Karen Tam
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Karen Tam (born 1977) is a Canadian artist and curator who focuses on the constructions and imaginations of cultures and communities through installations in which she recreates Chinese restaurants, karaoke lounges, opium dens, curio shops and other sites of cultural encounters. She is based in Montreal, Quebec.
Education
[edit]Tam holds a BFA in Studio Arts and Music from Concordia University and an MFA in Sculpture from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and a PhD in Cultural Studies from Goldsmiths (University of London).[1]
Exhibitions
[edit]Tam's work has been exhibited nationally and internationally in galleries such as the Ormeau Baths Gallery (Belfast), Irish Museum of Modern Art (Dublin), Betty Rymers Gallery and 11th Street Gallery/Columbia College (Chicago), Foster-Tanner Gallery (Tallahassee, Florida), YVZ Artists' Outlet (Toronto), Khyber Centre for the Arts (Halifax), and MAI - Montréal arts interculturels (Montreal).[2]
Awards
[edit]Karen Tam's video Plum Sauce won the Audience Choice Award at the 2002 Asian American Film Festival in Chicago. She was a finalist for the Prix Louis-Comtois in 2017 from the Contemporary Art Galleries Association and the Ville de Montréal,[3] a finalist for the Prix en art actuel from the Musée national des beaux-arts de Québec in 2016,[4] and long-listed for the Sobey Art Award in 2010[5] and 2016.[6][7] She was awarded the 2021 Giverny Capital Prize by collector François Rochon, president of the private portfolio management firm Giverny Capital.[8] She was also long-listed for the 2010 and 2016 Sobey Art Award.
List of major exhibitions
[edit]Selected solo exhibitions
[edit]- Swallowing Mountains (February - August 2023), McCord Stewart Museum.[9][10]
- Karen Tam: With Wings Like Clouds Hung from the Sky 大鵬就振翼 (February - April 2022), Varley Art Gallery (Markham, ON) (Curated by Anik Glaude)
- Les illusions sont réelles (February 19 - April 24, 2022), Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec Manif d'art 10, La Bienale de Québec (Curated by Steven Matijcio)
- Autumn Tigers (Online) (October 2021 - Ongoing), Art Canada Institute in partnership with Campbell River Art Gallery (Curated by Jenelle M. Pasiechnik)
- the chrysanthemum has opened twelve times (January 2020), Koffler Centre of the Arts (Toronto, Canada)[11]
- with wings like clouds hung from the sky (May 2019), Richmond Art Gallery (Richmond, BC, Canada)[12][13][14]
- (Travelling Exhibition) Nous sommes tous les brigands/We Are All Robbers, EXPRESSION (2017-2019), Centre d’exposition de Saint-Hyacinthe (Saint-Hyacinthe, Canada);[15][16] Musées Régionale de Rimouski, (Rimouski, Canada);[17] Musées des beaux-arts de Sherbrooke (Sherbrooke, Canada); Plein sud, centre en art actuel de Longueuil (Longueuil, Canada)
- Souvenirs from the Jasmine Café, SIGHTINGS (2017), Leonard & Bina Ellen Gallery, Concordia University (Montréal, Canada)[18]
- SHEEN-wah-ZREE (2016), Musée d’art contemporain des Laurentides (Saint-Jérôme, Canada)[19]
- Des mimes et des mites (2016), Conseil des arts de Montréal (Montréal, Canada)[20]
- Silk Road: Storm-Detectors, Blood-Sweating Horses, & Constellations (2016), Galerie Hugues Charbonneau (Montréal, Canada)[21]
- Terra dos Chinês Curio Shop (2016), Articule (Montréal, Canada)[22]
- Made in Britain (2015), Galerie Hugues Charbonneau (Montréal, Canada)[23]
- Terra dos Chinês Curio Shop (2015), Artspace Peterborough (Peterborough, Canada)[22]
- Sinography (2013), QueenSpecific (Toronto, Canada) (Curators: Stefan Hancherow and Jen Simaitis)[24]
- Opium Den (2011), Robert Langen Gallery, Wilfrid Laurier University (Waterloo, Canada)[25]
