sense of helplessness in those early months because so little was known about COVID-19 at the time. In those moments, I chose to reach back into antiquity for the archetype of Bia. The intense color and patterning of this series is an homage to Bia’s raw energy and her sense of resilience.” Bia I, 2020 Colored pencil and graphite on woven drafting flm mounted on paper, framed to 26 x 21 x 2 in 24 x 19 x 1.5 in SOLD Bia II, 2020 Colored pencil and graphite on woven drafting flm mounted on paper, framed to 26 x 21 x 2 in 24 x 19 x 1.5 in SOLD Bia III, 2020 Colored pencil and graphite on woven drafting flm mounted on paper, framed to 26 x 21 x 2 in 24 x 19 x 1.5 in SOLD PERSEPHONE
“For this series, I was inspired by Persephone, the Greek goddess of the underworld. In my imagination, the underworld is the place of the unconscious; and, for me, the reprocessing of psychological trauma is personifed in the metaphor of traveling within the underworld. These assemblages have an initial layer of gouache and then multiple layers of candle smoke, graphite and hand cut drafting flm. These works represent looking within my past and through the layers of memory, bringing forth the potential of new life.” Persephone I, 2020 Gouache and candle smoke on paper, with colored pencil and graphite on woven drafting flm, framed to 26 x 21 x 1.5 in 24 x 19 x 1.5 in SOLD Persephone II, 2020 Gouache and candle smoke on paper, with colored pencil and graphite on woven drafting flm, framed to 26 x 21 x 2 in 24 x 19 x 1 in SOLD Persephone III, 2020 Gouache and candle smoke on paper, with colored pencil and graphite on woven drafting flm, framed to 26 x 21 in 24 x 19 x 1 in JULIET OF THE SPIRITS
“I love independent flm and especially that of Italian cinema from the 1950's and 1960's. This series of work is an homage to Federico Fellini's 1965 master work of cinema, Juliet of the Spirits. In this wonderful flm, a repressed woman discovers her personal sense of liberation by exploring fantasy and the unconscious. In many ways, my artistic practice is a similar journey. These six works on paper explore the many facets of personal myth making and how that unleashes a deeper sense of freedom.” Juliet of the Spirits I, 2020 Gouache, graphite and candle smoke on paper, with hand cut drafting flm & fabric, framed to 19 x 16 in 16 x 12 in Juliet of the Spirits II, 2020 Gouache, graphite and candle smoke on paper, with hand cut drafting flm, framed to 19 x 16 in 16 x 12 in Juliet of the Spirits III, 2020 Gouache, graphite and candle smoke on paper, with hand cut drafting flm, framed to 19 x 16 in 16 x 12 in Juliet of the Spirits IV, 2020 Gouache, graphite and candle smoke on paper, with hand cut drafting flm, framed to 19 x 16 in 16 x 12 in Juliet of the Spirits V, 2020 Gouache, graphite and candle smoke on paper, with hand cut drafting flm, framed to 19 x 16 in 16 x 12 in Juliet of the Spirits VI, 2020 Gouache, graphite and candle smoke on paper, with hand cut drafting flm, framed to 19 x 16 in 16 x 12 in photo credit: John Janca CALYPSO
"For this series, I was inspired by Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey and the sea nymph Calypso. Her name Calypso refers to the concealment of knowledge. Homer describes that Calypso enchanted Odysseus with her singing and her weaving on a loom with a golden shuttle. It was through her charm that she detains Odysseus for seven years on her island. She appeals to me because of her powers of persuasion and her magical attraction. The paintings in this series initially are layered with aquatic forms as an homage to her and then are burned with candle smoke. I additionally layer collaged fabric and patterned transparencies as a metaphor of visual song.” Calypso I, 2020 Watercolor, candle smoke, sewn transparencies and fabric on paper, framed to 27 x 22 in 24 x 19 in SOLD Calypso II, 2020 Watercolor, candle smoke, sewn transparencies and fabric on paper, framed to 27.5 x 22.5 in 24 x 19 in SOLD ABOUT
