FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

This September, millions of people around the world will celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival by gathering with family, eating sweet treats such as moon cakes, and remembering loved ones. ‘Moon Gazing: A Call to Ancestors,’ is a group exhibition designed to bring ancestral heritage into conversation with the present. Inspired by the work of the late painter, printmaker, and professor Chen Lok Lee (1927 – 2020), Romana Lee-Akiyama, Lee’s daughter, curated this exhibition to explore contemporary expressions of identity for Asian and Asian American artists connected to Philadelphia, as well as the tensions that underrepresented and systemically excluded artists with hyphenated identities face.

This immersive experience will feature work by nine artists who were tasked with responding to the legacy and work of Chen Lok Lee, whose selected works are the centerpieces for the exhibit. Visitors will experience soundscapes, visual works, and stories from those longing for connection.Themes of ancestry, identity, spiritual longing, and impermanence flow into the supporting programming designed for youth: a reading from award-winning poet Michelle Myers’ middle-grade debut novel ‘Talk Me a Story About Moon Rabbit’ and accompanying hands-on story-writing and culturally influenced  crafting workshop.

Lee-Akiyama is the Michelle Angela Ortiz fellow at the Da Vinci Art Alliance and her exhibition marks a year of work through the program. “I’m thrilled to be partnering with such a diverse and immensely talented group of artists, who each have a powerful voice in expressing their Asian/Asian American identity through their work. My father is no longer here to nurture all of our talent, but he’s imparted his spirit on me to keep inspiring the next generation of artists.”  said Lee-Akiyama, a global cross-sector leader at the intersection of social change, equity, community well-being, and the arts and culture. 

Lee-Akiyama is the founding director and curator of the Chen Lok Lee Legacy Project, which she established in March 2021 as a homage to her late father whom she lost to COVID. Since launching the Chen Lok Lee Legacy Project, Romana has curated four exhibits in Philadelphia, centering themes of immigration, belonging, anti-Asian hate and violence, and what it means to create “home” for marginalized populations. Chen Lok Lee developed his art over more than 50 years across three continents. Other exhibiting artists: Chenlin Cai, Hanzi, Mel Hsu, Gina Kim, Michelle Myers, Winnie Sidhartha, Hanalee Akiyama, Joon Thomas and Kumaji “Harry” Nakatsugawa.

• On view: September 5 – September 22 in Gallery 2 at Da Vinci Art Alliance (704 Catharine St.)
• Opening Reception: Saturday, September 7 from 4-7 pm
• Honor Your Roots: an engaging workshop for tweens and young teens in partnership with award-winning poet and author, Michelle Myers, Saturday, September 14 from 3:30-5 pm 
• Closing Reception and Artist Talk: Sunday, September 22 from 12-2pm

Da Vinci Art Alliance (DVAA) is an intergenerational community space and art gallery with the core mission of Building Community Through Art. We foster an artist membership that both showcases individual voices and encourages collective collaboration, providing monthly exhibitions and programming, all at no cost to visitors. We are open Thursdays – Sundays from 11am-6pm.

Contact: Veronica Cianfrano (she/her), Gallery Director, veronica@davinciartalliance.org

 

2024 has ushered in new energy and new projects. I’m thrilled to announce my latest project to come out of the Chen Lok Lee Legacy Project — Moon Gazing: A Call to Ancestors. I was recently selected for the Da Vinci Art Alliance’s (DVAA) 2024 Michelle Angela Ortiz Fellowship, which gives opportunities to emerging curators to develop an exhibit at DVAA that explores international identities and personal narratives. Artists in this fellowship track are challenged to push their exhibitions beyond white box gallery spaces, engaging with local
communities to examine, explore, and challenge Euro-centric narratives to bring us closer together while uplifting artists of color. This fellowship track is for a Philadelphia-based, emerging artist/curator to develop an exhibition that explores and challenges who is in charge of the narrative and why.

Moon Gazing: A Call to Ancestors is an exploration of Asian/Asian American artists’ identities, stories of migration and works of art. The exhibition will explore contemporary expressions of identity for Asian and Asian American artists with Philadelphia connections, and call into conversation the dynamic tension that underrepresented and marginalized artists with hyphenated identities face in creating art. We will explore the expectations of what is considered an authentic representation of Asian art, who Asian and Asian American artists get to be and what they get to create based on the limitations or boundaries that they face in the field.

Today, we convened to discuss and plan for the upcoming exhibition, and I’m so excited for what will be unfolding over the next few months as we prepare to launch the exhibit in September.

As Asians living in the United States, the deep traditions of cultural holidays and their meaning are sometimes lost, minimized or re-interpreted. Moon Gazing: A Call to Ancestors is an exhibition designed to engage ancestral heritage into conversation with the present.

Connecting it back to the autumnal equinox and Mid-Autumn Festival as a joyful celebration, we will invite pieces that explore ancestral heritage as well as spark joy for the artists and audience members alike. Artists will have an opportunity to explore what they long for and miss the most from their ancestors, whether they are with us in this life or have moved on to the next one. We will contemplate what from our ancestors strengthen us and give us joy, and shape our creations as artists.

