This Is How Canadian Art Is Influenced by the Asian Spirit [Part 1]

Asian creators have quite a substantial influence on the spirit and destiny of Canadian art. If you also adore not only art in general but also the unique Asian taste, we encourage you to take this small adventure with us. Today, we will discuss music, theatre, and fine arts, their most interesting representatives, and masterpieces. Many of the ideas below were carefully gathered by our partners, a popular Asian dating site, which unites people interested in Asian-Canadian art almost every day. So, read on and enjoy your artistic adventure with us!

Diyan Achjadi

Diyan Achjadi opens our lists of Asian-Canadian fine arts representatives. Diyan Achjadi is an artist originally born in Jakarta, Indonesia and now living in Vancouver. This artist pays a lot of attention to surface ornamentation and illustrated printed matter. She is focused on finding ways to visually communicate ideas through ornamentation. Her artwork is a lot influenced by her background, comprising multiple educational, political, and cultural flows. The artwork of Diyan Achjadi is so much loved by people that she is often exhibited at galleries and film festivals across Canada and beyond.

Ying-Yueh Chuang

Ying-Yueh Chuang is a Taiwan-born and now Toronto-based ceramist. Ying-Yueh Chuang came to Canada in the early 1990s and in 2006 she got the Winifred Shantz National Emerging Artist Award for Ceramists, Canada. You can find her works in many public and private collections, including the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, the Canada Council Art Bank, the Government of Ontario Art Collection, Burlington Art Centre, and others. The artist says that she is inspired by the ideas that she got while growing up in Taiwan. She adapts Western philosophies and lifestyles and finds a unique balance between the Western and the Asian spirit in her works. Ying-Yueh Chuang often uses organic things for inspiration, such as vegetables, fruits, and bones; however, you will hardly recognize them in her art. Initial objects give only their inspiration and spirit, all the rest is the work of her exclusive imagination.

Faisal Anwar

Faisal Anwar is a digital media artist born in Pakistan and now living in Oakville, Ontario. Faisal Anwar is a hybrid artist and an interactive producer. He is also one of the finders of Art Address, an artist-led collective in Oakville, Canada, and Chief Curator of Karachi Biennial 2022. Faisal Anwar founded an artistic start-up, NewKulture, which is an innovative laboratory focused on creating hybrid art, design-led, emerging technologies, and social innovation.

Anwar gets inspired while researching the history and diversity of urban spaces and cultural identities. He sheds light on such hot topics as data visualization, ecology, and cognitive sciences and combines them with an artistic approach. His fascinating works embrace diverse styles and media, including interactive installations, immersive environments, data-driven interventions, and public art.

Kai Chan

Kai Chan is a jeweler and multi-media artist located in Toronto. A Chinese by birth, Kai Chan immigrated to Canada in 1966 with a degree in biology. However, he got his popularity, not because of biology, but thanks to exclusive pieces of jewelry, which are now exhibited individually and as parts of group exhibitions across Canada, the United States, Japan, Australia, and Europe.

Manuel Lau

Manuel Lau is a printmaker who was born in Peru, raised in Macau, and today lives in Vancouver since 1991. The artwork of Manuel is a lot influenced by his Peruvian, Chinese, and Canadian past. All these cultures intervene with his memories and create a unique experience and context for his artwork. Manuel studied printmaking at the Escuela Nacional de Bellas Artes in Lima, Peru. Today, you can see his works in Peru, Poland, South Korea, Japan, Thailand, Germany, France, Belgium, Bulgaria, the United States, and Canada.

Centre A

Centre A is a Vancouver-based International Centre for Contemporary Asian Art. If you want to get to know more about Asian artists working in Canada, you can visit this public art gallery currently located in Vancouver’s Chinatown. Centre A the only public art gallery in Canada dedicated to contemporary Asian art. Here you can find the artworks of both new emerging Asian artists and popular creators.

That’s it for today. Next time, we’ll tell you more about how Asian artists contribute to the music and theatre of Canada. Stay tuned for our new posts!