Mandy Tsung Art

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Contact

Email: [email protected]

Instagram: mandytsung

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The Bitchy Resting Face Project. Created in order to start a conversation about gendered societal expectations, for both men and women. I’d like to write more about this soon but for now, here’s a link to an interview that I did for it http://metro.co.uk/2017/01/20/this-artist-paints-womens-bitchy-resting-faces-6393191/

Some of the original paintings are still available for sale. Prints are also available. Please email [email protected] to inquire.

[mandytsung]

Creature. ink & wax on paper mounted to wood. 12″x12″. 2016. Available - please email [email protected] to inquire.

[mandytsung]

Integrate x Oscillate. oil, acrylic, wax on canvas. 10″x10″. 2016. Available - please email [email protected] to inquire.

[mandytsung]

WhitCh. oil, watercolour, wax on paper mounted to wood. 12″x12″. 2016. Available - please email [email protected] to inquire.

[mandytsung]

Cumulus. watercolour and graphite on Hahnemuhl paper. 12″x12″. 2016. Available in my shop at http://1hand.bigcartel.com.

[mandytsung]

Resilience. watercolour, ink, wax on paper mounted to wood. 12″x12″. 2016. Available - please email [email protected] to inquire.

[mandytsung]

Stratus. watercolour and charcoal on Arches paper. 12″x12″. 2016. Available in my shop at http://1hand.bigcartel.com.

[mandytsung]

Strength Within. coloured pencil on paper mounted to wood. 6″x6″. 2015. 

[mandytsung]

Cantilever. Watercolour on Hahnemuhle paper. 12″x12″. 2016. Available through Gauntlet Gallery - [email protected]

A bit about this painting: First of all, it is a self portrait. Yes, that is my body which is on display. I’ve seen some body shaming & slut shaming recently in regards to women posting their own photos of themselves. I’ve seen the argument that a woman should be using her mind, her strength, her talent, but not her body or sexuality, in order to be successful. Well, this is all of that on display here. I use every part of me to create my work. Tell me that I should be ashamed of myself and I will tell you that you need to take a good long look at why you feel the need to belittle me or any other woman.

Our society has such an incredible hunger to control and dis-empower women, no matter what we do. Our culture has de-humanized us to the point that we are not allowed to make decisions about our own bodies, let alone be anything more than sexual objects. God forbid we breastfeed a child, or forget to smile, in public. God forbid we love ourselves enough, and are brave enough, to want to show the world how beautiful we are.

It is such a slippery slope when you allow yourself to believe that a woman is worth less, and deserving of less, because she shows her body. It feeds into much more serious issues of rape culture and the disenfranchisement of sex workers. We need to be criticizing the culture that would have us believe that a woman “deserved it” because she wasn’t wearing enough clothing. We need to be criticizing a culture where a woman is afraid to report her own rape because she is even more afraid of the police and the public shame, not to mention the fact that her life may be in danger if she happens to live in a culture of honour killings. We need to look at why we think a man’s life will be ruined if he is charged with rape, with little thought for the impact he has already had on his victim’s life (perhaps it is because she is no longer pure and thus has no value?). This kind of culture leads to women internalizing so much of it that we blame ourselves because we “must have done something to deserve it”. This kind of culture is an oppression so deep that we no longer see the humanity in each other or ourselves.

We need to think about who benefits from our lack of agency and power, because it is surely not women.

[mandytsung]

Feral Love. oil & graphite on wood. 24″x18″. 2015.

This painting is part of Haven Gallery’s Music Box show, for which artists were to choose a song or lyric to use as inspiration. I have been listening to Chelsea Wolfe almost exclusively during my studio hours and so her music was the obvious choice for me. 

[mandytsung]

Exhibitions & C.V.

Upcoming Exhibitions:

2017 NSFW. Group show. Spoke Art. USA. TBA. Solo Show. Haven Gallery. Northport, USA.

Solo Exhibitions:

2013 Feral Dreams. Ayden Gallery. Vancouver, BC.

2012 Synaptic Visage. Ayden Gallery. Vancouver, BC.

2011 Lacuna. Resolution Gallery. Calgary, AB. Silent Stories. Ayden Gallery. Vancouver, BC.

2009 BellaDonnas. Untitled Gallery +15 (Juried). Calgary, AB. Curious Girls. Shisomiso Boutique. Calgary, AB.

Selected Group Exhibitions: 2017 

 Music Box. Haven Gallery. Northport, USA. Strong Female Character. Hot Art Wet City. Vancouver, BC. Art History. Haven Gallery. Northport, USA. Mythos. Haven Gallery. Northport, USA.

2016 Music Box. Haven Gallery, Northport, NY. Aestheticism. Vanilla Gallery. Tokyo, Japan. 12x12. Gauntlet Gallery. San Francisco, CA. Cubed. Baker+Hesseldenz. Tucson, AZ. Dirty Knees. Untitled Gallery. Vancouver, BC.

2015 Little Big. Haven Gallery. Northport, USA. Wanderlust. Modern Eden Gallery. San Francisco, USA. Creatures of Habit. (2-person show). Hot Art Wet City. Vancouver, BC. Bad Dads: Wes Anderson Tribute. Spoke Art. San Francisco, USA. Inflorescence. Aden Gallery. Vancouver, BC. 2014 Perfect Thirst. (3-person show) Hellion Gallery. Portland, USA. David Lynch. Spoke Art. Sand Francisco, USA. Kubrick. Spoke Art. Sand Francisco, USA. Le Chat Noir. Modern Eden Gallery. San Francisco, USA. Wanderlust. Modern Eden Gallery. San Francisco, USA. Old. Hot Art Wet City Gallery. Vancouver, BC.