Be sure to mark your calendars for September 7, 2024 for the opening reception of Moon Gazing at 704 Catharine Street in South Philadelphia. We can’t wait to see you there. For more information on Da Vinci Art Alliance, the fellowship or the upcoming exhibit, please reach out to DVAA at info@davinciartalliance.org.

The Chen Lok Lee Legacy Project is closing out 2023 with some very positive news. We are proud to announce our recent significant gift to the Free Library of Philadelphia Print and Picture Collection within the Special Collections Department.

This week, our founder and curator, Romana Lee-Akiyama, met with the Free Library of Philadelphia curators and staff to deliver 10 of Chen’s prints. From here, the work will be cataloged, digitized, and made available for anyone who wants to view it.

The Print and Picture Collection at the Free Library of Philadelphia maintains works from renowned modern printmakers, with a special focus on Philadelphia artists. We are grateful to partner with the Free Library to include more diverse artists in their collection.

Chen’s work joins the Print and Picture Collection at an exciting time. ‘The Art and Influence of John Dowell‘ is the Special Collections’ latest exhibit at the Free Library’s Central Branch, and was the inspiration for Romana to consider the gift to the library. John Dowell and Chen were contemporaries of each other in the printmaking world in Philadelphia and the Tamarind Institute. Through conversations with library staff, Romana recognized the important role that public institutions — especially libraries — play in providing access and information to the arts for the general public. As funding continues to be restored to our public libraries, we are hopeful that this will mean more and more Philadelphians will be able to access to rich and free resources available to them — which now includes access to Chen’s work.

For more information or to make an appointment to see Chen’s prints at the Free Library of Philadelphia, individuals, classes and groups can make an appointment by emailing erefpix@freelibrary.org or by visiting their website.

On September 12, Friends Select School hosted a reception for the Chen Lok Lee Legacy Project in their newly renovated lobby and gallery for our EXCLUDED/INCLUSION exhibit. We were thrilled to share more about Chen’s life and legacy with the school community before the exhibit closed on September 30.

There were several themes from Chen’s life that I noted were in alignment with the Friends Select School’s philosophy. I shared three lessons that have deeply impacted me as a human being and in my own leadership journey.

Chen believed in nurturing people to find and develop their talents.

My father was a very patient and talented teacher.  

Most of the time that I spent with my father was actually visiting his students and colleagues. He had very close relationships with his most dedicated students, and we were always with them.

My father used to say that he knew he was a good teacher because all of his student’s work was different. They were not encouraged to copy him, or his style, but to truly find their own.

Chen taught me to have a spirit of curiosity and constant learning and growth.

He was constantly reading, usually Chinese newspapers or books or art magazines, with the occasional German or Italian art book thrown in there. He always brought home books or school supplies for me at home, so that we could be enlightened – not so that we could achieve. As immigrants, we oftentimes face the pressure of being achievement oriented out of need to survive and fit in, but what my father emphasized was more nuanced and rooted in cultural enrichment.

Chen was generous and always inclusive.

My father made it a regular practice to invite friends, new and old alike, to eat. He loved to cook, and he was either preparing food for my friends, his friends, his students, new friends as a way to take care of and nurture others. Sometimes he would make food for them and take it to their home to eat, and other times he would invite others to our home. He would give without reservation, always willing to share, and always intending to include others, to welcome them and make them feel like they were a part of our family.

No borders, no walls, he just believed in making room at the table.

Thank you to Friends Select School for giving us the opportunity to share Chen’s art and life story and philosophies with you this past summer and fall season.

To learn more about the three philosophies, watch my talk here.

When I was growing up, my mom, also an artist and teacher, volunteered through a program called “Art Goes To School”. She brought images of well-known (and some that should be more known) artwork into public schools to share and discuss with students. Her time with this program has inspired us and the Chen Lok Lee Legacy Project’s dual mission to not only preserve and archive Chen’s work, but to also inspire the next generation of artists.

This summer, the EXCLUDED/INCLUSION collection is on display at Friends Select School in Philadelphia, an independent Quaker school located in the heart of the city. They describe their approach to learning as such: “We turn lessons into quests for knowledge and guide students as they discover new worlds. We encourage individual exploration and active, hands-on learning. Instead of imparting facts, we ask questions.” We couldn’t be more pleased with matching our collection with the perfect institution to appreciate and embrace Chen’s work.

Friends Select School’s Lower School teacher Amy Danford shared the following about her experience interfacing with the collection:

“I wanted to share a couple of photos from an art class I teach at FSS during the summer. It’s for new Pre-K/K students. I was so excited to use [Chen Lee’s] work as inspiration. We spent time looking at his work and then the kids created these marvelous scrolls inspired by his work. It was really marvelous and I am such an admirer of his work!

I’ve worked in museums for many years as an educator and art therapist, so I always seize the opportunity to expose and inspire kids using works of art before creating. Our little school gallery has inspired many young artists!

