Clockwise from upper left: Evan Ting-Kwok Leung, Wei Cheng; Ying-Yueh Chuang, Jennifer Woodin, Amy Li Chuan Chang

The North-West Ceramics Foundation is pleased to announce their next Speakers Series Event, a panel presentation on Zoom, Sunday, April 2, at 2pm. The panel consists of four BC ceramic artists of Chinese descent, Amy Li Chuan Chang, Wei Cheng, Ying-Yueh Chuang, and Evan Ting-Kwok Leung, who will discuss the influence of their language, culture and heritage on their studio practice in Canada. All are welcome, but registration is required. Please see here or below to register for this exciting panel.

To further our commitment to programming that is inclusive and reflective of the diversity of our community, we are embarking on a new project to examine the influence of Asia and artists of Asian origin on the ceramic culture of British Columbia. While a great deal of attention has been paid to an earlier generation inspired by Bernard Leach, Shoji Hamada, Mingei, and related influences, little has been written or showcased regarding contemporary influences from Asia, despite there being a large and active community of artists in British Columbia who trace their ethnic and cultural roots to Asia.

Our first panel showcases artists of Chinese heritage. The title to the panel, 好「東西」要和好朋友分享!, translates literally as “Sharing good things with good friends!” The “good things” can be music, cake, objects, or, in this case, a love of ceramics. The panel will open with short presentations by each artist followed by a group discussion moderated by Board member Jennifer Woodin. The panel will consider questions relating to early influences of language, culture, and education; the value of pursuing residencies and educational opportunities in Asia; the influence of the Asian diaspora in North America; and other issues. Each artist returns periodically to Asia to re-connect with family and to participate in exhibitions, workshops, and residencies. Panelists will consider how their on-going contact with their cultural roots has shaped their work, and the influence they have had through their teaching and exhibitions on ceramic practice in British Columbia. The audience will then be invited to participate with additional comments and questions.

Amy Li Chuan Chang, Flamingo, 2021, clay, metal rod, screws, cone 5 oxidation, 25 x 12 x 32 cm.

Amy Li Chuan Chang (張麗娟) earned her Bachelor of Business from Tank Kung University, Taipei, Taiwan, prior to immigrating to Canada. She returned to school to study art, focusing on ceramics, earning her Diploma of Studio Art from Capilano University in 2003, and her BFA from Emily Carr University of Art + Design in 2007. She has consistently shown in solo and group exhibitions locally and internationally including the 2008 Taiwan Ceramic Biennale in Taipei, Taiwan, and the 2011 Mino International Ceramic Competition in Nagoya, Japan. She won bronze awards in the 2018 Salt Spring Island Ceramic Competition, and the 2019 International Teapot competition in Yixing, China. She was a finalist in the 2020 Ceramics Biennale, Taiwan, and, in 2021, she held a solo exhibition at the Yingge Ceramics Museum in Taipei, Taiwan.

Wei Cheng, Mini Wood Kiln–Mr. Angler, 2022, cone 10 sculpture clay, cone 6 oxidation, 40 x 17 x 24 cm.

Wei Cheng (成瑋) was born and raised in China but now lives and dedicates herself to her art practice in Vancouver, BC. She received her art education from Emily Carr University of Art + Design, where she learned to appreciate the ceramic medium. She has been a resident artist in Jingdezhen and at the Yixing Pottery Center, both in China, and at the Alfred University Summer Arts Workshop in Alfred, NY. Her work has been exhibited in solo and group exhibitions in both national and international venues, and locally at the Lipont Centre, Canton-sardine Gallery, and the Chinese Cultural Centre. Wei is concerned with the intricate, the found, and ephemeral experience and often makes constructs of found objects with fired clay. She also participates in performance and installation work.

Ying-Yueh Chuang, Hybridized plant arrangement on hybridized historical and classical plate, 2016, Chinese Imperial Porcelain, Cone 10 Reduction, 20 x 20 x 16 cm.

Ying-Yueh Chuang (莊吟月) came to Canada from Taiwan in the early 1990s, earning a diploma of Fine Arts from Langara College in 1997, a BFA from Emily Carr University of Art + Design in 1999, and a Masters degree in Ceramics from NSCAD University in 2001.  She has taught ceramics across Canada and at Kwantlen Polytechnic University since 2014. Exhibiting locally, nationally and internationally in both juried and invitational exhibitions, she has received many grants and awards, including, in 2006, the Winifred Shantz National Emerging Artist Award for Ceramists, Canada. Her work is found in many public and private collections and has been featured in publications such as Art in America, Ceramic Review, Ceramics Art and Perception, Ceramic Monthly and others.

Evan Ting-Kwok Leung, Destination V, 2015, Porcelain, plastic tubing, Cone 8 Oxidation, 130 x 100x 230 cm.

Evan Ting-Kwok Leung (梁定國) was born in Hong Kong in 1977 and immigrated to Canada in 1994. Influenced by his parents, who were painters, he earned his Diploma in Fine Arts from Kwantlen University College in 2003, and studied Visual Arts at Emily Carr Institute of Art + Design from 2004-5. Subsequently, he achieved an impressive exhibition record, creating carefully constructed sculptural pieces involving numerous slip-cast components. In recent years, Evan explored life issues through different materials and mediums, experimenting with the female form and using an IV bag from his father’s chemo before his father died of brain cancer. With this inspiration, his works were selected and exhibited for international ceramics biennales. He was a finalist in the 2012 and 2020 Taiwan Ceramics Biennales; received a Recommendation Prize in the 2016 Taiwan Ceramics Biennale, and an Honorable Mention in the 2021 Korean International Ceramic Biennale, among numerous other awards.

Moderator Jennifer Woodin is an artist, educator, meditation mentor, and bee enthusiast who has exhibited widely throughout the US, Denmark, Canada, Sweden, Taiwan, Norway, and elsewhere. Her creative process weaves together the craft of compassion, transformative social practices, ceramic object making, relationship building and contemplative technologies. In addition to the NWCF Board, she sits on the board of the Native Bee Society of BC and teaches at Emily Carr University of Art + Design.

This exciting panel will take place on Zoom on Sunday, April 2, at 2pm. The presentation is free and all are welcome, but you must register here. We look forward to seeing you!

This program has been recorded and is available here.

For more on Amy Li-Chuan Chang, please see her website.

For more on Wei Cheng, please see her IG Account.

For more on Ying-Yueh Chuang, please see her website.

For more on Evan Ting-Kwok Leung, please see his website.

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