Sea of Hope

Exhibition Statement
The “Sea of Hope,” was an installation Foon Sham made for his mother who died of cancer. The medium of the artwork are wood, paper and tealeaves. The long wooden vessel is a metaphor for her journey to go somewhere peaceful and quiet. Sham used tea-leaves as symbols for cure and a cone form to resemble candle flames. Tealeaves contain antioxidants that are supposed to prevent cancer. Viewers who wanted to share Sham’s feeling could write their messages in black on the paper boats that he provided. These messages were about their loved ones who have suffered in cancer or hoped for cure in cancer. The piece is about sharing, healing and hopes. After two exhibitions, there were over 800 paper boats representing over 800 individuals forming a collective voyage. Sham likes to share their thoughts and words in this solo exhibition and invite your participation.

Artist Bio
Born in Macao and raised in Hong Kong, Foon Sham is a sculptor and professor of Art at the University of Maryland, College Park, USA. Foon Sham received a BFA from the California College of Arts and Crafts in 1978, and a MFA from Virginia Commonwealth University in 1981. Since 80s, he had 30 solo exhibitions and participated in over 126 group exhibitions in United States and other countries including, Canada, Norway, Mexico, Australia and Hong Kong. His recent exhibitions included a solo exhibition in John Davis Gallery in Hudson, New York, 2010, Project 4 in Washington DC, 2009,and also a group exhibitions at Katonah Museum of Art in New York, 2010.Wood has always been Sham’s primary medium in his sculpture and installations. He has sawed, cut, laminated, stacked, carved and assembled a multiplicity of soft and hard wood into organic and geometric forms from small to massive pieces. His art echoes his personal feeling to nature, disaster, and the particular environment. In his recent installations, he invited visitors to participate and share his thoughts and ideas.He has received many awards including a Residency Grant from the National Endowment of the Arts, 2001, the Nordic Artists’ Centre in Dale, Norway, 1999, the Virginia Commission of the Arts in 1996, and recently the Franz and Virginia Bader Grant in Washington DC and the Strauss Fellowship from the Art Council in Fairfax County, Virginia, both in 2009. His public collections include the Nayatad Sculpture Park in Hungary in 1995, the MacQuarie University in Sydney, Australia, 2003, the Museum of Contemporary Arts of Yucatan, Merida, Mexico, 2005, the Gallery Place-Chinatown Metro-rail Station in Washington DC, 2000, and the Hong Kong Museum of Art, 2008