Thank you for sharing your father’s legacy and work. It really is incredibly inspirational and so beautiful.”

Children and our communities deserve to have access to high quality art and learning opportunities. If you are an educator or art teacher and are interested in hosting an exhibit for your young artists or students at your school or institution, please reach out to us at chenlokleeartist@gmail.com to discuss the possibilities. We would be thrilled to work with you.

On June 9, we lovingly and gently deinstalled the EXCLUDED/INCLUSION: The Work of Chen Lok Lee exhibit at the University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg Center. I would like to thank the entire Sachs Program for Arts Innovation team – John McInerney, Chloe Reison, and Tamara Suber – for their extensive support throughout the last few years as we worked to make this exhibit a dream come true. Elaine Lopez and Jaime Alvarez contributed their beautiful photography and graphic design skills to make sure we were memorializing our project. And of course, we wouldn’t have been able to do any of this without the generosity of Keith and Kathy Sachs, generous donors.

During the nine months (yes, an entire gestational period!) that the work was living at Penn, I had full hope that my father’s spirit would live on and continue to impact the many who were exposed to the bright, cheerful, powerful and comforting images that brought love and warmth into the light-filled Arts Lounge. The 18 pieces told a story — his story — and served to inspire other young artists along the way. Each work represented a different slice of his life, a different piece of the story. My job as the curator was to put them all together to show you his journey, and to allow you to experience the feelings that he felt along his path.

Growing up with not one, but two artists for parents, there were many difficult things that we experienced, including the uncertainty of success and income, the two usually tied to one another. For this reason, my parents never encouraged my brother and I to become artists. While we grew up around many artists, musicians and cultural practitioners, and were both musicians ourselves, we never fully leaned into our natural visual artistic talent.

However, one of the core skills and abilities that I did inherit is the ability to recognize good art. My father was a humble man, but he was especially pleased when he would show me a painting he created and I gave it my approval. That seemed to have meant the most to him.

My father made good art, and I knew how to recognize it.

While he is no longer here to produce more art, I continue to look for ways to make a positive impact on the world with the existing collection and his story.

As a curator, there are 150 more pieces that I have in the treasure chest that I will use to tell a fabulous next chapter of our family’s story. Follow us on Instagram for real time updates on our next adventure which starts in a few weeks!

 

Join us in commemorating Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage month with a captivating event in conjunction with our ongoing exhibit, “Excluded/Inclusion: The Work of Chen Lok Lee.”

Monday, May 1, 2023
5:30 pm

The Arts Lounge at the Annenberg Center
3680 Walnut St.
University of Pennsylvania

Featuring Curator Romana Lee-Akiyama, with Joon Thomas,
Kaitlyn Francisco Nu ’25, and Jessica Sui E ’24.

Step into the world of the late Chen Lok Lee, a multidisciplinary artist who transversed cultural norms and expectations to become a well-respected and beloved professor, printmaker and painter based in Philadelphia.

To kick off the event, Joon Thomas, a longtime apprentice and friend of Chen Lok Lee, will lead a live painting demonstration. Following the demo, Romana Lee-Akiyama, the Founding Director of the Chen Lok Lee Legacy Project, and exhibition coordinator, will host an engaging panel discussion with University of Pennsylvania students and activists Kaitlyn Francisco, a sophomore studying Nursing, and Jessica Sui, a junior studying Mechanical Engineering. Together, they’ll delve into the unique challenges that Asian Americans with hyphenated identities face and explore strategies for creating a sense of belonging and “home.”

This event is free and open to the public. We hope you can join us to engage in a dialogue about Lee’s work and discover how artists of today can benefit from his approach while we explore the similarities and differences between prints and paintings. 

We will also be releasing a limited edition copy of the exhibit publication, which includes documentation of the exhibition and an essay by Lee’s former student, longtime apprentice, and friend, Joon Thomas. 

This discussion will be held in person and is being organized in conjunction with the exhibition Excluded​/​Inclusion: The Work of Chen Lok Lee, currently on view at the Arts Lounge at the Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts. 

Registration is requested prior to arrival but not required.

Deep gratitude to our exhibition and event sponsors: Sachs Program for Arts Innovation and the Pan Asian American Community House at the University of Pennsylvania.

This post was written by guest blogger, Gao Ly Vang, a Temple University MSW graduate student who attended an exhibition talk on Chen Lok Lee’s life and work, featuring Romana Lee-Akiyama, and hosted by the University of Pennsylvania Asian Social Work Collective (ASWC) in November 2022.

Guest blogger: Gao Ly Vang

Asian social worker students were given a platform to be vulnerable during the Excluded/Inclusion exhibition talk by Romana Lee-Akiyama in honor of her late father. The event brought together Asian social workers from the University of Pennsylvania and three of Temple University’s Master of Social Work students to openly discuss topics such as grief, trauma, cultural stigmas, mental health, Asian hate crimes and violence, immigrant identity, and collective identity.

