During the pandemic, Kaarina Chu Mackenzie turned to art to find a sense of home. What resulted were a series of paintings inspired by the Raohe Night Market in Taipei. That became an immersive art exhibit called The Night Market which ran at the Bobble Haus, a gallery, shop and event space in New York City’s Lower East Side. While the exhibit has closed, some of Kaarina’s artwork can still be seen until the end of this month at the “On The Way” art gallery and tea shop experience curated by Jocelyn Hu and Thomas Duh at 48 Hester St, in New York City.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- How the pandemic led Kaarina to focus more on creating paintings which later became part of an immersive art exhibit called The Night Market
- How Kaarina designed the immersive art exhibit at the Bobble Haus
- How she brought the night market experience to life at the opening reception of her art exhibit by and engaging all the senses through sound, light, and food
- How the art that Kaarina created was also a reaction to the Asian hate that happened during the pandemic
- How creating The Night Market exhibit was Kaarina’s way of creating a community for herself
- How and why Kaarina paints on large life-sized canvases
- How she hopes people feel when looking at her art
- Kaarina’s connection to Taiwan and upbringing in China
- Kaarina’s future plans for her night market series
- How Kaarina plans to explore her Taiwanese heritage and wants to use her art to create discourse and to connect with others
- How Kaarina deals with people who challenge her about her identity
- Kaarina’s advice for people who want to take the path of being an artist
Related Links:
Kaarina Chu Mackenzie’s website: https://www.kaarinamackenzie.com/
Kaarina Chu Mackenzie on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kaarinamackenzie/
Photos of The Night Market exhibit at Bobblehaus Gallery: https://bobblehaus.com/gallery/the-night-market-exhibition
Kaarina’s artwork can still be seen until the end of July at the “On The Way” art gallery and tea shop experience
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