Sapira Cheuk

Transmitting Figures: Exploring how embodiment transmits knowledge, history, and meaning

Sapira Cheuk is an ink painter and installation artist. Born in Hong Kong and based in Las Vegas, NV. Cheuk’s work often utilizes a blend of sumi and india ink, symbolizing the mixture of her identities. Cheuk has exhibited in numerous exhibitions, including those at the Institute of Contemporary Art Los Angeles, Orange County Contemporary Art Center, Center for Contemporary Art Texas, Masur Museum, The Netura Museum, and Yellowstone Art Museum. Cheuk works for the Nevada Arts Council, serves as the Art Editor for the museum of americana, and teaches at the College of Southern Nevada. She received her BA at University of California, Riverside and MFA from California State University, San Bernardino.

Cheuk writes, "I am interested in proprioception, ways of knowing through the body, and how these modes of knowledge reflect or internalize external experiences. My works seek out instances where the process of experiencing ultimately results in understanding and knowledge, that stems from physical and bodily events. My interest originates from the dynamics of interpersonal memories, and has since evolved into themes such as aesthetic labor, and ownership; physical isolation, and virtual connections; and cellular alterations through trauma, and psychological recoveries. While these ideas tend to be wide-ranging, my aesthetic choices are firmly based on ink and paper. As I was born in Hong Kong, Chinese Sumi painting aesthetics and materials heavily influenced my practice. The ink used is a specific blend of soluble and insoluble inks to create the effects characteristic to my work. The smooth gradation and abrupt fractures that exist simultaneously in each figure represents my experiences as an immigrant, negotiating two different cultures, values, and operating systems."

Transmitting Figures will culminate in a combined event involving presentations by Sapira Cheuk’s collaborators on the series. This event will include a Pangalay dance performance by Chloe Bernardo and a talk by Chinese historian Dr. Stephanie Montgomery. Afterward, a short discussion will follow, on themes of embodiment that connect these different disciplines.

Dr. Stephanie Montgomery’s areas of research include modern China, the history of gender, sexuality, and the body; women’s history; the history of criminality and penology; and the history of science, medicine, technology, and drugs.

Chloe Bernardo is a first-generation immigrant from the Philippines, holding a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Graphic Design and Media from University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Presently, she serves as a museum designer at the Marjorie Barrick Museum of Art, where her multifaceted role extends to marketing initiatives and the creation of essential museum materials, reflecting her commitment to enhancing the visitor experience and fostering artistic appreciation. In her role, Chloe collaborates to turn artists' and curators' visions into impactful exhibitions.