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Final Review
Lei Qi Min
Academy of Art University
Painting
Final Review
11-16-2015/9:00 pm
CONTENTS
Autobiography …………………………………………………………………….. 3
Resume …………………………………………………………………….. 4
Artist’s Statement …………………………………………………………………… 8
Abstract …………………………………………………………………….. 9
Background Information On Topic ………………………………………………... 11
Developing Processes for My Project ………………………………………….. 12
Influence……………………………………………………………………… 15
Work in Progress ………………………………………………………………….. 16
Image List ………………………………………………………………….. 25
Autobiography
Lei Q. Min graduated from the Shanghai Art Academy in 1978. She began her career painting
advertising murals for cinemas as well as murals in Shanghai China. She moved to Singapore in
1985, and eventually established a career as a portrait painter for society figures and government
officials. During her time there, she held two solo exhibitions at the National Art Museum of
Singapore and National History Museum of Singapore.
In 1990, Lei moved to Brussels, Belgium, and completed an Art Education degree at Vrije
University Brussels, Belgium, as well as painting portraits for local commissions. She returned to
China in 1995 to raise her children and continued doing commissions for the Singapore
government.
Lei Q. Min has been living in San Francisco since 2000, where she completed a BFA at the San
Francisco State University and MFA in painting at the Academy of Art University. She has been
actively participating in group exhibitions and art studio events. In 2014, she received the
Director’s choice award at the Academy of Art annual Spring Show. Her oil painting “Lakeside”
has been selected as one of the top 21 finalists in the 2015 Portrait Society of America
International Portrait Competition.
Solo Exhibitions
2001 VIP Portraits of Singapore, National History Museum, Singapore
1988 Pioneers, Personalities, and People, National Fine Art Museum, Singapore
Group Exhibitions
2015 American Impressionist Society 16th
Annual Juried Exhibition, Trailside
Galleries, Scottsdale, AZ
2015 Oil Painters of America National Juried Exhibition, Cutter & Cutter Fine Art,
St. Augustine, FL
2014 The 24th Annual National Oil & Acrylic Painters’ Society Exhibition, The Ella
Carothers Dunnegan Gallery, Bolivar, MO
2014 The first annual Artists Guild Show, Legacy Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ
2013-2014 Art Renewal Center , International Salon Competition, Port Reading,
NJ
2013 The 23rd
Annual National Oil & Acrylic Painters’ Society Exhibition, The Ella
Carothers Dunnegan Gallery, Bolivar, MO
2013 The Artist's Magazine 30th Annual Art Competition, Palm Coast, FL
2013 Oil Painters of America Salon Show, Crooked Tree Arts Center, Petoskey, MI
2013 OPA 22nd
Annual National Juried Exhibition, InSight Gallery, Fredericksbug, TX
2012 Portrait Society of America Member’s Only Competition, Tallahassee, FL
2011-2012 Art Renewal Center (ARC) International Salon, Port Reading, NJ
2012 Salon International Greenhouse Gallery, San Antonio, TX
2012 The 22th “Best of America” Annual National Oil & Acrylic Painters’ Society
Exhibition, The Ella Carothers Dunnegan Gallery, Bolivar, MO
2010 The Pacific Art League Show, Palo Alto, CA
2009 The 19th “Best of America” Annual National Oil & Acrylic Painters’ Society
Exhibition, The Ella Carothers Dunnegan Gallery, Bolivar, MO
Bibliography
Southwest Art, Annual Collector’s Edition, Volume 45, Number 5, page #45,51,
Oil Painters of America 2013 Exhibition Catalogue, Fredericksbug, TX
Art Renewal Center International 2011/2012 ARC Salon Catalogue, Port Reading, NJ
Art Renewal Center International 2013/2014 ARC Salon Catalogue, page #78,
Commissions
US Ambassador Swanee Hunt, Portraits of Mr. and Mrs. H.L. Hunt, Dallas, TX
The Ella Carothers Dunnegan Gallery of Art, “Ballerina #3”, Bolivar, MO
The Paul Weldon, Weldon family portrait, Chicago, IL
The National University of Singapore, Portrait of Chancellor Benjamin Sheares
Singapore History Museum, VIP Portraits Project, Singapore
Singapore Central Narcotics Bureau, Portrait Project for CNB CEO’s, Singapore
Singapore Parliament, Portrait of five Speakers of the Singapore Parliament, Singapore
Tan and Tan Developments, Datuk Tan Chin Nam, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
IGB Bhd, Portraits of Datuk and Datin Tan Kim Yeow, Ipoh, Malaysia
The General Manager of Reuters News Agency Europe, family portrait of Mr. Henry
Manesty, Brussels, Belgium
CEO of the European Services Industry Forum, portrait of Mr. Gunter Pauli Brussels,
Belgium
European Community Commissioner, Portrait of Mr. Abel Matutes , Brussels, Belgium
The Chief Justice of Singapore, Portrait of Mr. Yong Pung How, Singapore
UIC Holding, portrait of Mrs. Angela Oei, Singapore
Far Eastern Group, portrait of Mrs. HsuYu Ziang, Taiwan
Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Portrait of Conductor Mr. Chu Hui, Singapore
Chairman of OUB Bank of Singapore, Portrait of Mr. Lien Ying Chow, Singapore
Chairman of OCBC Bank of Singapore, portrait of Mr. Tan Chin Tuan, Singapore
Collections
Singapore National History Museum, Portraits of Singapore former Presidents, Singapore
Former Chief Minister of Singapore, Portrait of Mr. David Marshall, Singapore
Professional Experience
Instructor, Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, Singapore
ARTIST’S STATEMENT
Our Life As Americans: History and Chinese Women
Sweat, tears, struggles, and dreams are the untold story of Chinese immigrant women who,
for 150 years, endured and overcame immeasurable hardship. As a Chinese immigrant
woman myself, I hope to depict, record, and preserve this part of American history through
my paintings.