- Pagoda Pads, Art Gallery of Greater Victoria (Victoria, Canada) (Curator: Lisa Baldissera)[25]
- (Traveling exhibition) Gold Mountain Restaurant: No MSG At Friendship Dinner (Or Cats) (2006-08). Art Gallery of Southwestern Manitoba; Shangri-la Café: YYZ Artists’ Outlet (Toronto); Old Silver Moon: Forest City Gallery (London, ON); House of Wong: Artcite (Windsor); On Rock Garden: AKA Gallery (Saskatoon); Orientally Yours, Southern Alberta Art Gallery (Lethbridge, Canada)
- Gold Mountain Restaurant Montagne d’Or (2004), Montréal, arts interculturels (MAI) (Montréal, Canada)[26]
- Real-Life Heroes Who Make A Difference (2004), Irish Museum of Modern Art (Dublin, Ireland)[27]
Selected group exhibitions
[edit]- Secret Chord : An Ode to Montreal (2023)[28]
- Le je et le nous — The I and the We, (2019) MAI (Montréal, arts interculturels) (Montréal, Canada) (Curator: Zoë Chan)[29]
- Connections and Reconnections (2018-2019), Montréal Museum of Fine Arts (Montréal, Canada)[30]
- Ici Londres/London Calling (2018-2019), Musée de la civilisation (Québec City, Canada)
- Here/Elsewhere: The Sample of Overseas Chinese Art (2018), He Xiangning Art Museum (Shenzhen, China) (Curator: Wang Huangsheng)[31][32]
- mmmmm…Gendai Kitchen (2017), Gendai Gallery (Toronto, Canada)[33]
- Far and Near: the Distance(s) between Us, Art Museum/Justina M. Barnicke Gallery, University of Toronto (Toronto, Canada) (Curator: Henry Lu)
- Power Ball XVIII: Pleasure Principle (2016), Power Plant Toronto, Canada)[34][35]
- Tracing Asian Canadian Art Histories and Aesthetic Alliances (2015), Artexte (Montréal, Canada)[36]
- Convoluted Beauty: In the Company of Emily Carr (2014), The Mendel Art Gallery (Saskatoon, Canada) (Curator: Lisa Baldissera)[37]
- Couriers of Taste (2013), Danson House (Bexley, UK) (Curators: Day+Gluckman)[38]
- Sinopticon: Contemporary Chinoiserie (2012-2014), Victoria & Albert Museum (London, UK), Plymouth Arts Centre, Saltram House National Trust, Plymouth City Museum & Art Gallery (Plymouth, UK) (Curator: Eliza Gluckman)[39][40]
- Location/Dislocation (2011), J.M. Barnicke Gallery/Jackman Humanities Institute, University of Toronto[41]
- East Goes East (2011), Third Space/Tiers Espace (Saint John, Canada) (Curator: Chris Lloyd)[42]
- BGL/Pascal Grandmaison/Adad Hannah/Karen Tam (2010), Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal[43][44]
- Rien ne se perd, rien ne se crée, Musée d’art contemporain (Montréal, Canada)[45][46]
- Rearranging Desires, FOFA Gallery, Concordia University (Montréal, Canada)[47]
- Redress Express, Centre A (Vancouver, Canada) (Curator: Alice Ming Wai Jim)[2]
Selected curatorial works
[edit]Publications
[edit]- Luke, Suzanne and Finn, Jonathan and Kuruvilla, Sunil. Karen Tam : Pagoda Pads : Opium Den.Waterloo, Ont.: Robert Langen Art Gallery, 2011.
- Belu, Françoise and Blouin, Marcel and Lee, Day. Gold Mountain Restaurant = Restaurant Montagne d'or : Karen Tam. Montréal, Qc: MAI (Montréal arts interculturels), 2006.
- Jim, Alice Ming Wai Nolte, Victoria Zhang, Tianmo Harringa, Charissa Von Larose, Delphine Joachim, Joana Harkness, Tamara Lakhrissi, Tarek Montpetit, Gabrielle Colombo, Cindy Wexler, Samamtha (2015). EAHR @ Artexte : Uncovering Asian Canadian and Black Canadian Artistic Production. Ethnocultural Art Histories Research Group (EAHR). OCLC 948726622.
- Baldissera, Lisa and Despret, Vinciane and Dyke, Erika. Convoluted Beauty : In the Company of Emily Carr. Saskatoon, Sask.: Mendel Art Gallery, 2014.
- Jim, Alice Ming Wai (2008). Rearranging desires : curating the 'Other' within. Gail & Stephen A. Jarislowsky Institut for Studies in Canadian Art, Concordia University. ISBN 9780889474680. OCLC 312370247.
