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ling-wen tsai bio/resume Ling-Wen Tsai was born in Taiwan and lived there for the first 25 years of her life. She currently lives and works in Portland, Maine, USA. The migratory and transient nature of her existence has influenced her way of living, thinking, and working. When an individual's linguistic and sociological environment is radically altered, a different set of values, expectations, and logic emerges. One's sense of the "norm" and the "absolute" are challenged. These experiences have liberated her from the expectation of Eastern Culture and the assumption of Western Culture. Tsai's early work was driven by a desire to express the feelings of displacement that have followed her from Taiwan to the United States. This search for a sense of belonging became the driving force behind her creative process. In recent years, her work has evolved from a direct expressive language to a more subtle, abstract, and minimalistic approach. While still remaining true to who she is as an individual, Tsai has developed an artistic approach that draws the viewers into her world while still allowing space for their self-reflection. Tsai's work has taken the form of painting, installation, performance art, photography, and video. While embracing these different mediums, she strives to free them from their preconceived definitions. The visual principles and knowledge that she has accrued through experimentation have become a source of guidance for her creative process. She has begun to utilize all these skills to form new cohesive experiences that extend beyond conventional classification. In recent years she has integrated visual, sound/music, and body/movement into her artistic practices, and has collaborated on a regular basis, with musicians, composers and sound artists such as, Lior Navok, Tracey Cockrell, George Winston, ISQ (Improvisational String Quartet), Nathan Kolosko, and Carl Dimow. EDUCATION 2000 MFA Sculpture, Washington University, St. Louis (Honors) 1997 BA Studio Art, Webster University, St. Louis (Honors) 1993 BS Nursing, Chung-Shan Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan EXHIBITIONS/PERFORMANCES/SCREENINGS 2009 ling-wen tsai: liminal landscapes, Bowdoin College Museum of Art, Brunswick, Maine (catalogue) 2009 ling-wen tsai, selections from "water & wind," Media Gallery, Bowdoin College Museum of Art, Brunswick, Maine 2009 New Work: Ling-Wen Tsai, Whitney Artworks, Portland, Maine 2009 one/another (video collaboration with Deborah Wing-Sproul); Festival Images Contre Nature, Video Library, Marseilles, France 2009 overlap (performance collaboration with Deborah Wing-Sproul); The Month of May/ 179 Canal Street, New York, New York 2009 one/another (video collaboration with Deborah Wing-Sproul); TransCultural Exchange: Here There and Everywhere, Anticipating the Art of the Future, Tampopo Art Space, Tainan, Taiwain, and SPACE Gallery, Portland, Maine, USA (catalogue) 2009 17 Days (video series), CEPA Gallery, Buffalo, New York 2009 17 Days (video series), University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia 2009 The Portland Paper Project, Whitney Art Works, Portland, Maine 2008 Merhaba Baghdad, Qasim Sabti Gallery, Karada, Baghdad, Iraq 2008 The Crossing of Time and Environment (outdoor micro-installation exhibition), Toshei Village, Tainan, Taiwan (catalogue) 2008 The Crossing of Time and Environment (indoor documentation exhibition), Tainan University of Technology, Tainan, Taiwan (catalogue) 2008 17 Days (video series), Alfred State College, Alfred, New York 2008 Ruminant, Institute of Contemporary Art at Maine College of Art, Portland, Maine (catalogue) 2008 17 Days (video series), Center for the Arts, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York 2008 17 Days (video series), Richmond Center for Visual Arts, The Gwen Frostic School of Art at Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Michigan 2007 SPLIT, drawing room, Portland, Maine 2007 W! [WATER] International Video Art Event, W! Space, Acquaviva delle Fonti, Bari, Italy 2007 Faculty Exhibition, Institute of Contemporary Art at Maine College of Art, Portland, Maine 2007 Portland Museum of Art Biennial, Portland, Maine (catalogue) 2007 Time Out, Center for Maine Contemporary Art, Rockport, Maine 2007 Winter Screening, Heaven Gallery, Chicago, Illinois 2007 Winter Screening, The Green Gallery, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 2007 003 Portland Film and Video Artist Collective: One Take Super 8 Screening, Zero Station, Portland, Maine 2007 The Old Photo Box (live visual reflections to the piano concert The Old Photo Box: 20 solo piano pieces by composer Lior Navok), Goethe-Institute Boston 2007 Lines-I: Vermillion Performance Series, Drawing Room, Portland, Maine 2007 Lines-II, SPACE Gallery, Portland, Maine 2007 PFVAC+SPACE: New Projections+Installations, SPACE Gallery, Portland, Maine 2006 FRAME: International Video Festival, Rivoli Teatro Municipal/ESAP/Escola das Artes--Porto, Portugal 2006 Opening, Drawing Room, Portland, Maine 2006 001 Film/Video Screening, Portland Film and Video Artists Collective, Zero Station, Portland, Maine 2006 MECA: Connections, George Marshall Store Gallery, York, Maine 2005 Metamorphosis of Meditation (a collaborative performance with ISQ: Improvisational String Quartet, an evening of improvised music & visual art), Institute of Contemporary Art, Maine College of Art, Portland, Maine 2005 Faculty Show, Institute of Contemporary Art, Maine College of Art, Portland, Maine 2004 New Gallery Concert Series (installation & performance), Community Music Center of Boston, Boston, Massachusetts 2004 George Winston Solo Piano Concert (installation), First Parish Church, Portland, Maine 2004 Cassandra Project: Performance Festival, Portland Performing Arts Center, Portland, Maine 2004 Invocation: Fly (a performance for the 93rd Maine College of Art Commencement), Merrill Auditorium, Portland, Maine 2004 Bird, Open Press Ltd, Denver, Colorado 2004 Touch, The Space Gallery, Portland, Maine 2003 The place, Cité Internationale des Arts, Paris, France 2003 Strips, Plum Gallery, Portland, Maine 2003 Zero Portfolio II, Zero Station, Portland, Maine 2002 Zero Portfolio I, Zero Station, Portland, Maine 2002 A Taste of Asia, Maine Art Gallery, Wiscasset, Maine 2002 International Exhibition of Women's Art, SOHO20 Chelsea Gallery, New York City 2002 Faculty Show, Institute of Contemporary Art, Maine College of Art, Portland, Maine 2002 Summer Faculty Show, York Library, York, Maine 2002 Terrain: Sculpture Today, Institute of Contemporary Art, Maine College of Art, Portland, Maine 2001 Outside The Box, IN/FORM Gallery, St. Louis, Missouri 2001 CounterParts, Three Sinks Gallery, St. Louis, Missouri (two-person) 2000 MOAK 4 State Regional, Springfield Art Museum, Springfield, Missouri (catalogue) 2000 Critical Mass: One Night Stand, Crowe T. Brooks Gallery, St. Louis Art Faculty Exhibition, Art Gallery, St. Louis Community College at Florissant Valley, St. Louis, Missouri 2000 Exposure 3: Aspects of Being, Cecille R. Hunt Gallery, Webster University, St. Louis, Missouri 2000 Master of Fine Art Exhibition, Washington University Gallery of Art, Steinberg Hall, St. Louis, Missouri 2000 GMWC Annual Group Show, Gallery Michael Williamses' Closet, St. Louis, Missouri 2000 Phenomenal Woman 2000, Bixby Gallery, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri 2000 East Meets West, St. Louis Artists' Guild, St. Louis, Missouri 2000 Nadadada: Performance Art Festival, Contemporary Art Museum, St. Louis, Missouri 1999 Migration, The MacLennan Gallery of Asian Art, St. Louis, Missouri (solo) 1999 Critical Mass: One Night Stand, East Bank Studio, St. Louis, Missouri 1999 Regional VI, ARC