Through my research I discovered many stories that are little-known but fascinating, a dark
but inspiring chapter of the American story and American Dream. In my painting “Angel
Island “, early immigrants from China faced detention and questioning. We can see the
remains of hundreds of home-sick poems written on wooden walls. I used a cooler color
palette to underline the mood of hopelessness. Once in Chinatown, many women and young
girls faced a life of prostitution or indentured servitude. Donaldina Cameron, a Presbyterian
Missionary, opened a woman's shelter that helped to rescue 3,000 of these women. In
“Cameron House,” I used the contrast of light and dark to illustrate the dynamic movement
of the composition. I try to evoke a state of a conflict of good versus evil, life and death
struggle, and order out of chaos, etc. In “Fishing Village in Monterey” I adopted some
elements of Venetian painting: brilliant color, painterly texture of brushstroke, light and color,
as well as an Arcadian landscape: themes of pleasure, playfulness, and idealism.
The stories continue. Hard working woman raising their children while working in the
“sweatshops” making the uniforms for the military to support America's war effort. A young
woman who has just gotten married to a Chinese American pilot who will forever be known
as a “War Bride”. Few Americans today know the history and the conditions of early Chinese
women immigrants. I was inspired by the paths these women traveled, the fascinating lives
they led, as well as the humanity they embodied.
Abstract
I was inspired by Chinese American artist Mian Situ’s paintings of historical works of the
Chinese American experience. However, my project will approach the subject with a focus
on the early Chinese American woman experience. My paintings will consist of the following
content according to their historical time line:
In Departure for America, a peasant girl heads for America in search of work and bids
farewell to her family. In New Arrivals, the wives and children join the men who are doing
business in America. The women who are allowed to arrive and settle into Chinatown are
filled with hope about starting a new life in “Gold Mountain” (San Francisco in Chinese
pronunciation) are laboring in America. In Detention at Angel Island, early immigrants
from China face detention and questioning at Angel Island. Feelings of homesickness mixed
with uncertainty about the future and fear of deportation. In Am I Your Wife?, many women
and young girls, lured by the promise of a better life in America, realize that they have been
essentially sold as prostitutes. In The Cameron House, missionaries help girls sold into
prostitution escape from their masters, caring for them and teaching them English. In
Sacramento Delta, a formerly-trafficked girl finds her inner peace and salvation through a
religious experience. After 1906 San Francisco Earth Quake, the Chinese occupants face
the particular threat of permanent displacement. In Fishing Village in Monterey Bay
California, many farmers settle to the Monterey area of California, making a living as
fishermen and in canneries. In Laundromats, many Chinese immigrants, especially women
who cannot work outside of the home, also work in the laundry business. Women shoulder
much of the burden along with raising children. In Sweatshop, Chinese American women
contribute to the war effort by working in sweatshops making uniforms and supplies for the
war effort. In War Bride, after conditions improved after the repeal of the Chinese Exclusion
Act, Chinese Americans are able to marry and start families in the US. In Cross Road,
Chinese Americans assimilate into American society, while forging a unique identity as
modern Asian Americans. They are doctors, lawyers, restaurant owners, shopkeepers,
engineers, contributing to the diverse fabric of American life.
Background Information On Topic
The great majority of San Francisco’s female Chinese population in the Gold Rush Era were
prostitutes (an estimated 90% in 1877). Some were kidnapped, tricked into signing false
marriage contracts, or lured by the promises of rich husbands in the new country. Bought for
$100 to $300 in China, “slave girls” sold for $300 to $600 in the United States. (Dicker
Laverne Mau (1979) The Chinese In San Francisco USA: California History Society ) In
1882, Congress passed “Chinese Exclusion Act”, an immigration law that prevented Chinese
farmers and railway workers from bringing their wives and children to the United States.