Chen Lok Lee’s story was depicted through various art styles, showcasing his migration journey. The exhibition was a safe space, created by Romana, to honor her father’s legacy through his art. By hosting this event, Romana brought unity and facilitated a transformative conversation and support for Asian social workers and attendees.

As a Master of Social Work student, a child of refugees, and someone who has experienced the loss of a parent, Romana’s exhibition held a special significance for me both personally and professionally. Grief is often a taboo topic in Asian culture, and for me, I never had space to touch on those feelings. However, Romana’s approach to honoring her father through his art empowered me to fully embrace my mother’s legacy and grief. I found solace in channeling memories of my mother through cooking, a hobby she loved. In many ways I celebrated her legacy hosting gatherings and preparing meals for large groups of people. The smiles on my guests’ faces reflects the bright smile my mother had when she shared her love and joy through her cooking.

 

The exhibition held an empowering energy, creating a safe space for diverse groups of Asians to come together and share their experiences. Despite the cultural barriers to discussing emotions and personal stories, Romana broke down these barriers by uniting the AAPI community through her efforts in facilitating dialogue. I am extremely impressed by the way Romana guided the audience through her and her father’s story. This exhibition was a blessing to younger generations and a testament to the bravery Romana who exemplified solidarity for Asian social worker students in Philadelphia.

 

On November 2, 2022, I had the pleasure of hosting nearly 25 Asian and Asian American graduate social work students and allies from both the University of Pennsylvania and Temple University for an artist’s talk on the EXCLUDED/INCLUSION exhibit.

We covered everything from printmaking, painting, the exclusivity of the art world, migration trauma, political issues in Chinese history, grief, generational trauma, anti-Asian hate and violence, mental health, coalition building, the Asian American and Pacific Islander community in Philadelphia, language access, to my favorite books by AAPI authors. All the things I love to talk about.

What has become very clear to me since losing my father nearly two years ago, is that we as human beings do not always know how to handle grief. It is a skill to be gained. Based on feedback that I received that night, I know that my talk elicited so many different feelings and responses from the participants. One person was so uncomfortable with my loss that they emailed me afterwards to tell me that my late father would be unhappy to know that I am so sad. I can’t wait until my next grief support group to have a good laugh about that.

Chen Lok Lee’s life was not easy, and therefore, when I talk about it, it’s also not easy. But he was one of the most resilient people I have known, and there were so many adventures in his life, and so many beautiful aspects of it, including the work that he created. I think that’s what my father would have wanted us to learn from his life – that we can grieve, and we can keep going, and create beauty in a world that has much tragedy. That, my friends, is in fact what he himself did, and what I am also doing. And I think that’s a miracle.

 

As a daughter of two artists, I have been trained to recognize beauty in this world and life. It’s in my DNA.

Last week, I was thrilled to share the beauty that grew up with at the opening reception of my late father’s work in EXCLUDED/INCLUSION: The Work of Chen Lok Lee. This project has been a labor of love, and one that I have been working on since my dad’s passing at the end of 2020 due to COVID-19.

This exhibit, now the second in our efforts, is a comprehensive overview of his work and life across three continents as a political refugee, artist and professor.

It took many hands and hearts to move us this far. We’re grateful for the generous support and partnership from the Sachs Program for Arts Innovation beginning last year when they funded the Chen Lok Lee Legacy Project through a special grant program designed to support Asian and Asian American and Pacific Islander artists. The support from Sachs was one of the major catalysts to propel us forward.

Most touching about the opening reception on Thursday, September 15, is that we were joined by long-time friends who knew my father and what he brought to this world as a human being, not only as an artist. I spoke to his qualities of generosity, kindness, thoughtfulness, patience and dedication. It was amazing that all those who knew him personally spoke up about his other endearing qualities, including an epic sense of humor and being “unforgettable”.

Here is a section of my remarks that I shared, explaining the title and aspirations behind it:

“I’ve titled this exhibit Excluded/Inclusion. I paused when trying to decide on the title, because exclusion is not a nice thing. It’s painful when we are excluded. It’s shameful when we are the ones doing the excluding. And yet, it is a part of America’s history and present, as we think about marginalization and excluded communities.
I was always inspired by my dad’s super power to turn experiences of discrimination, racism, and even exile, and made them empowering for himself and others around him.
He comforted others enough to help them feel acceptance, joy, belonging and inclusion through his own ease and comfort in cross-cultural exchange.
He did it by creating art, and supporting others to create it as well.
He did it by teaching others to find their voice and their confidence.
And he did it even when it was hard, and when he faced barriers as an immigrant, as a person of Asian descent, as a person of Chinese descent, as a person who learned English over the age of 30, as a person with little money.
But my father knew who he was and what he stood for. He knew the power that he had to accept and love others, and what a difference that would make.“

I look forward to continuing the conversation about how we can all do better at turning exclusion into inclusion over the course of the next nine months while this exhibit is on display, and beyond.

