ABOUT THE WORK

Concrete Black

At night, the streets and crossroads of the city develop a unique look. Fascinated by the evening’s range of colours and moods, painter Xiau-Fong Wee captures the nocturnal hours in her hometown, San Francisco. The artist’s pieces bring billboards, street lamps, and headlights together in a symphony of light. Her chosen subjects, the arterial streets of San Francisco, ensure the works are both exciting and intriguing. The hills featuring vehicles driving up and down the famous sloping streets give the compositions a remarkable dynamism.

Wee’s strength is her ability to create special moments from everyday scenes. To her, the city is an inexhaustible source of inspiration. Her interpretation of these emotive urban scenes places the American painter firmly in the tradition of impressionism. We are reminded of Lesser Ury, a pioneer of modernism who captured Berlin at night during the 1920’s. The series “Concrete Black” is a remarkable collection that first draws us into the San Francisco night, then allows us to lose ourselves amongst its dancing lights.

TECHNIQUE

Wee’s paintings give us a visual representation of San Francisco’s pulsating energy. The artist continually juxtaposes dark, gloomy passages with iridescent spots of light. The bright turquoise of the traffic lights appears at regular intervals, creating an interplay of orange, red, yellow, and white light.

The sparkling lights are always the first element that Wee puts onto canvas, followed by the different shades of the night’s darkness. Step by step, the painter creates her very own song of the city.

Solo Exhibitions

2011	Rebirth, CJ Asian Art Gallery, Singapore

Group Exhibitions

2013	Lana Purnell and Xiau-Fong Wee, Studio Gallery, San Francisco, USA
2013	City Streets, Studio Gallery, San Francisco, USA
2013	Visions and Reflections, Gauntlet Gallery, San Francisco, USA
2012	Corporeal Clusters, 111 Minna Gallery, San Francisco, USA
2012	Summer Group Show, Spoke Art, San Francisco, US
2012	Endless Minds, Akiba Gallery, San Francisco, USA
2011	20/20, Back to the Picture, San Francisco, USA
2011	Warhol Re-imagined, Project One Gallery, San Francisco, USA
2010	The Magic of City Lights, Arata Fine Art Gallery, San Francisco, USA