Jon Tsoi Art Statement
Worship the unnameable and unexpected art--the Yin, yet embrace and be indiscriminate towards all art--the Yang. Observe the world and one's outer surroundings, yet trust one's inner vision and intuition. As such, I use a blindfold to create art through the inner spirit (Yin), which in turn can be absorbed through the eyes (Yang). By using art as holistic medicine, we can all benefit from the mystery of art, balancing ourselves physically, mentally and spiritually. My art is a remedy promoting a harmonious way of life. Furthermore, it is a prescription for a new wave of art...
About Me:
Jon Tsoi Biography
Jon Tsoi was Born February 17, 1958, in a village known as Stone Bridge in the province of Schezwan in southwest China. From an early age, his parents recognized his artistic talent and provided him with art classes. Upon graduation from high school, he could have been conscripted into the army but instead he was sent to the countryside to become a farmer. "I got very good at it, and I enjoyed the work," he recalls. "We were living in nature and I drew strength and inspiration from that. It toughened me up and made me able to endure. That harsh environment became a positive force instilling in me the will to never give up. Its influence remains with me." With the death of Chairman Mao in 1976, young people were allowed to apply to college. Jon joined the art department of a teachers' college. In 1979, still chafing at the restrictions imposed by the Communist regime on the creation of art, he came to America to enjoy the artistic freedom he craved. Knowing little English, his first job was sewing pants for a clothier in Chinatown, making 50 cents a day. Later, he got a job washing dishes and was paid $800 a month with lodging. This was Jon's chance. From his earnings he paid the tuition for language school to improve his English. After that, he attended art classes at Montclair State College in New Jersey and continued his studies at the Art Students League of New York. As a fully trained acupuncturist and practitioner of Chinese medicine, he opened his own practices in Greenwich and Wilton, Connecticut, where his patients enjoy the aesthetically harmonizing effect of Jon's art as they partake of acupuncture or herbal treatments to balance the Yin and Yang of their energy force, designed to make them feel better in mind, body and spirit.
Jon Tsoi's art has been exhibited in many art galleries in the New York area over the past 25 years including the Gertrude White Gallery in Greenwich; the Greenwich Arts Council's Bendheim Gallery; La Galleria at La Mama, New York; Jadite Galleries, New York, where he has had many one-man shows; American Vision Gallery, New York; Studio 57 Fine Arts New York; Fernando Luis Alvarez Gallery 96 Bedford Street | Stamford, CT 06901 | Office (888) 861-6791 | falvarez@fernandoluisalvarezgallery.com
www.fernandoluisalvarezgallery.com and in select homes in Greenwich under the auspices of Sotheby's International Realty. Articles have been written on his work by The New York Times, Sun Storm Magazine, Art World News, The Greenwich Time, The Wilton Villager, and more. Collectors of his work are from worldwide. Sarah Seamark, Editor in Chief, Art World News.
Jon Tsoi, 280 Railroad Ave., Greenwich, CT 06831. Phone (203) 249-0115, e-mail: artjontsoi@gmail.com