Holly Wong lives and works in San Francisco, California. She was educated at the San Francisco Art Institute where she graduated with a Master of Fine Arts with a concentration in New Genres. She has been awarded visual arts grants from the Integrity: Arts and Culture Association, Barbara Deming Memorial fund, the George Sugarman Foundation, the Pufn Foundation, and a Gerbode Foundation Purchase Award. She is a Presidential Scholar in the Arts and has had over 70 group exhibitions and 10 solo exhibitions. She is currently represented by SLATE contemporary gallery in Oakland. HOLLY WONG: Curriculum Vitae
SOLO & SMALL GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2021 “Phoenix,” SLATE contemporary, Oakland, CA
2019 Evanston Art Center, Evanston, IL
2018 Visual Art Exchange (VAE), CUBE space, Raleigh, NC
2017 The Carving Studio & Sculpture Center, West Rutland, VT
2010 Talley Gallery, Bemidji State University, Bemidji, MN
2009 Laredo Center for the Arts, Laredo, TX
College of the Sequoias, Visalia, CA
2008 Pufn Room (2 person show), New York, NY
2007 Merced College Art Gallery, Merced, CA
2003 City College of San Francisco, Visual Arts Building Veterans War Memorial Building, San Francisco, CA
2002 University of San Francisco, Pacifc Rim Studies Department, San Francisco, CA
2001 Radisson Wilshire Hotel, Los Angeles, CA, sponsored by University of California Riverside, Ethnic Studies Dept.
Radisson Miyako Hotel, San Francisco, CA, sponsored by Rape of Nanking Redress Coalition and the University of California, Berkeley
San Francisco Main Public Library, Hispanic and Latino Community Room, San Francisco, CA GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2021 "Remnants," Wisconsin Museum of Quilts & Fiber Arts, Cedarburg, WI
“Group Exhibition,” Root Division, San Francisco, CA (anticipated)
“National Members Exhibition,” A.I.R. Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
2020 "The de Young Open”, de Young Museum, San Francisco CA
“Sufrage100,” The Mercy Gallery, The Loomis Chafee School, Windsor, CT
"Domestic Disturbance," Mobilia Gallery and Textile Society of America, Boston, MA
“Scythia,” 13th International Textile Art Biennial, Ivano-Frankivs’k, Ukraine
"Process and Material,” Woman Made Gallery, Chicago, IL
“USPS Mail Project,” Pelham Art Center, Pelham, NY
"Congruence" (online group exhibition), I Like Your Work
“Changing a Point of View” (online group exhibition), All SHE Makes
“Un/Feeling” (online group exhibition), Feminist Art Museum
"Women Rising," The Drawing Room, San Francisco, CA
"Art in Neighborhoods," Ritual Cofee and Artspan, San Francisco, CA
"Art in Neighborhoods," Counterpulse and Artspan, San Francisco, CA
"Tactile Surfaces," SFWA Gallery, San Francisco, CA
"Forever is Composed of Nows," A.I.R. Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
“Current Threads” (online group exhibition), Surface Design Association, Santa Fe, NM
"Bay Area Locals," Mirus Gallery, San Francisco, CA “SNAP!," Arc Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2019 “ECHOES: From Here to There,” Diego Rivera Gallery, San Francisco Art Institute, CA
“Winter Solstice,” Marin Museum of Contemporary Art, Novato, CA
“Show Me Your Neon,” Gallery 1202, Gilroy, CA
“RE:RE:RE: patterns,” La Bodega Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