- Rien ne se perd, rien ne se crée, tout se transforme. Bélisle, Josée., Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal. Montréal: Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal. 2008. ISBN 9782551236718. OCLC 225775665.
References
[edit]- ^ "Galerie Hugues Charbonneau | Karen Tam". Retrieved 2019-04-29.
- ^ a b Jim, Alice Ming Wai. (2007). Redress express. Vancouver International Centre for Contemporary Asian Art. ISBN 9780973271188. OCLC 297154499.
- ^ "Prix Louis-Comtois". Association des galeries d’art contemporain (in French). Retrieved 2019-04-29.
- ^ "PRIX EN ART ACTUEL". Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec (MNBAQ) (in Canadian French). Retrieved 2019-04-29.
- ^ "2010 Sobey Art Award and BGL/Pascal Grandmaison/Adad Hannah/Karen Tam". MAC Montréal. Retrieved 2019-04-29.
- ^ "State of the Art: The 2016 Sobey Art Award Longlist". www.gallery.ca. Retrieved 2019-04-29.
- ^ S, Leah; als. "25 Canadian Artists Longlisted for $50K Sobey Art Award". Canadian Art. Retrieved 2019-04-29.
- ^ Clément, Éric (2022-01-14). "Karen Tam remporte le prix Giverny Capital". La Presse (in French). Retrieved 2022-01-19.
- ^ Clément, Éric (2023-02-18). "Karen Tam au musée McCord Stewart: Hommage à la communauté chinoise de Montréal". La Presse (in Canadian French). Retrieved 2023-03-03.
- ^ Taylor, Kate (2023-03-04). "With new exhibit Montreal artist Karen Tam conjures the city's historic Chinatown". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2023-03-07.
- ^ "Karen Tam: the chrysanthemum has opened twelve times | Koffler Centre of the Arts". Retrieved 2020-01-28.
- ^ "With wings like clouds hung from the sky". Richmond Art Gallery. 2019-05-05. Retrieved 2019-04-29.
- ^ "Karen Tam: With wings like clouds hung from the sky". Galleries West. 2019-03-31. Retrieved 2019-04-29.
- ^ art (2017-03-01). "Karen Tam: With Wings Like Clouds Hung from the Sky 大鵬就振翼". AGGV emagazine. Retrieved 2019-04-29.
- ^ Saint-Hyacinthe, Expression : : Centre d'exposition de (2019-04-29). "Karen Tam". Expression : : Centre d'exposition de Saint-Hyacinthe (in French). Retrieved 2019-04-29.
- ^ Lu, Henry Heng. "Whose Community Is It?". Canadian Art. Retrieved 2019-04-29.
- ^ "Karen Tam | Nous sommes tous des brigands | Musée régional de Rimouski" (in French). Retrieved 2019-04-29.
- ^ "SIGHTINGS 20 Souvenirs from the Jasmine Café". Retrieved 2019-04-29.
- ^ "Sur la route de l'artiste Karen Tam". Le Devoir (in French). 17 December 2016. Retrieved 2019-04-29.
- ^ "Notre modèle de soutien – Rapport annuel 2016 – Conseil des arts de Montréal". Retrieved 2019-04-29.
- ^ "Galerie Hugues Charbonneau | November 12 to December 22, 2016 | Karen Tam — Silk Road: Storm-Detectors, Blood-Sweating Horses, and Constellations". 4 November 2016. Retrieved 2019-04-29.
- ^ a b "Terra dos Chinês Curio Shop | Artspace". artspace-arc.org. Retrieved 2019-04-29.
- ^ "Galerie Hugues Charbonneau | January 17 to February 21, 2015 | Karen Tam: Made in Britain". 21 December 2014. Retrieved 2019-04-29.
- ^ "QueenSpecific Gallery". www.queenspecific.com. Retrieved 2019-04-29.
- ^ a b Tam, Karen. Finn, Jonathan. (2011). Karen Tam : pagoda pads : opium den. Robert Langen Art Gallery. OCLC 728495067.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Tam, Karen. (2006). Gold Mountain Restaurant = Restaurant Montagne d'or. Blouin, Marcel, 1960-, Lee, Day's, 1956-, Belu, Françoise., MAI (Art Gallery). Montréal: MAI, Montréal, arts interculturels. ISBN 2980929204. OCLC 67860353.