The time has come for us to proudly announce the next exhibit for Chen Lok Lee. With deep gratitude to the University of Pennsylvania, the Sachs Program for Arts Innovation, and Penn Live Arts, I cannot wait for this show to go live on Thursday, September 15, 2022. Please plan to join us for a special reception where I will likely be crying my eyes out with joy, love and inspiration. An artist talk is being planned for the spring.

Excluded/Inclusion:
The Work of Chen Lok Lee 

The Art Lounge at the Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts

University of Pennsylvania
3680 Walnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104

September 2022 – May 2023
Opening Reception – Thursday, September 15 from 5 – 7pm

A political refugee who swam to Hong Kong to escape Chinese political persecution, Chen Lok Lee’s story is one of survival and resilience. Lee overcame the struggles of immigration to succeed as a beloved and respected artist, educator and master printmaker in Philadelphia. 

The 18 prints, watercolors and lithographs in “Excluded/Inclusion: The Work of Chen Lok Lee” show the journey of his life and art on three continents, and demonstrate the broad range of his skillset and artistic style. It is a demonstration of work that shows the human spirit of determination, personal agency and the power of choice to survive. 

Excluded/Inclusion: The Work of Chen Lok Lee is the third exhibition to be featured in the Annenberg Center’s Arts Lounge, a new hub for the creative community at Penn and part of a $2M renovation of the Annenberg Center’s public spaces made possible by a generous gift from alumni Keith and Kathy Sachs.

Please register here to join us.

If I could do it all over again, I would go back in time and attend a women’s college for my undergraduate education. Chen Lok Lee, my late father, spent a majority of his teaching career as a tenured full professor at Moore College of Art and Design in Philadelphia, the nation’s oldest and only visual arts college for women. I didn’t understand the value of women-only institutions then, but I do now — another way that my father inspired me. I made the decision to attend Bryn Mawr College’s Graduate School of Social Work and Social Research over 15 years ago. While the graduate school admits more than just women, the school was still part of a rich history of the College, and I wanted to be a part of that legacy. Recently, I was invited to join the Board of Advisors to the Graduate School of Social Work and Social Research, another great honor. I am so grateful that the alumnae association was interested enough in the Chen Lok Lee Legacy Project to feature it online and in print in the most recent magazine.

It’s an honor of my lifetime to represent the Chen Lok Lee Legacy Project, and to continue to share his goodness with the world that he left behind. While a college student at Tufts University, my father visited me and was a guest lecturer for a Chinese painting demonstration that I helped to organize in honor of Asian Pacific American Heritage month. I was so thrilled to learn that his work is still gracing the rooms of the Asian American Center on campus. Read the full story here to understand how I am weaving together my family’s Asian American identities to develop my career and the Chen Lok Lee Legacy Project. My full gratitude goes to all of my mentors, professors and dear friends at Tufts University who encouraged me to lean into my heritage and make a change for our communities. As a professor, my father knew how important it was to plant the seeds in students, and then help to nourish them so that they can grow up to be the best versions of themselves. He never hesitated to share his expertise when I asked him to come and teach the students on my campus. He was always willing and generous with his knowledge and time. I hope that all of the students who have the benefit of enjoying his art work on campus will be strengthened and nourished.

On May 10, 2022, I was proud and grateful for the opportunity to represent the Chen Lok Lee Legacy Project at the Sachs Program for Arts Innovation 2022 Grantee Awards Celebration. It was lovely to be in person with the other 2020 and 2021 grantees. Congratulations to this year’s winners!

I believe that arts can be used as a vehicle for social change. We are so grateful for the initial investment and support that we received to “kick start” the Chen Lok Lee Legacy Project. Sachs’ recognition of our vision, commitment and potential has been instrumental to us being able to take the project even further.

Lastly, I am glad to be in alignment with our grantor that is ensuring that diversity, equity, inclusion and anti-racism is centered in their fund and grantmaking process. We need more of this in the arts communities and institutions. Thank you Sachs for leading the way!

This past school year, I had an amazing time speaking to the entire 5th grade class from Friends Select School about Chen Lok Lee, his life as an immigrant, and his work as an artist. They got to tour the space at the Crane Community Center and engage in conversation with me on printmaking, painting, migration and identity. They had thoughtful observations, comments and questions.

Chen Lok Lee was an educator first and foremost, and he loved to see people tap into their own brand of creativity, and most importantly reach their potential. It means so much to me that I could share his story and work, and inspire the next generation of artists and creative thinkers.

“When we lose someone we love, we don’t learn how to live without them. We learn how to live with the love they left behind.”

There were the words that comforted me greatly after Chen Lok Lee, my father, passed away at the end of 2020. Since then, I have sat with, handled, packed, admired, held and now shared his work with the world. The love that he left behind exists in the form of his artwork. His energy can be felt in the presence of the artwork – love, warmth, excitement, longing, strength, power, grief, and hope. I certainly felt so much love on Friday, September 17, as we opened Building Bridges, Breaking Barriers, the inaugural posthumous exhibit for Chen Lok Lee. ❤

I extend my deepest appreciation to the beautiful 50 souls who joined us last Friday evening for what was a beautiful, touching and memorable evening for me and my family. I once again thank our key partners: AARP PA, Sachs Program for Arts Innovation at the University of Pennsylvania, the Office of Immigrant Affairs for the City of Philadelphia, the Mayor’s Commission on Asian Pacific American Affairs and the Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation.