“Active directions of the mind,” A.I.R. Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
“Celebrating Women,” SFWA Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Infnity Towers, San Francisco, CA
2018 “The Shadow Aspect,” Praxis Gallery, Minneapolis, MN
“ART SPEAKS! Lend your Voice”, Arena 1 Gallery, Santa Monica Art Studios, CA
“Not Just Drawing-A Line With Intent,” ARC Gallery, Chicago, IL
“World of Abstractions,” SFWA Gallery, San Francisco, CA
“Patterns,” SFWA Gallery, San Francisco, CA
“What Brings Us Joy,” SFWA Gallery, San Francisco, CA
“What Knot?,” Richmond Art Center, San Francisco, CA
Art for AIDS Auction, San Francisco, CA
2017 Art for AIDS Auction, San Francisco, CA
2009 South of Market Cultural Center, San Francisco, CA
Korean Cultural Center, Los Angeles, CA
Three Person Show, Yavapai College Art Gallery, Prescott Campus, Prescott, Arizona 2008 Altered Esthetics Gallery, Minneapolis, MN
Community College of Southern Nevada (Cheyenne Campus), two-person show, North Las Vegas, NV
“Are We There Yet? 30 Years of Feminism,” ARC Gallery, Chicago, IL
“National Juried Exhibition,” Arlington Museum of Art, Arlington, Texas
Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts, San Francisco, CA
2007 “Visual Rhythms/Ritmos Visuales,” Torpedo Factory Art Center, Target Gallery, Alexandria, Virginia
YWCA at the University of California, Berkeley (Two Person show)
“Breaking Ice: Bay Area Artists Consider the African Diaspora,” ArtworkSF Gallery and the San Francisco Public Library International Center, San Francisco, CA
“Strong Waves,” Claudia Chapline Gallery, Stinson Beach, California
“Reclaiming Our Voices,” The Exit Gallery, Montana State University, Bozeman
“National Women’s Art Exhibit,” Transition Gallery, Idaho State University, Pocatello
“A Woman’s Hands,” Mills Pond House Gallery, St. James, NY
“Women’s History Month Exhibition,” Women’s Center, Boise State University, Idaho.
2006 “Catch-22,” Pro Arts Gallery, Oakland, CA
“National Women’s Art Exhibit,” Transition Gallery, Idaho State University, Pocatello
“Women’s History Month Exhibition,” Women’s Center, Boise State University, Idaho
2005 “The White Ribbon Exhibit,” Cheyney University, Cheyney, PA, in conjunction with The Project for the End of Rape (PERI)
“Freedom:Response,” Gage Gallery, Roosevelt University, Chicago, IL, sponsored by Heartland International
A Shenere Velt Gallery of the Workmen’s Circle/Arbeter Ring, Los Angeles, CA The Jerusalem Fund Gallery, Washington D.C.
“Open Theme,” South of Market Art Center, San Francisco, CA, organized by NC-NWCA (Northern California National Women’s Caucus for the Arts)
“Justice Matters: Young Artists Consider Palestine,” Berkeley Art Center, Berkeley, CA, sponsored by the Middle East Children’s Alliance and Alliance Graphics
“Artivist 2005,” Egyptian Theatre, Hollywood, CA
“Emerging Artists Exhibition” (3-person show), California Institute of Integral Studies, San Francisco, CA
“Women Shine Through,” WEAVE (Women Escaping a Violent Environment, Inc.), Sacramento, CA
2004 A Shenere Velt Gallery of the Workmen’s Circle/Arbeter Ring, Los Angeles, CA
“Anne Frank Exhibition,” Marin Jewish Community Center, CA
“No More Scapegoats,” Hamilton Air Force Base, Hanger 5, sponsored by the YMCA, Marin Foundation and City of Novato, CA
“Women’s History Month Exhibition,” Women’s Center, Boise State University, ID
“Violence Against Women, Women Against Violence,” California Institute of Integral Studies, San Francisco, CA, sponsored by NC- NWCA
Woman Made Galley, Chicago, IL
2003 “Violence Against Women, Women Against Violence,” Nexus Gallery, Berkeley, CA, sponsored by NC-NWCA.
