Chrystal Phan presents
Once for a While
At the Chapel Gallery, St Matthias
January 21 - February 6, 2022.
Opening: Friday Jan 21 @ 5:00 with Artist Talk at 5:30
Once for a While
At the Chapel Gallery, St Matthias
January 21 - February 6, 2022.
Opening: Friday Jan 21 @ 5:00 with Artist Talk at 5:30
View CBC interview with Chrystal HERE
Chrystal Phan is a storyteller. The tales she tells in her debut solo exhibition are monumental and multi-hued. They feature stories she’s heard from family and friends, embellished by her own imagination. All her paintings document some aspect of the Vietnamese-Canadian immigration experience. In Once for a While she acts as a stage director. On canvases up to 6 by 8 feet she arranges her cast of characters. The actors are captured in everyday scenarios such as camping, biking and sharing food.
Detail: Pool Party, by Chrystal Phan.
Phan invites the viewer into a familial world she knows well, comprised of Vietnamese friends, cousins, parents and work-mates. Moods vary among Phan’s participants. Some are happy and smiling; others appear distracted, pensive and puzzled. The situations express a mixture of humour and pathos, and appear both haunting and hilarious. These visual experiences touch the viewer and challenge our preconceptions about “the other”. Empathy and understanding evolve.
As a child of Vietnamese refugees who arrived in Canada in 1980, Phan is well-acquainted with the conflicted emotions of her family's history. But it wasn’t until her mid-thirties that she grew interested in her Asian heritage. “Where are my stories?” she queried, looking around at local media and cultural organizations. Around this time, in 2017, she began a weekly class with local artist Nicole Sleeth. During three years of study, Phan gained skills in drawing, charcoal, portrait anatomy and oil painting. “Nicole’s instruction style is classical,” says Phan, “a student perfects each new technique before moving on.” In 2018, Phan received her first large commission and in 2019 sold a painting at the Sooke Fine Art show.
Camping, oil on canvas, 72x96, 2020.
Each of the paintings tells a bittersweet story about the challenges of assimilation into Canadian culture. Camping, for example, recalls the story of a Vietnamese family taking a deep fat fryer on a wilderness adventure. For Camping, Phan used her own family as models. The kitchen of her parent’s home became an imaginary campsite with relatives gathered around a fake fire. Phan takes hundreds of photos at each photo shoot. She then uses a computer program to puzzle together her subjects into an harmonious composition.
Turkey Dinner, oil on canvas, 48x60 in, 2021
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Turkey Dinner features Phan’s mother cutting up a raw turkey. Her mother told the story of receiving a turkey during their first Christmas in Canada. Not knowing what to do with the large bird, she decided to make a curry.
Once for a While is generously supported by a grant from the Canada Council of the Arts. “The exhibition aims to combat negative stereotypes,” Phan says, “and mitigate anti-Asian sentiments.” Most people can relate to the the awkward feeling of trying to navigate an unfamiliar situation, the artist explains. An educational component of the show includes a program designed to support BC’s curriculum on immigration. Grades five to seven will be invited to view the art, learn about another culture and share their own experiences. Phan is grateful to the Chapel Gallery at St Matthias Church for hosting the exhibition and student program. “As a non-profit gallery they welcome dialogue about current issues,” Phan says.
My Still Life, oil on canvas, 36x48 in, 2021
In My Still Life the artist places herself at a family dinner as a child. The young girl sits with arms crossed, staring at special food placed on an altar. In Vietnamese culture, the day of a family member’s passing is honoured with a feast. Candles, flowers and a photo of the deceased are placed with food left for the spirits.
Nicole Sleeth is proud of her former student. “I am so happy for Chrystal,” she says, “Once for a While is a great show.” Sleeth describes Phan’s new body of work as compelling and personal, yet speaking about experiences shared by many. Chrystal's paintings are honest and delivered with an acerbic wit that keeps sentimentality at bay, Sleeth notes. Another professional artist who assisted Phan is Steven Assail from the New York School of Visual Arts. Phan took a series of on-line classes from Assael in March 2020, while launching the project. He gave invaluable advice on figural placement and compositional balance.
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Heart to Heart, 42x36 in, oil on canvas, 2021.
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Heart to Heart is a sensitive character study of a couple who are friends with Phan. Each of the faces carries a wealth of information about their thoughts and emotions. The casual disarray of dishes on a checkered table cloth emanates the natural warmth found in friendship.
Pool Party, oil on canvas, 72x96, 2020.
Pool Party: After living in Canada for ten years, Phan’s Vietnamese friend went home to visit. In Vietnam, she was startled to see an overcrowded pool with the swimmers fully clothed. Pools are rare in Vietnam, so this one had standing room only.
Following cultural mores of modesty, the swimmers remained dressed. Her friend realized that time and distance had altered her personal perceptions of “normal”. Phan reimagines the story using a Canadian pool and characters.
Following cultural mores of modesty, the swimmers remained dressed. Her friend realized that time and distance had altered her personal perceptions of “normal”. Phan reimagines the story using a Canadian pool and characters.
Biking for Charity: Phan’s extended family are successful restaurateurs. Family members saw Phan’s father biking around town, and assumed he was in financial difficulty. They offered to help out the suspected “charity case”. Phan had to explain to her relatives that biking in Canada is considered good practice. Biking can even increase a person’s status in the eyes of peers and colleagues.
Biking for Charity, oil on canvas, 72x96, 2020.
Saturated colours and confident cropping enliven Biking for Charity. The deep green forest contrasts with the brilliant crimson car. The biker’s blue jacket adds a visual accent. “Painting is a process,” Phan says, “and you have to learn to trust the process.” She used tonal shifts to suggest the sleek curves of the car and the biker’s reflection in the passenger door. Travelling across the red colour spectrum, her tones deepen from light pink to darker maroon, and include luscious shades of coral, salmon, cinnabar and rose madder. Many viewers of Once for a While, will agree with Nicole Sleeth, Phan’s former instructor: “With these artworks, Chrystal shows she has a story to tell and the painting chops to pull it off.”
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At left: Chrystal speaking at the Opening on January 21. Visit Chrystal at the Chapel Gallery weekends until Feb 6. Location: 600 Richmond Avenue, Victoria, V8S 3Y7 Hours: Friday & Sat 12:00-4:00, Sun 12:00-3:00 Provincial COVID-19 health measures are in effect. Masks are required. Kindly present your BC Vaccine Card and valid government ID before entering. Chrystal welcomes your interest and can be reached at: phanchrystal@gmail.com. Chrystal's website here |
Chrystal's show has received many visitors and interest from media. Be sure and catch her last week ending February 6.
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