Chen Lok Lee’s spirit has been released to the world! With the opening of the exhibition, we now have the privilege of sharing his art, life story and energy with the world for all to benefit from. In case you missed our reception, and still want to see the show, Chen Lok Lee’s work will be on display at the Crane Community Center  at 1001 Vine Street in Chinatown through the end of 2021. You can find the recording of the program here. 

As I announced at the reception, I founded the Chen Lok Lee Legacy Project to preserve, archive and share the works of Chen Lok Lee, pioneering Chinese immigrant artist and educator, and to inspire the next generation of immigrant artists. I recognize that this project is not a short-term project, but a project that I will be working on throughout MY lifetime. But I count every step forward as a victory. For example, my father can now be found on Wikipedia! 

I invite you to be part of the journey with me. If you were inspired at all by the exhibit and his story, consider taking action in the following ways:

• Share about Chen Lok Lee to your friends, community members, family, colleagues, and encourage them to see the show!
• Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chenlokleeartist/
• Consider making a gift of any size through our GoFundMe Campaign  
• Help us connect with art galleries and progressive and inclusive art institutions that value the contributions of diverse artists

Lastly, for those who have expressed interest in purchasing art, please watch our Instagram page for future opportunities when we do release editions for sale. Sales of art is also another way that we can keep the project going, so I appreciate the interest and support. Thank you, and wishing you and your loved ones a grounding and calming fall season ahead.

XO,
Romana

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It was an honor of a lifetime to meet with and get to know the work of Shannon Lee this week. As the CEO of the Bruce Lee Family Companies and the Chair of the Bruce Lee Foundation, she’s got an important role to play in carrying out her father’s powerful and beautiful legacy. She came to Philadelphia to meet with students who participated in their foundation’s signature program, Camp Bruce Lee, hosted by the Asian Arts Initiative. My daughter was fortunate enough to take part in it. She learned and experienced so much. I was so moved to hear Shannon’s personal stories about her own journey through grief as she mourned the loss of her father and brother through most of her life, but the ways that she continues to be nourished by her father’s philosophies, teachings and memories. This resonates with me so much.

We gifted her with one of Chen Lok Lee’s lithographs to take home with her to Los Angeles. From one Lee Family to another Lee Family. ❤🙏

Featured above:

Chen Lok Lee. The Revolution is Over. 17 x 23″. Color lithograph. C1988.

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My favorite time of the week is when I am at work taking care of Chen Lok Lee’s — my father’s — works on paper. Today we took a look at the space where we will host the inaugural exhibit for his work this fall, and also packed additional watercolors in archival folios for protection. I am super excited to share his work with our community of friends, family and supporters. See you soon and stay tuned for details 😘

Grateful to the Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation for their unwavering support for me and our family. ❤❤❤

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It’s been a minute since Sara Havekotte and I were in the “studio”. Today’s goal was to archive and properly preserve Chen Lok Lee’s Chinese watercolors to protect them for years to come.

Grateful to the Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation for allowing us to use space at the Crane Community Center in Philadelphia’s Chinatown to work today.

After years of developing his expertise in western abstract expressionism and printmaking, Chen Lee, my father, returned to the practice of Chinese painting and calligraphy. He taught to many Chinese American and non-Chinese students, including Stewart Joon Thomas who is practitioner today, and served as a cultural bridge builder.

While at the brand new community center today, I was reflecting on the historical importance of what we are doing to preserve the art and cultural practices of Chinese painting. New + old. I’m humbled to be in this role. ❤🙏

As a professor at Moore College of Art and Design, Chen Lee often brought in visiting artists to the studio as part of his teaching methodology. He established this program and received funding from the National Endowment of the Arts. Featured here is a lithograph by Italian artist Itslo Scanga entitled Cythe. My father printed this edition of lithographs in collaboration with Mr. Scanga.

This print is one of the many gifted works that is part of the Chen Lok Lee Archive and Collection that I now manage. This one is special because it was printed three months after I was born, and this Artist’s Proof was dedicated to me. (See bottom lefthand corner). Thank you, Itslo!

We’re thrilled to announce that the Sachs Program for Art Innovation at the University of Pennsylvania awarded us a seed grant to research, archive, and present the work of seminal artist, educator, and immigrant Chen Lok Lee. The funds are a critical support to help us get through the next phase of our work, and get us closer and closer to reaching our immediate next goal – to host an exhibition of Chen Lok Lee’s work this fall in Philadelphia. Stay tuned, and many thanks to our partners at Sachs! Read the full story here.

 

June 20 was World Refugee Day. I had the honor of delivering remarks at Philadelphia’s World Refugee Day celebration. Of course I talked about Chen Lok Lee, my dear father.

