City College of San Francisco (CCSF) art student Tsungwei Moo, winner of the 2019 United Airlines Her Art Here contest, has her first solo exhibition at the City College Art Gallery, February 18-March 12, 2020. The opening reception will be held at the Art Gallery, located on the CCSF Ocean Campus on Thursday, February 20, from 5:30pm to 7:30pm.
The exhibit entitled, Good Die Young include the artist’s award-winning mixed media piece, Home Sweet Home, where she used gun parts to build a “home” around a painting of a father and son. The piece was featured in the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts’ Art of Peace 2019 exhibition featuring art and artists raising awareness about gun violence. "Good Die Young is about my ex-boyfriend Dean, who was a victim of gun violence in 2017 in Jamaica,” said Moo. “He was a kind, generous person who worked hard as a farmer and construction worker. Dean is always an inspiration in my art.”
Moo's artwork demonstrates how an individual grieves and heals through artmaking,” said Professor Nancy Elliott, director of the City College Art Gallery. “And, how shared pain and tragedy can create a community dedicated to honoring those truly loved by ending gun violence.”
Tsungwei Moo was born in Taipei, Taiwan. She received her degree in Mass Communication from Tankage University, earning one of three top honors in all of Taiwan. A former advertising art director in Taipei, Moo arrived in San Francisco from Taiwan 14 years ago to follow her dream of becoming an artist. She continued her fine arts education for four years at CCSF’s Art Campus at Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture.
After studying at CCSF, Moo became an artist in residence at the Yosemite Conservancy and won the 2018 San Francisco Muni Art Project,which converts 100 Muni buses into rolling art galleries each year. Moo has produced a significant body of work in many mediums including painting, mixed media, printmaking, ceramics and sculpture. Her work has been exhibited in galleries and museums throughout the Bay Area.
“I have always believed in the power of art to inspire change,” said Moo. “My art is my conviction that creation is stronger than the destructive, false ideals that threaten our society. My art expresses my conviction that culture is not a barrier, but a door to our common humanity.”
“Ms. Tsungwei Moo's success and positive impact in the world is an example of how City College of San Francisco's diverse and high quality Arts curriculum supports inventive, entrepreneurial and humane actions in our communities,” said CCSF Art Department Chair Anna Asebedo. “It is truly motivational to see Ms. Moo's engagement not only in the art field but art actions that make our world a more humane one.”
Moo’s winning design for United Airlines “Her Art Here” contest catapulted her onto the national stage. The contest was designed to find and uplift underrepresented women artists by providing them with a chance to have their work painted on a canvas like no other — a Boeing 757 plane. “I believe creating and appreciating art should not be defined by gender and cultural differences,” said Moo. “As an emerging immigrant female artist, winning Her Art Here gave me a great platform to let the world see my art.” Photos of her United Airlines California Boeing 757 are currently on display at United’s Polaris Lounge at San Francisco International Airport.
The City College Art Gallery is located in the Visual Art Building, v119, on the Ocean Campus of City College of San Francisco. The gallery is wheelchair accessible, free to the public, and just a few blocks from the Balboa BART station. Please call 415.239.3156 for further information.