Chelsea Wong

Channeling

12 December 2020 to 16 January 2021 

Chelsea Wong, Toast To My Community, Acrylic on canvas, 60 x 48 Inches, 2020.

CHELSEA WONG
CHENNELING
SOLO EXHIBITION (MAIN GALLERY)
OPENING RECEPTION: DECEMBER 12, 2020 // BY APPOINTMENT ONLY
EXHIBITION DATES: DECEMBER 12, 2020 - JANUARY 16, 2021
GALLERY HOURS: TUES - SAT / 12PM - 6PM
NEW IMAGE ART, 7920 SANTA MONICA BLVD LOS ANGELES CA 90046

New Image Art Gallery is pleased to present Channeling, the debut solo exhibition featuring new paintings by San Francisco based artist Chelsea Wong. At the core, Wong’s work emits a blissful equality. Her utopic scenes of  Bay Area and Los Angeles daily life typifies a proletariat paradise. 

As an artist influenced by the Mission School, Wong continues the tradition of figuation in the flat, mural-esque, and graphic style akin to her predecessors Margaret Kilgallen and Claire Rojas. From quiet watercolors to loud and punchy canvases and works on paper Wong’s work reflects the humility and openness found throughout California.

Wong’s visual narratives are inspired by both her imagination and her own ontological experiences, while depicting the culturally diverse neighborhoods of San Francisco and Los Angeles. Channeling epitomizes the joyous moments found in daily life. For the artist, her practice is a means of actively constructing her own reality grounded in positivity. Her paintings promote and celebrate racial, economic, and cultural diversity. Wong connects the psyche’s ability to search for happiness and generate inner satisfaction. She emphasizes that “While I believe happiness starts from within, having a support system and sense of belonging is essential.” This abundant sense of zeal is evident within the uniformity of smiles worn by the community of friendly figures melded together in Wong’s vibrant scenes. The exuberance of her work invokes a reflective vision into an otherwise chaotic reality. Wong hopes that by sharing her optimism with the world these paintings can inspire the same in others.

Chelsea Ryoko Wong (b. Seattle, 1986) is a painter and muralist whose vibrant figure compositions reflect the diversity and style of her home in San Francisco. Through the use of watercolor, gouache and acrylic techniques, Wong creates busy scenes of co-mingling people drawing from real-life events and her imagination. Her work is known for celebrating racial and cultural diversity, promoting working class communities and evoking a sense of curiosity and wonder. With heavily stylized and idyllic imagery, Wong creates an encouraging visual statement promoting positivity, joy, and an openness to one another.

Wong studied at Parsons School of Design in New York and received a BFA from California College of the Arts in 2010. In 2018 she completed a major mural for Serena William’s Yetunde Price Resource Center in Compton, CA, and in 2019 was selected as a Facebook Artist-in-Residence in San Francisco, CA. In addition, she has worked with high school students to create meaningful murals with Mission High School (San Francisco, 2019) and the AIGA Link Art Program (Seattle, 2018). Her work is part of the permanent collections at Fidelity Investments, the San Francisco Arts Commission, Lucille Packard Stanford Hospital and the UCSF Cancer Research Institute.