Gallery, Chicago, Illinois 1999 19 Artists, A.D. Brown Building, St. Louis, Missouri 1998 Departure, Baldwin Gallery, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri (solo) 1997 Island Girl: Learning to Swim, Midtown Art Center, St. Louis, Missouri (solo) 1997 BA Exhibition, Cecille R. Hunt Gallery, Webster University, St. Louis, Missouri 1996 1996 Tainan Phenomena, Tainan, Taiwan (catalogue) PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE 2007-present Associate Professor of Sculpture and New Media, Maine College of Art, Portland, Maine 2001-2007 Assistant Professor of Sculpture and New Media, Maine College of Art, Portland, Maine 2004-present MFA Non-Residency Studio Instructor, Maine College of Art, Portland, Maine 2006-2007 Sculpture Department Chair, Maine College of Art, Portland, Maine 2006 Founding Member of Portland Film and Video Artists Collective 2001 Set Design Supervisor, Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, Terry M. Fischer Theatre at St. Louis Community College at Florissant Valley, St. Louis, Missouri 2000-2001 Art Instructor, Sculpture, 3-D Design, 2-D Design, Sculpture Lab Supervisor, St. Louis Community College at Florissant Valley, St. Louis, Missouri 2000 Artist Assistant, Charles Simonds, New York City 2000 Teaching Assistant, Time Arts, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri 1996-2000 Art Instructor, St. Louis Chinese Language School, St. Louis, Missouri 1999 Teaching Assistant, Drawing, 2-D Design, Sculpture, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri 1998 Teaching Assistant, 3-D Design, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri 1997 Internship, St. Louis Gallery Association, St. Louis, Missouri (assistant of Jennifer Donavon, Executive Director) 1997 Gallery Assistant, Cecille R. Hunt Gallery, Webster University, St. Louis, Missouri 1997 Artist Assistant, Johann Feilacher, sculpture project at Laumeier Sculpture Park, St. Louis, Missouri 1996 Art Editor, Chinese Liberty Journal, St. Louis, Missouri 1995 Art Editor, Wen-Ho Journal, Tainan, Taiwan 1993-95 Art Instructor, Yanagi Studio, Tainan, Taiwan GRANTS/HONORS/AWARDS 2009 Faculty Development Grant, Maine College of Art, Portland, Maine 2008 Selected Studio Visit by Jen Mergel, associate curator at ICA Boston, Massachusetts 2008 Co-Curator and Speaker, The Crossing of Time and Environment (exhibition and conference), Tainan University of Technology, Tainan, Taiwan 2008 Co-Curator, 007: Acts & Actions (thirteen works in video exploring moving image duration), Zero Station, Portland, Maine 2008 Selected Studio Visit by Raechell Smith, director/curator of H&R Block Artspace, Kansas City Art Institute, Kansas, Missouri 2006 Faculty Development Grant, Maine College of Art, Portland, Maine 2005 Faculty Development Grant, Maine College of Art, Portland, Maine 2003 Artist-in-Residence, Cité Internationale des Arts, Paris, France 2003 Faculty Development Grant, Maine College of Art, Portland, Maine 2003 Panelist, Memory, Place, and Space, Southern Humanities Council Conference, Athens, Georgia 2001 Selected Studio Visit, Beate Kemfert, German critic, curator and co-owner of Beetz & Kemfert Kunstberatung 2001 Selected Studio Visit, Susan Snodgrass, critic, curator and editor for Art in America 1999 Invited Panelist, Contemporary Sculpture: Figure, Body, Stand-in, a panel discussion moderated by curator Mel Watkin, Contemporary Art Museum, St. Louis, Missouri 1999 Selected Studio Visit, Okwui Enwezor, critic and curator, Artistic Director of Documenta XI, 2002, in Kassel Germany, adjunct curator of Contemporary Art at the Art Institute of Chicago 1999 Selected Studio Visit, Sue Spaid, critic and curator at Contemporary Arts Center in Cincinnati, Ohio 1999 International Student Merit Scholarship, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri 1999 Selected Studio Visit, Michael Auping, co-curator