2013 All My Stars. Strychnin Gallery. Berlin, Germany. Those Who Dream By Day. Strychnin Gallery. Berlin, Germany. Natural Harmony. (4-person show). Spoke Art. San Francisco, USA. Boobies and Wieners. Hot Art Wet City. Vancouver, BC.

2012 Bad Dads: Wes Anderson Tribute. Spoke Art. San Francisco, USA. Runaway Circus. August Clown Gallery. Melbourne, Australia. Art of Giving. Ayden Gallery. Vancouver, BC. A Moment Of. Van Eaton Gallery. Los Angeles, USA. Multiverse. Scotia Creek Gallery. Whistler, BC. Bow and Arrow. (2-person). Get Her Compound Gallery. Los Angeles, USA.

2011 One Hand (2-person show). Boucherat Gallery. Victoria, BC. Doll Haus: Modern Matryoshka. Rothick Art Haus. Anaheim, USA. The Dirty Show 12. Detroit, USA. Seven: Ayden Gallery’s 7th Anniversary Show. Vancouver. BC.

2010 Post Up. Ayden Gallery. Vancouver, BC. Animalopolis. Ayden Gallery. Vancouver, BC. 5. Ayden Gallery. Vancouver, BC.

2009 Monsters and Robots. Ayden Gallery. Vancouver, BC. When Free Will Becomes Destiny. Ayden Gallery. Vancouver, BC. 1111. Pop-up Show. Calgary, AB.

2008 Masterpiece. The Art Gallery of Calgary. Curator: Marianne Elder. Calgary, AB. A Sensualist Show. Studio 402. Calgary, AB. Lolita Perdita (2-person show). The SODA Night Gallery. Calgary, AB.

Education:

2007 Bachelor of Fine Arts - Sculpture. Alberta College of Art and Design. Calgary, AB. Awards: 2003 - 2005 Jason Lang Scholarship. Alberta College of Art and Design. Calgary, AB

Commissions:

Mandy has completed a large number of private commissions. For a full list, please contact [email protected].

Teaching:

2015 Charcoal Portrait Demonstration. Opus Framing and Art Supply. Vancouver, BC.

2014 Oil Glazing Portrait Painting Demonstration. Opus Framing and Art Supply. Vancouver, BC.

2013 Graphite Portrait Drawing Demonstration and Workshop. Hot Art Wet City. Vancouver, BC.

[mandytsung]

About

Mandy was born in Banff, Canada, but spent her formative years in Calgary, Canada, and Hong Kong. After completing a BFA in Sculpture at The Alberta College of Art and Design in 2007, she then moved to Vancouver where she now paints full-time. She has exhibited in numerous galleries in North America, Germany, Japan and Australia, and has completed many private commissions.

Artist Statement:

The question I am most often asked is, “Why do you only paint the female figure?”. I wonder if male artists are asked this same question as often as I am. Perhaps it is that people are reading some level of intention behind it. I do hope this is the case even though I’ve always drawn and painted women. After all, being a woman myself, whether I have any conscious motive or not, I do have a deep level of awareness of what it is to live within a female body. It’s reasonable to think I identify completely with what it is I am painting.

Ever since I was a young girl, surrounded by literature, magazines, and comics which depicted captivating women, I’ve felt the desire to both emulate and subvert the imagery that informs my view of what it is to be a woman. As I become more aware of the world around me, this experience of womanhood has expanded and evolved; I’ve come up against the limitations of my gender as well as some of it’s unique joys. The characters in my paintings were always meant to be emotive, to communicate the depths of human experience through universal gestures and expressions. Most recently, however, I’ve realized that it is my own individual experience that I am primarily qualified to speak about. As much I’d like to solve all the world’s problems through my art, the world is best served if my voice speaks my own unique story - which is that of a mixed race, queer, feminist woman. This is the inherent context within which all of my art is created. It is very often the result of overcoming negative emotions - despair, anger, frustration, powerlessness. Contrarily, “beautiful” is a word that is frequently attached to the work by others, and while this can be a superficial descriptor, it’s true that I try to find the beauty within my most tumultuous moments in order to reach a level of optimism and transformation, for my own sake as much as the viewer’s. 

Women grow up feeling a lot of attachment to our bodies; we are taught from a young age that it is the most important thing we will ever possess, that beauty is the highest achievement. It is the site of our greatest accomplishments and failures. It is also an inescapable fact that we will age and our bodies will change. Art is a way to find some peace within all of these things, as well as the freedom to celebrate the sensory gifts of having a physical self. It is only natural that I find my expression through the female form.

[mandytsung]

Boy with Mendl’s. oil on wood. 26″x22″ framed. 2015. This painting is part of Bad Dads VI: A Wes Anderson Tribute and is a play on the painting “Boy with Apple”, which appears in the movie. Available through Spoke Art Gallery here. 

[mandytsung]

Eidolon. oil and graphite on wood. 12″x9″. 2015. private collection.

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We Are Made of Starstuff. oil on wood. 10″x10″. 2015. private collection.

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Sanguine. oil and coloured pencil on wood. 14″x11″. 2015.