Amy Wong is a painter of Chinese descent, born in toronto, who has lived and worked in Toronto, Montreal and Amsterdam. She is the first Canadian participant in the CEAC residency program, resulting in the exhibition from her 5-month stay in Xiamen, “Work on Wonder.

As a subjective approach to social ideas, Wong s paintings and drawings are
investigations into plurality, romanticism, and a personal politic in an attempt to understand her self within the world. Growing up between two cultures(with many others floating around) in an idiosyncratic way has formed how she looks into the markers of culture/identity, and how people understand each other with such codes She therefore approaches logic within shades of grey rather than in black and white, and looks for truthfulness in contradiction, using ambiguity to play with existing conventions. By looking at different angles simultaneously, she attempts to extract nething meaningful from the inevitable ether of history, pop and garbage that we
live in today.

Wongs points of departure lie in existential moments, and balancing bitchy feelings with soft ones, through the subversion of matrices from eclectic sources. As her way to contemplate life and the inevitable cliches of life, all in a mix of high and low culture Wong searches for a sense of empowerment, asserting a sardonic, but ultimately hopeful sensibility.

To ‘wonder’ is to reflect on a feeling of surprise mingled with admiration, caused by something beautiful, unexpected, unfamiliar, or inexplicable

Gallery