Lots of Women

Lots of Women

COVER | Chelsea Ryoko Wong

Lots of Women, 2018. (Gouache, watercolor, and colored pencil on paper). Chelsea Ryoko Wong is a San Francisco artist who has lived and worked in the Mission district for over a decade. Wong explores contemporary culture and life through a variety of themes, from literature to local politics, spirituality, and travel. Her work is inspired by community and connectedness, influenced by her background growing up in a mixed-race, nontraditional Asian-American family. By combining delicate techniques of watercolor and gouache, alongside the heavier use of colored pencil, Wong presents scenes that are busy, chaotic, and colorful, drawing energy from the urban landscape onto the paper. Her work has been praised as vibrant, enigmatic, and full of curiosity, as well as fiercely feminist and with a slyly humorous bent. Wong began her studies at Parsons School of Design (New York, N.Y.), and finished at California College of the Arts with a B.A. in printmaking in 2010. She is the first recipient of the Hamaguchi Emerging Artists Fellowship award at Kala in Berkeley. Wong’s work can be seen in two upcoming solo exhibitions: Feb. 2, 6-9 p.m. Legion Shop, San Francisco; and March 7, Zinc Contemporary, Seattle, Wash. More of her work can be seen at www.ChelseaWong.com.

Faces of the East Bay