Born
in 1953, he trained in his native homeland of Canton (now called
Guangdong), China and appears to be part of a remarkable cultural
transference. Western oil painting techniques were fostered in the
People's Republic during the Cultural Revolution and were subsequently
available to talented and hardworking young Chinese. Situ was one of the
best, and when he emigrated to the West, he brought his skills with him.
Mian
Situ’s debut in the United States began with the 1995 Oil Painters of
America National Juried Exhibition, in which the judges recognized his
exceptional talent and he was also voted the People’s Choice Award
recipient by collectors.
more
click on the image
to enlarge
Bridge to The Spirit
World
The location of this new release by Mian Situ is Canyon de Chelly in
northeastern Arizona. Today it is a Navajo Tribal Trust land and home to
the preserved ruins of the early Anasazi and Navajo tribes.
“When I was in Canyon de Chelly in May last year,” says Situ, “I saw a
beautiful rainbow after a storm. The Navajo people believe that the gods
travel on the rainbow because it moves so rapidly. They also portray the
rainbow as the bridge between the human world and the other side. Navajo
people have lived in Canyon de Chelly for generations and are still
living there today, herding sheep and cattle and farming the land.”
Limited Edition Giclée canvas
handsigned by the artist
By the late 19th
and early 20th centuries, Christian missionaries had been in China for
several hundred years, which meant that many Chinese immigrants had
encountered Christianity before they ever set foot on American soil.
Women and children were known as “easy believers” by missionaries and
two children devote their attention to the preacher in this image while
other Chinese, particularly men, gather above decks to talk and smoke
among themselves.
The exquisite paintings
of award-winning artist Mian Situ provide an evocative window into a
point in history when the collision of East and West impacted the future
not only for the immigrants, but for both cultures. Journey of Hope and
Prosperity is Artist Mian Situ’s third major Chinese immigrant painting
portraying the onboard ship experience.
Limited Edition Giclée canvas
handsigned by the artist
Because of the circumstances of turn-of-the-century Chinese immigrants
to America, many of them had few alternatives to mining, working in
restaurants or laundries. Operating a laundry required relatively little
capital, education or English fluency. Often times, entire families
lived crammed together in the back of their laundry storefronts. While
the parents worked, the children helped however they could. It was
hot, 14-hour-per-day work and after lunch the young man ironing
struggles to stay alert while the mother does the mending. Chinese
culture, food and clothing may have been replicated in Chinatowns on the
West Coast, yet everything around the tight-knit communities was
different. “I posed the daughter curiously trying on the calico dress
brought in by their American customer,” says the artist. Is she
wondering what it feels like to be an American girl or is it only a
strange costume?
Limited Edition Giclée canvas
handsigned by the artist
“In this painting I
focused on the two Chinese children's expressions as they encountered an
American girl” said the artist. “In my Chinatown scenes, I always try to
incorporate an element of cultural crossroads.”
Limited Edition Giclée canvas
handsigned by the artist
“In this painting I
focused on the two Chinese children's expressions as they encountered an
American girl” said the artist. “In my Chinatown scenes, I always try to
incorporate an element of cultural crossroads.”
Limited Edition Giclée canvas
handsigned by the artist
The Pacific Carriage Company
was the predominant carriage company operating out of San Francisco during the
early 1900s,” says artist Mian Situ. “Their carriages provided luxury
transportation throughout the city. The bowler-topped Irish hack-man has given
this Chinese mother, daughter and young ones permission to inspect the carriage
while he awaits his wealthy passengers.”
Limited Edition Masterwork Giclée canvas
handsigned by the artist
Rarely does the individual collector have the
opportunity to own a museum-caliber work of art.
With San Francisco,
April 18, 1906, Mian
Situ’s chronicling of the Chinese immigrant’s place
in the expansion of the American West has hit a
high-water
mark.
At five o’clock on that April morning, the city of
San Francisco had just begun to stir from its
slumber. A mere fifteen minutes later, the entire
city was in turmoil as it shook with the force of a
massive earthquake. For days, what was left of the
city would burn.
On Sacramento Street near Chinatown, the great
disaster has driven citizens of all ethnicities and
classes from their homes and, as one, they head for
safer ground, unsure what the next few hours will
bring. This is, perhaps, the defining element of the
image, the balance between the human and emotional
character of the composition with the magnitude of
the historic
event.
Limited Museum Edition Giclée canvas
handsigned by the artist
Picture This
framing & gallery is an authorized representative for:
The Greenwich Workshop, Millpond Press, Somerset House,
The Western Lights Artists Group,
The Artist's Garden, Clearwater Publishing and other Fine Art publishers
Contact Us for more info.
