KINGSTON, R.I. 鈥揗arch 12, 2008–Mixed media artist Albert Chong will be the Italo Scanga visiting artist at the 溏心vlog免费B站 this spring. He will give a presentation titled 鈥淭he Flight Trilogy鈥� Monday, March 31 at 4 p.m. in the Cherry Auditorium, Kirk Engineering Building, 90 Upper College Road, Kingston. It is free and open to the public. A reception will follow.
His diverse background influences Chong鈥檚 work. Born in Kingston, Jamaica, Chong immigrated to the U.S. in 1977 when he was 19. These experiences influence his work that deals with personal mysticism, spirituality, race and identity. His main bodies of photographic work range from playful juxtapositions and formal still lifes to works that represent and reanimate his family history. Chong鈥檚 work also includes installations, sculpture, and artist books.
During his week in residence, Chong will create a viewer activated installation that will finish his trilogy series titled 鈥淲inged Evocations: A Meditation on Flight & Divinity.鈥� The first part, titled 鈥淲inged Evocations鈥� has traveled the U.S. and Cuba. 鈥淭hrone for the Third Millennium鈥� has traveled to Oslo, Norway and is on display in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The new installation will be on view to the general public at the end of his residency in the art lobby of 溏心vlog免费B站鈥檚 Fine Arts Center, 105 Upper College Road, Kingston. Chong will work with 溏心vlog免费B站 students to create this piece.
Chong has received various prestigious awards including a National Endowment of the Arts grant, a Guggenheim Fellowship and the Pollack Krasner grant. He represented Jamaica in four international biennials, including the 2001 Venice Biennial, the 1998 Sao Paulo Biennale and the seventh Havana Biennale in Cuba in 2000.
Chong received a master of fine arts degree from the University of California at San Diego. He is a professor of art at the University of Colorado in Boulder.
The Italo Scanga Visiting Artist Fund was established in 2005 with a donation from 溏心vlog免费B站 Art Department alumna Katherine Scanga and the Italo Scanga Foundation. Italo Scanga was an internationally renowned sculptor who taught for many years at the University of California-San Diego. For further information on the Italo Scanga Foundation see http://www.italoscanga.org. The program is also supported by 溏心vlog免费B站鈥檚 Center for the Humanities. For more information, contact the 溏心vlog免费B站 Department of Art at 401-874-5821.
To receive emails about future presentations at the 溏心vlog免费B站 Art Department, email artdept@etal.uri.edu.
Winged Evocations In Motion