Chinyee

Artist’s Statement 

An artist must embrace and understand the basic elements required in any work of art, namely the rendering of every dot, every line, form and color as a means to express emotions or send messages creatively and in a unique style.  An artist must continually search his inner feelings and experiment boldly.  This can be a long and frustrating process, until the artist is able to enjoy total freedom of expression and fluency of execution.

About the Artist

Born in Nanjing, China, Chinyee studied at the Nankai Middle School in Chongqing where she and her family were forced to seek refuge during the Sino-Japanese War. In 1947, having graduated with highest honors from high school in Nanjing, she was awarded a scholarship to study in the United States. She earned her B.A. in Fine Arts at the College of Mount Saint Vincent and then went on to receive her Master’s Degree in Art Education at the New York University. She also studied at the Art Students League and the 8th Street studio.

Chinyee began exhibiting her work in the early 1950’s. In 1965 she had her first solo exhibition at the prestigious Mi-Chou Gallery in New York City. Her work has been exhibited in galleries in Manhattan and in the metropolitan area and in galleries and institutions elsewhere in the United States and abroad, namely England, Hong Kong, Japan, and Taiwan.

Chinyee’s work has been selected and honored by UNICEF and by the United States Art in Embassies program for exhibition in U.S. embassies and ambassadors’ residencies abroad. In 1989 she was awarded the title “Artist of the Nineties” by Manhattan Arts magazine. Four of her works were selected by the Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Art Museum at Rutgers University ( New Jersey) to be included in their traveling exhibition “Asian-American Artists and Abstraction 1945-1970”, which took place from 1997-1999.

In 2007, “Chinyee’s 50-year Retrospective” was presented jointly by the Shanghai Art Museum in Shanghai, China and 2008 by Alisan Fine Arts Gallery in Hong Kong

Chinyee continues to paint in her Princeton studio and exhibits her work both here and abroad.

Education

Mount Saint Vincent College
New York University
Art Students League

Selected Exhibitions

2007      “A Lyrical Journey: Chinyee’s 50-Year Retrospective,” Shanghai Art Museum, Shanghai, China

2006      Alisan Fine Arts, Hong Kong

1997      “Asian Traditions, Modern Expressions: Asian American Artists and Abstraction, 1945-1970,” Zimmerli Art Museum, Rutgers University

1997      Viridian Gallery, New York

1995      Chinese Cultural Institute, Boston

1995      Denise Bibro Gallery, New York