The first image is a Chen Lok Lee lithograph that I have hanging in my bedroom. The more I had looked at this lithograph, the more I realized it told a story that he could not tell.

The person in the lower left hand corner has an inner tube over his shoulders. This reminds of the story he used to tell us about how he swam out of China with nothing but an inner tube.

#celebrateimmigrants #worldrefugeeday2021

Here’s the text from my speech:

Good afternoon to all of our guests, friends, neighbors, and leaders who have come together today to celebrate World Refugee Day. As we know, World Refugee Day is designed to shed light on the plight of refugees around the world, and to call for the protection of their human rights.

Congratulations to the Philadelphia Regional Refugee Providers’ Collaborative on faithfully planning such a thoughtful event. The Office of Immigrant Affairs is always pleased to be part of these efforts, and is proud to come together with all of you today to acknowledge our refugee families and friends who have put down roots here in Philadelphia.

I also want to acknowledge that today is Father’s Day, so first I want to take a moment to shout out all of the fathers and father-figures in the crowd, and all of the mothers that have stood in place for fathers. I acknowledge and hold space for those who have lost fathers, or who have been separated from their fathers.

I’m one of those people.

You see, the journey of a refugee is something I know very well, because my father was one himself. He endured hardship and loss after fleeing a politically turbulent China over 60 years ago – he left family behind, and never saw his parents again. He never returned to China. He lived in the United States until passed away due to COVID-19 at the end of last year.

But this is not the only thing I want you to know about my father – the refugee.

In between the beginning and the end of his refugee journey was so much life and inspiration. He came to the United States in 1959 and pursued his passion of becoming an artist. He succeeded in his goals, and eventually became a professor of printmaking at Moore College of Art and Design, right here in Philadelphia where he taught for more than 20 years, impacting the lives of many.

And I am here today, as a proud public servant for the City of Philadelphia, because of the resiliency and fortitude of my refugee father. He showed me the way of pursuing your passion, standing up for your values and beliefs and making a difference along the way.

So yes, for those of us who know the refugee experience, we have grief and generational trauma, but at the same time, I know we also hold joy. Look around here in this park. There is so much joy. So many stories of overcoming and making something out of nothing. Grief and joy – can they co-exist? I contend that they do, especially in this refugee journey.

So THANK YOU for allowing me to share my story with you all, and to be part of this special day to showcase the wonderful contributions of each and every culture represented here today and your own powerful stories.

We are all packed and ready to go — it’s move out day!

Phase 1 of the project is complete. For the last four months, Sara Havekotte  and I have been going into the Asian Arts Initiative almost every weekend to catalogue, organize and safely pack/archive Chen Lok Lee’s collection of more than 180 pieces of work (including 20 gifted works from his artist friends and colleagues). I am immensely grateful to Sara for patiently and masterfully leading the way!

Many thanks to Asian Arts Initiative for donating studio space in their fabulous building to us. We could not have gotten this far without your support and belief in me and the project. ❤❤❤

“A life well lived”. – Paola Morsiani, executive director of the Brodsky Center at PAFA, on Chen Lee’s works

Our executive sponsor Paola Morsiani, Executive Director of the Brodsky Center at PAFA came to visit with us today to view Chen Lok Lee’s work and the progress we were making on packing and archiving the work.

Next steps? Finding homes for his 180 pieces where they will be seen, valued and loved, and putting my father’s life’s work into the history books.

 

As I prepare to teach in-person art classes for the first time in over a year, I am thinking about Chen as a teacher.

For those of us who were his long term students, we learned the old way. A group of us gathered every week at a studio or at a student’s home. Chen would give painting demonstrations, tell stories, discuss philosophy and give us feedback on our work. He was fully engaged in every moment: looking thoughtfully at the paper before embarking on the painting, pausing before adding a brush stroke, sitting back and declaring the painting finished. Nothing felt as if it was being done by rote or was a repetition of the past. Chen was fully present, delightfully present, absolutely enchanted by what was happening in the moment. That was the element that kept me engaged.

But as students we had to rely on ourselves to be observant, to catch the way Chen was using the brush, to come to an understanding of how to create a composition, how to use space and tone and color and form. That is the old way of teaching. The teacher does. The students catch on to the best of their ability.

I am working with Chen in the printmaking studio. It is summer time. The sun is pouring through the tall south facing windows. We’re inking up the lithography stone and cranking it through the press. It is hard work. Sweat is pouring down our faces. It is also very technical work. Hot or not, you have to pay attention.

Chen looks across the press at me. “Got to be crazy!” he remarks.

I get it. Being an artist sometimes makes no sense. But there was a logic to how Chen was teaching me. Chen was fully engaged in the process of creating the print. He would tell me what to do but not how to do it: grind the stone, get it over here, get the artist to draw tomorrow, buff it down, roll it up, less ink, more water, quick, do it now!

We are working on a stone one day and have just gotten to a crucial step. Chen reaches in his pocket and hands me a dollar bill. There is a diner around the corner called St. George’s.