1998 “Angels & Aliens,” Walter McBean Gallery, San Francisco, CA
“Photographic Explorations,” Photographic Center Northwest, Seattle, WA
“Translucent,” Transamerica Gallery, San Francisco, CA
“Gerbode Foundation Collection,” Berkeley Museum, Gallery 6, Berkeley, CA
“Exhibition of Women’s Photography,” SOHO 20 Gallery, New York, NY 1996 “Commentaries,” Pearl Conard Gallery, University of Ohio, Mansfeld, OH
1995 “MFA Exhibition” Herbst Pavilion, Fort Mason, San Francisco, CA
“Mission Sole,” Collision Gallery, San Francisco, CA
“Prosthesis,” PUSH Gallery, San Francisco, CA
1994 “Graduate Student Exhibit,” Walter McBean Gallery, San Francisco, CA
“Strange Fruit,” ARTCOM, San Francisco, CA
1993 “Deletions,” Diego-Rivera Gallery, San Francisco, CA
“Garden of Earthly Delights,” Three Muses Gallery, San Francisco, CA
1992 “Traps,” Group Show in San Francisco storefront.
Dusseldorf, Germany school district video screening
“Group Show,” Brainwash Performance Space
“Group Show,” Anti-Matter Gallery, San Francisco, CA
1992, 1991 & 1990 “Undergraduate Exhibition,” Diego Rivera Gallery, San Francisco, CA
1989 “Emerging Artists 1989,” North Miami Center for Contemporary Art, North Miami, FL
“Presidential Scholars Exhibition,” Smithsonian Institute of American Art, Washington, DC
Graduate Seniors Exhibition, Brickell One Gallery, Miami, FL
“Sneak Preview – The Next Generation,” Metropolitan Museum and Art Center, Community Gallery, Coral Gables, FL
1988 Undergraduate Juried Exhibition, Bake House Art Space, Miami, FL PUBLIC WORKS
2018 Street Banner along Irving Street Commercial Corridor, placed by SFWA Gallery, San Francisco
AWARDS
2020 Small Event Award, Surface Design Association. Funded to support 2021 "Remnants" exhibition costs at Wisconsin Museum of Quilts and Fiber Arts
2019 Integrity: Arts & Culture Association, Grant Recipient
Juror’s Choice Award: SFWA Gallery “Celebrating Women” exhibition
2018 Juror’s Choice Award: SFWA Gallery “What Brings Us Joy” exhibition
2007 George Sugarman Foundation, Grant Recipient
Honorable Mention, “Visual Rhythms/Ritmos Visuales,” Torpedo Factory Art Center, Target Gallery, Alexandria, VI
Pufn Foundation Ltd., Visual Art Grant Recipient
2006 Money for Women/Barbara Deming Memorial Fund, Grant Recipient
2005 George Sugarman Foundation, Grant Recipient
“Making a Diference for Women Award,” selected for award based on artwork that promoted the cause of women, San Francisco Chapter, Soroptimist International
2004 Pufn Foundation Ltd., Visual Art Grant Recipient
2nd Runner Up, Best in Show, “Women’s History Month Exhibition,” Women’s Center, Boise State University, ID
2003 American Legion Certifcate of Appreciation for Support of POW/MIA Program
1998 Gerbode Foundation, Purchase Award 1998 Selected for Gerbode Purchase Award Program, Berkeley Art Museum and Pacifc Film Archive, Berkeley, CA
1996 Western Arts Federation (WESTAF), Honorable Mention in New Genres
1993 MFA Fellowship, San Francisco Art Institute
1992 Merit Scholarship, San Francisco Art Institute
1991 Hector Escobar Scholarship, San Francisco Art Institute
1990 Merit Scholarship, San Francisco Art Institute
1989 AICA Scholarship, Alliance of Independent Colleges of Art
1989 Presidential Scholar in the Arts
EDUCATION
1995 Master of Fine Arts, San Francisco Art Institute (Concentration: New Genres)
1993 Bachelor of Fine Arts, San Francisco Art Institute (Concentration: New Genres) Inquiries: [email protected]