On Wednesday July 16 2008 , 7:00pm-9:00pm and Friday, August 15, 2008 7pm - 9pm is the days for ArtSlams; showcasing the work of emerging Asian-American and Non-Asian artists:

Wednesday, July 16, 2008 7pm - onwards

Abha Dawesar is a self-taught visual artist and video-maker. She has had on-and-off training in photography starting with a plastic 115mm camera when she was a teenager. Her abstract drawings are in black and white because she can no longer see in color; death and destruction engendered by war is a binary.

Vivian Wong is a 22-year-old Asian American artist who graduated from Cooper Union, concentrating in video/animation, photography, and drawing. Ever since the Iraq War began in 2003, her work has explored the seduction of violence specifically in the context of war. Her recent work investigates the subject of women in the military.

Kenji Kojima was uncomfortable with the direction of contemporary art. He wished for a more fundamental approach, a motivation more like the artist/craftsmen of long ago. In the medieval age, artists developed their vision through devotion to skills and to understanding their materials. Kenji moved to NYC in 1980 and started egg tempura paintings that were medieval materials and techniques.

Yasuko Shingu creates artwork to visualize inner emotional sensation. That’s why her work tends to be obsessive, repetitive with some degree of tension between visible/invisible, false/real. It is based on a psychological statement, which is isolated from complicated real life. Avoiding the use of sounds, the space can become more of a psychological place for Yasuko.

Friday, August 15, 2008 7pm - onwards

Barbara Coleman: "I accent calligraphic forms with triangles which contrast with the curves of the calligraphy. My work influenced by many sources. Among them is de Kooning, Joan Mitchell, contemporary Japanese art, Tantra art, art from India, and the American Marvel Comics Group."

Cecile Chong: "I use encaustic on wood panels to create cross-culture narratives. I juxtapose appropriated images from vintage children's books and other found images to address the process of cultural assimilation and the development of individual identity."

Dana Zaldo: "I want to represent this Mexican American "consciousness" as a synthesis of the old world and the new, the conquerors and the conquered, the mystical and the rational. with a tolerance for ambiguity."

Kikuko Tanaka: "My work creates a series, which interact each other for its interpretation. My work are psychological examination of the self, critiques of the socio-political construction of contemporary culture and reference to art history. For all the aspects of my work, my being Japanese in a foreign land takes crucial role."

Ugur Kunst: "My work is a reflection of my life and things around me which comments on the cultural, political and environmental issues that surround us. I am trying to represent the dangers around us through imagery like shark fins or nails sticking out. What are they? How do they affect us? How can we fix or deal with them ? I am trying to ask these questions to myself. Also I have a strong connection with memories, not just personal ones but social. Memories dealing with secrets, stories, images or objects. Some memories are playful and others are painful. My goal is to bring them alive through my work by using symbols of everyday objects."

In addition, few critics will be present to provide feedback:

Robert Lee is the Executive Director & Curator of Asian American Arts Centre. He initiated the Arts Centre's visual arts programming in 1978 and the Archive for Asian American Artists in 1982 drawing attention to Asian American artists work as a field of special study.

Halima Taha, Ph.D. is recognized throughout the United States as a leading authority on collecting African American art and arts management. An expert in the industry for more than twenty years, she continues to contribute as an appraiser, historian, art advisor, educator and lecturer.

Nathalie Pham installations and mixed-media works have stood in many galleries and museums in the Tri-State area and around the globe, including the Newark Museum (Newark, NJ), Module Gallery (Hanoi, Vietnam), A.I.R. Gallery (NYC), Foundry (London), and Gallery 5 (Richmond, VA). Nathalie has been a resident artist at Jentel Artist Residency (Wyoming), Vermont Studio Center, New Jersey City University, and Newark Museum.

Other panels are to be annouced.

Admission: FREE.
EVERYONE IS INVITED!

This event is organized by Adliana Bahrin, program assistant at AAAC.