Cecile Chong

Born in 1964 in Guayaquil, Ecuador
Lives and works in New York, USA

I juxtapose appropriated images from vintage children’s books along with other found and original images to address the process of cultural assimilation and the development of individual identity. I am especially interested in this subject having been born in South America to Chinese parents and having learned about my ancestors’ culture as an outsider. I create my cross-cultural narratives using encaustic and other mixed media including oil, pigments from Morocco and India, volcanic ash from Ecuador, rice paper, silver/gold/copper leaf, beads, and electronic components from circuit boards.

My exposure to different cultural objects and ideas has driven my fascination with how these influences are visually acquired, represented and interpreted. I am interested in how cultures copy each other, and how borrowed ideas often find their way back to the original culture. This entanglement of culture, history, place and interpretation are themes that I explore in my work.

Solo Exhibitions
2011 – Back and Forth – St. Joseph’s College Gallery – Brooklyn, NY
2011 – Cool Breeze – Praxis International Art Project Room –  New York, NY
2010 – Mirror Mirror Off the Wall – curated by Nina Ziefvert – Corridor Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
2010 – Unspoken Word – ArtSPACE – New Haven, CT
2009 – reIMAGination – Brooklyn Central Library – Brooklyn, NY
2006 – Memory Lane – Spoke the Hub – Brooklyn, NY
2002 – The New York Public Library, Aguilar Branch, New York, NY
2001 – The New York Public Library, 96th St. Branch, New York, NY

Recent Group Exhibitions (Selection)
2012 – Rolling in the Deep – Kenise Barnes Fine Art, Larchmont, NY
2012 – Me Love You Long Time – curated by Edwin Ramoran, Aljira Center for Contemporary Art
2012 – Reenacting Sense – curated by Liz Y. Kwon – Yace Gallery – LIC, New York
2011 – Curate NYC online exhibit, curated by Lowery Stokes Sims
2011 – Curate NYC online exhibit, curated by Deirdre Scott
2011 – Mandarin Oriental with the Cynthia Corbett Gallery, curated by Brian Dursum, Miami, FL
2011 – Triangle Arts Association, 100 x 100, curated by Wayne Northcross
2011 – Life as Theatre – The Cynthia Corbett Gallery –  London, UK
2011 – FREESTYLE – curated by Rick Krieger and Jim Furlong – Hudson Guild Gallery – New York, NY
2011 – EAF11 Emerging Artist Fellowship Exhibition – Socrates Sculpture Park , LIC, NY
2011 – VALOARTE IX – Centro de Artes y Tecnología Antigua Aduana –  San José, Costa Rica
2011 – Bronx Calling, AIM 1st Biennial – Wave Hill, The Bronx Museum –  NY (Catalog)
2011 – Observed, Imagined and Re/created – Longwood Art Gallery – Bronx, NY
2011 – Baby It’s Cold Outside – Kenise Barnes Fine Art, Larchmonnt, NY
2011 – New Year, New Work, New Faces – Storefront Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
2010 – Provisions – curated by Meridith McNeal – Nathan Cummings Foundation –  NY
2010 – Young Masters Revisited – The Cynthia Corbett Gallery, London, UK
2010 – Rush Arts – CURATE NYC, New York, NY
2010 – VALOARTE VIII – Centro de Artes y Tecnología Antigua Aduana, San José, Costa Rica
2010 – ArtSolar – LUSH, curated by Trinidad Fombella, East Hampton, NY
2010 –  Corners of the World (two person w Eleanor Miller) – Diane Birdsall Gallery, Old Lyme, CT
2010 – Beautiful Mess – ADC Contemporary Art Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2010 – Ready, Aim, Inspired – Amy Simon Fine Art, Westport, CT
2010 – Fresh Paint – curated by Lynn Stein – Rockland Art Center –  West Nyack, NY
2009 – Young Masters – The Cynthia Corbett Gallery, London
2009 – Emerge 10 – curated by Sara Reisman – Aljira Center for Contemporary Art, Newark, NJ
2009 – Joan Mitchell Foundation MFA Grant Recipients – Cue Art Foundation – NY, NY (catalog)
2009 – We Are Each Other – Kenise Barnes Fine Art, Larchmont, NY
2009 – Subverted Genres – curated by Gabriela Galati & Rebecca Mirsky – Sue Scott Gallery, NY
2009 – reIMAGination – Brooklyn Central Library, Brooklyn, NY (solo)
2008 – Diversity and Dynamism – curated by Millie Burns – Marymount Manhattan College – NY
2008 – Summer Salon – Julie Baker Fine Art,  Nevada City, CA
2008 – Hybrids and Other Sorts – BECA Gallery, New Orleans, LA
2008 – Parsons MFA Thesis Show – curated by Bill Carroll, The Kitchen – New York, NY
2008 – Pause Reading Room – curated by Jeffrey Walkowiak – Pulse Art Fair New York , NY
2008 – Crossing Cultures – curated by Meridith McNeal – Corridor Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
2008 – I Am That – Kenise Barnes Fine Art, Larchmont, NY
2008 – Female Aesthetic – curated by MLJ Johnson – Skylight Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
2008 – Notes on the American Dream – curated by Silvia Rocciolo and Eric Stark – The New School , NY