about the artist
about alissaAlissa Kim Tjen
Currently lives and works in North Vancouver, BC [email protected] Alissa is an emerging modern landscape artist based in North Vancouver. Working primarily in acrylics, she often employs an abstract and impressionist style in her landscape paintings. She started painting from childhood and continued her artistic journey at the Ontario College of Art and Design in Toronto and Emily Carr University of Art and Design in Vancouver. She refined her own visual and conceptual vocabulary that was then translated through her graphic design works. She is now pursuing her career as an artist depicting 'nature' in many of her paintings. She has years of experience in teaching painting and has exhibited her artworks in numerous juried group exhibitions in the North Shore. Her works can be found in private collections in Canada, the United States and Germany. Answers to questions you might have! - What was your first experience with/discovery of art? What made you want to become an artist? I started drawing and painting when I was little. There was something fulfilling in the act of cutting up a piece of paper or transferring what I see onto a piece of paper while making my own choices of colours. It was, in retrospect, the feeling of liberation that widened my world of intangible thoughts and having the moment where I could immerse myself completely and be allowed to be aloof from the real world. There are many things in life that cannot be explained in language. Languages and science have enabled human interactions to be effective to a certain degree but art has the power of interacting with our emotions perhaps both known and unknown. And I believe that's why I wanted to be an artist, to engage with people in a beyond-verbal way, to empathize and connect with what may be underneath people's consciousness. - Are there any key themes, messages or theories behind your work? We all try to find our identities and comfort through something material or spiritual. Sometimes those things are only temporary and cannot provide us the real comfort we seek. Through my paintings, I want people to find their own sanctuary within themselves through our mother nature which embraces us with its nurturing spirit and ultimately connects all of us. - Could you tell us a bit about your artistic approach? (Style, medium and specific techniques.) I work primarily in acrylics and often employ a semi-abstract style in my landscape paintings. A light texture is created with gesso, at the foundation stage, then as layers and layers of colours get built up I try to let my brush blur the boundary between logic and intuition, which is always a challenge when doing landscapes. I sometimes add in more texture with molding paste or glass beads. I finish each piece with a coat of semi-gloss gel and UV protective varnish which seals up the canvas pores protecting the painting from dust, UV rays and yellowing. - Please write a personal quote/sentence that best represents you as an artist. I can never copy nature. I can only let nature speak through me. Collections : Private Collection, Whistler, BC Private Collection, Squamish, BC Private Collection, Burnaby, BC Private Collection, North Vancouver, BC Private Collection, West Vancouver, BC Private Collection, Vancouver, BC Private Collection, Surrey, BC Private Collection, Richmond, BC Private Collection, Quebec, ON Private Collection, New York, NY, US Private Collection, Denver, CO, US Private Collection, Giessen, Germany Private Collection, Connecticut, US Private Collection, Los Angeles, US Private Collection, Maryland, US Private Collection, San Diego, US Private Collection, Texas, US Private Collection, San Francisco, US Private Collection, Chilliwack, BC Private Collection, Seattle, US Private Collection, Portland, US Private Collection, Arkansas, US Private Collection, Brooklyn, US |
EDUCATION2007 Bachelor of Design, Emily Carr University of Art and Design, Vancouver
2004 Graphic Design, Ontario College of Art and Design, Toronto Exhibitions2020 Upcoming- "Landscapes", Federation Gallery, Vancouver
"Social Distancing", Federation Gallery, Online "Canvas Unbound", Federation Gallery, Online Saatchi Art Spring Catalog, Digital & Print, US BC Home and Garden Show, Vancouver "Artists' Choice" Recognized work on Federation Gallery Website "Active Members Exhibition", Federation Gallery, Vancouver 2019 "Anonymous Art Show", Cityscape Gallery, North Vancouver "Spotlight", Federation Gallery, Vancouver Volunteers Art Show, Gordon Smith Gallery, North Vancouver 2018 Juried Group Exhibition "Harmony Arts Festival", West Vancouver 2017 Juried Fundraising Exhibition "Art Party", Seymour Art Gallery, North Vancouver 2016 Juried Group Exhibition "Homesick", CityScape Community Art Space, North Vancouver 2015 Juried Group Exhibition "Discovery: Fire", Seymour Art Gallery, North Vancouver Juried Fundraising Exhibition "Art Party", Seymour Art Gallery, North Vancouver Juried Fundraising Exhibition "Anonymous Art Show", Cityscape Community Art Space, North Vancouver Local Businesses Kim's Cafe, North Vancouver, 2019 Holy Family Acupuncture & Herbal Medicine, North Vancouver, 2019 Current member of North Shore Artists' Guild, Active Member at Federation of Canadian Artists, Saatchi Art and Singulart |