“Get me a coffee,” Chen says.

“You’ll do the critical step while I’m gone,” I reply.

“No, no, get a coffee.” Chen insists. I go. I come back.

“You did it while I was gone!” I protest.

“Quick, no time. Get the roller, got to ink it up.”

That’s how it worked: I had to be super observant to figure out every detail of lithography, and it is a highly complex and exacting process with lots of details.

A few weeks later I’m working on a stone and I get to the same step where Chen sent me out for coffee. I apply the acid, I wait the proper amount of time. I buff the stone and remove the drawing material. Time to roll up.

“Hey,” Chen drawls the word out. “You been watching too carefully. Here, write this down.”

Now that he sees that I’ve observed carefully, no doubt tried it several times on my own, worked it out for myself, now Chen wants to give me all the meticulous details.

That’s the old way.

I know that Chen had to figure out how to teach when it was with a class full of students, when they were only in the studio for set periods of time, when there was a semester deadline, when the students had an expectation that a certain number of skills were going to be learned in exchange for tuition paid to the school.

Anyone who teaches in this day and age grapples with this issue. It doesn’t matter where we are in the world or what the subject matter. How much do we adapt our teaching and in what way?

Do we have a lesson plan and course objectives?

Do we tell the students at the beginning of each class what they will be learning and repeat at the end of class what they were just taught?

Will students still own the knowledge as fully as when they had to put more effort into figuring out what it was that even needed to be learned?

Some things can be taught by formula, but what about the things that are more complex, or intangible or that require the unique input of the student?

The composition of the painting “Birds in Branches” by Chen Lok Lee, shown at the top of this post, cannot easily be taught by formula!

Chen adapted some of his teaching methods for the students he taught at Moore College of Art. I still ponder what is the best way to teach, but I have certainly made adaptations; I don’t teach only the old way.

Regardless of the manner of teaching, I take fully to heart Chen’s statement: “I know I am a good teacher, because each of my students’ art is completely different.”

Joon Thomas | Contact me or visit my website

This watercolor is one of my favorite finds in my father’s collection of works.

My first impression is that it depicts the Hong Kong of the 1950s, the time when my father was living there and trying to figure out if he would ever be able to return to China. He decided to keep moving forward, eventually applying to come to the United States under the U.S. Refugee Program in 1959. He escaped the Cultural Revolution. So much of his work is tied to his journey to find cultural freedom, the beginning of which is tied to him leaving China for Hong Kong.

He never really spoke about the time he spent there, so I am glad we have these watercolors to tell us what he saw and experienced during that time.

P.S. I cut my finger with an Exacto blade while trying to make a portfolio for this one. 😅

Purple, red, yellow and blue.

That’s the order of the colors used to print this lithograph.

Chen Lok Lee, Untitled. Color Lithograph. 1991. 23/100. Signed. Produced at  Brandywine Workshop.

When the colors are extracted and printed separately, what do you see?

And what do you see when they are put together?

Available at Brandywine Press, Philadelphia, PA.

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The original selfie took so much more care and time than our selfies of today.

A few years ago, I found a tube of rolled up photos in the corner of my father Chen Lee’s studio. What I unrolled was a series of self-portraits of my father, likely taken by him, although I can’t confirm. I say this because he was also really knowledgeable in photography as a technical art form, and collected and used several high-end cameras to aid him in his work as an artist during his years in New York City (1959 – 1966).

Now the photos are framed and will he a part of any future exhibit this fall.

Image 2: Chen Lok Lee, Untitled. Oil on canvas. 43″ x 32.5″

Image 3: Daughter, Romana, stands with the self-portrait of Chen Lee’s oil painting on canvas.

Before and After.

Yesterday, we did “surgery” on a handful of older watercolors by Chen Lok Lee whose mounting paper had deteriorated. This was a very delicate process that involved me and Project Assistant Sara Havekotte making clean and exact cuts along the edges of the paper. It was a two person job for sure.

The effects of getting rid of excess paper arpund the edges allowed the images to come to life.

Next steps? Building an archival folio for acid-free storage or preparing this one for framing. Haven’t decided just yet. Would you like to see this one in a show?

When I first found this set of 15 watercolors in the Chen Lok Lee collection (only three featured here), I was very curious. I had never seen them, and wasn’t even sure they were made by my father. They’re so different from what I knew of him to create. The more I observed them, I found that they were just as beautiful as what he ended up prolifically creating later in his career.

Today, we photographed them, took measurements and entered them into the digital catalog. It takes me to a window in his life when I didn’t know him (Italy, 1968), and of course, I wish he were here to talk about them with me.

In 1967, Chen Lok Lee left everything behind in New York City and headed for Rome where he studied at the Rome Academy and later earned his MFA from Tyler School of Art in Rome. His life and career spanned three continents, and it is incredibly interesting to watch the influence of his surroundings on what he created, the styles he practiced and the way they influenced his future works of art on paper and principals of life.