- ^ "Real-Life Heroes Who Make A Difference: Lucky Gourd | Karen Tam". IMMA. Retrieved 2019-04-29.
- ^ Clément, Éric (2023-01-20). "Montréal célébré à New York". La Presse (in Canadian French). Retrieved 2023-02-10.
- ^ "Le je et le nous / The I and the We | MAI". MAI - Montréal, arts interculturels. Retrieved 2019-04-29.
- ^ "Connexions - Notre diversité artistique dialogue avec nos collections". The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. Retrieved 2019-04-29.
- ^ "Overseas Chinese artists express mixed feelings". www.szdaily.com. Retrieved 2019-04-29.
- ^ "Here/Elsewhere - The Sample of Overseas Chinese Art | exhibition | ARTLINKART | Chinese contemporary art database". www.artlinkart.com. Retrieved 2019-04-29.
- ^ "- Exhibitions - MMMMM...Gendai Kitchen: year-long seasonal art multiple subscription service & series of events". www.akimbo.ca. Retrieved 2019-04-29.
- ^ "Power Ball XVIII: Pleasure Principle". FAJO Magazine. 2016-06-13. Retrieved 2019-04-29.
- ^ "Power Ball XVIII: Pleasure Principle". NOW Magazine. 2016-05-12. Retrieved 2019-04-29.
- ^ Jim, Alice Ming Wai Nolte, Victoria Zhang, Tianmo Harringa, Charissa Von Larose, Delphine Joachim, Joana Harkness, Tamara Lakhrissi, Tarek Montpetit, Gabrielle Colombo, Cindy Wexler, Samamtha (2015). EAHR @ Artexte : Uncovering Asian Canadian and Black Canadian Artistic Production. Ethnocultural Art Histories Research Group (EAHR). OCLC 948726622.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Baldissera, Lisa. Carr, Emily, 1871-1945. Despret, Vinciane. (2014). Convoluted beauty : in the company of Emily Carr ; [published to record the exhibition "Convoluted Beauty: In the Company of Emily Carr", presented from June 27 to September 14, 2014 at the Mendel Art Gallery, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada]. Mendel Art Gallery. ISBN 978-1896359861. OCLC 913473358.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Couriers of Taste". Day+Gluckman. Retrieved 2019-04-30.
- ^ Ling, Wessie (2012-07-07). "Sinopticon: contemporary chinoiserie in contemporary art". nrl.northumbria.ac.uk. Eliza Gluckman, Lucy Day. Retrieved 2019-04-30.
- ^ SPSL (2012-04-27). "SINOPTICON: Contemporary Chinoiserie in Contemporary Art". susanpuisanlok. Retrieved 2019-04-30.
- ^ "Location/Dislocation". Art Museum at the University of Toronto. Retrieved 2019-04-30.
- ^ "East goes East". thirdspacegallery.ca. 2016-09-16. Retrieved 2019-04-30.
- ^ "BGL/Pascal Grandmaison/Adad Hannah/Karen Tam". MAC Montréal. Retrieved 2019-04-30.
- ^ "Exhibitions at the MAC - 2010 Sobey Art Award and BGL/Pascal Grandmaison/AdadHannah/Karen Tam - October 8, 2010 to January 2, 2011". www.newswire.ca. Retrieved 2019-04-30.
- ^ "The Québec Triennial 2008". MAC Montréal. Retrieved 2019-04-30.
- ^ Rien ne se perd, rien ne se crée, tout se transforme. Bélisle, Josée., Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal. Montréal: Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal. 2008. ISBN 9782551236718. OCLC 225775665.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: others (link) - ^ Ming Wai Jim, Alice. (2008). Rearranging desires : curating the 'Other' within. Gail & Stephen A. Jarislowsky Institut for Studies in Canadian Art, Concordia University. ISBN 9780889474680. OCLC 312370247.
- ^ "Whose Chinatown? creates an art history with a spirit of activism and advocacy". Stir. Retrieved 2022-03-07.
- ^ "Whose Chinatown? explores real and imaginary Chinatown". vancouversun. Retrieved 2022-03-07.
- Women installation artists
- Canadian installation artists
- 1977 births
- Living people
- School of the Art Institute of Chicago alumni
- Concordia University alumni
- Alumni of Goldsmiths, University of London
- 20th-century Canadian women artists
- 21st-century Canadian women artists
- Canadian expatriates in England
- Canadian expatriates in the United States
- Canadian women curators