of Whitney Biennial, curator of Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Texas 1999 Wahlert Scholarship, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri 1999 School of Art Scholarship, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri 1998 School of Art Scholarship, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri 1997 Cecille R. Hunt Memorial Award, Webster University, St. Louis, Missouri 1995 The Excellent Teaching Skill in Arts and Craft, Tainan Government, Taiwan, R.O.C. LECTURES/TALKS 2009 Artist Lecture (with Deborah Wing-Sproul), one/another collaborations, UMVA: Union of Maine Visual Artists, Warren Memorial Library, Westbrook, Maine 2008 Guess Speaker, The Crossing of Time and Environment (exhibition and conference), Tainan University of Technology, Tainan, Taiwan 2008 Artist Lecture, Ruminant, the Institute of Contemporary Art at Maine College of Art, Portland, Maine 2007 Artist Talk, Meet the Biennial Artists, Portland Museum of Art, Portland, Maine 2007 Artist Talk, Faculty Exhibition, Institute of Contemporary Art at Maine College of Art, Portland, Maine 2005 Artist Talk, Faculty Exhibition, Institute of Contemporary Art at Maine College of Art, Portland, Maine 2002 Artist Talk, Terrain: Sculpture Today, Institute of Contemporary Art at Maine College of Art, Portland, Maine 2002 Artist Talk, Faculty Exhibition, Institute of Contemporary Art at Maine College of Art, Portland, Maine 1999 Invited Panelist, Contemporary Sculpture: Figure, Body, Stand-in, a panel discussion moderated by curator Mel Watkin, Contemporary Art Museum, St. Louis, Missouri 1999 Artist Talk, Migration, The MacLennan Gallery of Asian Art, St. Louis, Missouri BIBLIOGRAPHY 2009 Caley Bryce Ostrander, "Thinking Outside the Frame," Portland Magazine, September 2009 Avery Yale Kamila, "Reflected Landscape," The Maine Switch, July 23-August 5 2009 Diana Tuite, "ling-wen tsai: liminal landscapes," Bowdoin College Museum of Art, Summer 2009 Elena Sarni, "Deborah Wing-Sproul & Ling-Wen Tsai @ SPACE," Big Red & Shiny, March 15 2008 Nadine Wasserman, "Gimme Shelter," Ruminant, ICA at Maine College of Art, Fall 2008 Elena Sarni, "Ruminant," artscope, September/October 2007 Ian Paige, "Three Pieces, Three Places," The Portland Phoenix, December 7 2007 Andrew Colvin, "Inspiration in All Its Forms at Borestone--Water Bugs," Habitat: Journal of Maine Audubon, Fall 2007 Ian Paige, "Moving Stillness," The Portland Phoenix, September 7 2007 Avery Yale Kamila, "Motion in View," The Maine Switch, September 20-26 2004 Gan Xu, "Globalization of Conceptual Art," Conceptual Art, People's Fine Art publisher, Beijing, China 2002 Victoria Gannon, "Performance art--huh? Portland artists define the undefined art form," Casco Bay Weekly, November 21 2002 Philip Isaacson, "No doubt about it, sculpture show sizzles," Maine Sunday Telegram, March 17 2002 Jenna Russell, "On solid ground," The Portland Phoenix, March 22 2000 Jeff Daniel, "Aspects of being," St. Louis Post--Dispatch, July 30 2000 Ivy Schroeder, "Human being," The River Front Times (St. Louis) August 9-15 1997 Wendy Huang, "Island girl: Learning to swim," St. Louis Chinese Journal, Missouri, October 2 PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATION Founding Member of Portland Film and Video Artist Collective (PFVAC) Member of College Art Association (CAA) LANGUAGES Chinese (Mandarin), Taiwanese, English PUBLIC COLLECTIONS St. Louis University Museum of Art, St. Louis, Missouri Bates College, Lewiston, Maine South Portland Public Library, South Portland, Maine PRIVATE COLLECTIONS George Winston, Christine Vincent, Hong-Wen Lin, Jay York, Aimee & Mark Bessire, Alison Hildreth, Osamu Miyaki, Carol Ross, Amy Stacey Curtis, Oivind and Darrell Lorentzen, Gerald Florenza, Beata Niedzialkowska and Joe Begnaud COMMISSIONS Claus Fimmel, Christine Vincent, Nathan Kolosko, Yumi Kasai, Seth Warner