about


Christina Kwan is an Atlanta-based artist known for her abstract works on paper and large scale murals. Originally from South Florida, Kwan moved to Atlanta in 2010 after graduating from University of Florida with a BFA in Drawing. A decade and many different career paths later, the work she creates is an ongoing exploration of her Asian-American identity and the internal struggle of feeling incomplete or existing in-between. Kwan's work has been shown in a variety of commercial galleries and academic institutions while her murals span all across Metro Atlanta in places such as Emory University, Marietta Square, and Microsoft's Atlantic Yards. Her compositions feature bold and calligraphic brush strokes inspired by her East Asian heritage, acting as a yearning for permanence and a search for ancestral ties.

We exist in-between identities, in-between states both physical and unseen… blooming, falling apart, and starting the cycle over again. The work I create is a study in conscious and unconscious impulses and how they reflect a state of identity that is fluid and impossible to hold onto. I mainly use acrylic ink – pouring, mixing, washing – as I alternate between stages of steady meditation and frenetic mark-making. In the past, I used flowers as a starting point to later abstract into an exquisitely tense oblivion. Now, I start with the oblivion and see what forms reveal themselves from within.

There is an East Asian heritage that permeates my work, through the calligraphic strokes and references to natural landscapes. This influence was never a conscious decision. On the contrary, I was raised to prioritize my Western-born identity as a pathway to success and financial stability, the American Dream. I find myself being ever more drawn to the aesthetic sensibilities of my ancestors even though their legacies remain a mystery to me. My mark holds the energy of their lineage and the unnerving feeling that a filial connection is possibly forever lost. Each piece is a part of the psychological journey, an effort to map out a sense of self that is fully realized.

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Exhibitions

2022

13th Annual Drawing Discourse Juried Exhibition, UNC Asheville, Asheville NC

The Harding Art Show, Nashville TN

2021

The Four Elements, Marietta Cobb Museum of Art, Marietta GA

Multitudes, Free Market Art Gallery, Atlanta GA

Overexposed, The Visionary Projects, New York NY

2020

CreateHer, Kai Lin Art, Atlanta GA

33rd Annual McNeese National Works on Paper Juried Exhibition, Lake Charles LA

2019

FamilyHood ATL, Octane Westside, Atlanta GA

Yellow, ATHICA, Juried exhibition, Athens GA

Paint Like A Girl, Facet Gallery, Atlanta GA

Bloom, Facet Gallery, Atlanta GA

The New South IV, Kai Lin Art, Atlanta GA

Gathered IV, MOCA GA, Juried exhibition, Atlanta GA

New Year New Art, Facet Gallery, Atlanta GA

2018

Infinite, Kai Lin Art, Atlanta GA

A Sense of Place, Juried Exhibition, Gertrude Herbert Institute, Augusta GA

Ink Painting and Sumi-E, Juried Exhibition, Niza Knoll Gallery, Denver CO

Immersed In Abstraction, The Ellington-White Contemporary, Fayetteville NC

Emerging Artist Show, Anne Irwin Fine Art, Atlanta GA

The New South III, Kai Lin Art, Atlanta GA

2016

Artemis, Mindzai Gallery, Atlanta GA

2014

Fashion Flora, Octane Coffee Gallery, Atlanta GA

2010

Left Lovingly, WARPhaus, Gainesville FL

2008

The Last Bear in Ireland, Burren College of Art, Ballyvaughan Ireland

Tideswept and Taken Away, Reitz Union, Gainesville FL

 

Murals + Projects

Talat Market, Summerhill, Atlanta GA

Forward Warrior Murals, Cabbagetown, Atlanta GA

Marietta Square M2R Trailfest, Marietta GA

Neva Opet, Scottdale GA

The Sentimentalist, Atlanta GA

Whiskey Bird, Atlanta GA

 

Collections

Emory University, Atlanta GA

McNeese State University, Lake Charles GA

Fulton County Public Libraries, Atlanta GA

Hartsfield-Jackson Intl Airport, Atlanta GA

The Hotel at Avalon, Alpharetta GA

Rosewood Baha Mar, Nassau, Bahamas

Solis Suwanee Town Center, Suwanee GA

Turnberry Isles, Miami FL

Westin St Francis, San Francisco CA

Westin Maui Resort & Spa, Ka'anapali HI

 

Press

Where to shop, Atlanta Magazine, October 2018

Figure & Ground ATL, August 2018

Q&A, CommonCreativ, July 2018

First Look: Snackboxe Bistro, March 2018

VoyageATL, March 2018

 

 

[ images by Sawyer Baird Photo ]