This law would remain in effect until 1943, when the Chinese and Americans became allies
during World War II. The conditions for Chinese immigrants was further improved after the
Civil Right Movement.
Developing Processes for My Project
In my project, I constructed a theme with a beginning and an end story. I tried to achieve a
representational and thematic presentation that will allow viewers to see what happened
according to some historical events.
Many of the primary concepts that made the Renaissance one of the greatest periods of
artistic achievement are still important aesthetic tools for us today. Some of those conceptual
tools I apply in my final project art are:
Using tragedy to evoke emotion.
Dramatic tension, contrast of light and dark, dynamic movement of the composition, and
strong simple colors.
Psychomachia, or a gesture or action that reveals the character of a person, etc.
I started by researching in San Francisco’s Chinatown library, reading history books, and
using the online search for the Library of Congress for family photographs of early Asian
Immigrants lives in America. I also visited Angel Island in the Bay Area, as well as other
historic sites and museums for references material (photographing clothed figures and
watching documentary footage) and inspiration for making costumes,. Then I sketched and
studied the effects of light, color, composition and environments. I used the traditional
narrative method for stimulating storytelling, and created a series of 11 paintings, sizes
ranging from 24” x 30” to 36” x 48”, oil painting on canvas.
In “The Cameron House” I use the concept of dramatic tension,
contrast of light and dark, dynamic movement of the composition, and strong simple colors.
In “Am I Your Wife” I apply the concept of Psychomachia: a
gesture or action that reveals the character of a person. The longing look and gesture shows
the desperation of slave girl in contrast to her evil “husband”, evoking the emotions of pity
and fear, a conflict where often represents good versus evil, love verses war, life and death
struggle, and order out of chaos, etc.
In “Fishing Village in Monterey Bay California” I adopt the
concept of Ideal expressed in the Venetion art painting : Brilliant color, painterly texture of
brushstroke, light and color. Arcadian landscape, Arcadian themes of pleasure, playfulness,
idealism; poetic stimulation takes places in a paradise bathed in the warm sfumato haze of
afternoon light.
The concept of Istoria is the aesthetic propounded by Alberti, stressing
perspective, proportion, poetics, beauty, and harmony, to create poses and gestures that
match the inner state. I intend to apply the concept in the painting called “New Arrivals”.
I tried to understand and apply the aesthetic concepts listed the above and be able to
articulate and incorporate them in my project. This project is a continuous clothed figure
study with greater emphasis on grouping and compositions. I learned to see shapes and
values, to create and unify patterns, developing a sense of staging and the ways by which
light affects the subjects. Finally, I hope my paintings go beyond story-telling and convey
some universal themes.
Influence
I am inspired by a well-known Chinese American artist, Mian Situ, who has created
wonderful paintings about early Chinese immigrants (images below). However, my focus is
mainly on the subject of women immigrants. I was inspired through my research of the paths
these women traveled, the inner emotional state and struggles those women suffered, the
fascinating lives they led, as well as the brave spirit and humanity they embodied. As those
early women were not allowed to work outside the homes, I have arranged most stages using
interior settings. I hope to depict, record and preserve this part of the American history.
It’s been a long journey since I first started, I am glad, I have completed this project.
Work in Progress
Initial composition sketch
Grouping Figures
Value placement of a final drawing
Visiting Angel Island Archive picture research
Research in Chinatown library history books
Museum in Monterey, CA Museum in Juneau, AK
Stage materials from museums
Making costumes
Photographing models
Work in Progress
Image lists
1. Cameron House
2012
Oil on canvas
36" x 48"
5. Angel Island
2010
Oil on canvas
36" x 36"
2. Delta Sacramento
2012
Oil on canvas
40" x 30"
6. Sweatshop
2011
Oil on canvas
40" x 30"
3. Fishing Village
2013
Oil on canvas
36" x 48"
7. Earth Quake 1906
2014
Oil on canvas
40" x 30"
4. Am I Your Wife?
2015
Oil on canvas
48" x 36"
9. New Arrival
2015
Oil on canvas
30" x 40"
8. Laundromat
2013
Oil on canvas
36" x 36"
10. War Bride
2014
Oil on canvas
30" x 24"
11. Cross Road
2011
Oil on canvas
36" x36"
Statement of future plans
I have been actively submitting works for competitions, and I have already gotten a few works
into some major competitions. My next task is to find a gallery to represent me and pursue other
opportunities to show my work, including teaching. I have approached the director of the Asian
Art Museum, Dr. Jay Xu. I need to persistently focus my energy on marketing my works.
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