Claire Oliver Gallery
Presents
Sami Tsang: Our Family Portrait
May 24 - July 26, 2025, at Claire Oliver Gallery in Harlem
Sami Tsang
Dark Waters, Luminescent Dreams
stoneware, glaze, glass, lace, micro-beads embellishment, acrylic, lights bulb, socket,
chain, thread, resin, faux fur, 2025
78 x 32 x 31 inches | 198 x 81 x 79cm
Dark Waters, Luminescent Dreams
stoneware, glaze, glass, lace, micro-beads embellishment, acrylic, lights bulb, socket,
chain, thread, resin, faux fur, 2025
78 x 32 x 31 inches | 198 x 81 x 79cm
WE ARE DELIGHTED TO INVITE YOU TO EXPERIENCE AN IMERSIVE EXPERIENTIAL EXHIBITION OF NEW CERAMIC SCULPTURES AND PAINTINGS AT THE ARTIST'S AMERICAN GALLERY PREMIERE.
SAMI TSANG: OUR FAMILY PORTRAIT
May 24 - July 26, 2025
Claire Oliver Gallery announces Our Family Portrait, the first U.S. solo exhibition by Chinese-Canadian artist Sami Tsang. The exhibition features new large-scale, richly layered figurative and allegorical works in ceramic sculpture, painting, and installation. Tsang’s studio practice delves into the complexities of mythology, identity, cultural inheritance, family dynamics, and personal liberation.
Our Family Portrait will be on view May 24 - July 26, 2025, at Claire Oliver Gallery in Harlem.
Tsang’s ceramic figures exist in a liminal space between tradition and rebellion, bearing the weight of cultural history while simultaneously breaking free from its constraints. “My work and my studio practices are very empowering. I use my work as a way to have difficult conversations with myself,” Tsang says. “My studio practice often explores feeling silenced or confined; by making the work and putting these feelings and memories into forms, I can assert a voice that wasn’t always accessible to me.”
SAMI TSANG: OUR FAMILY PORTRAIT
May 24 - July 26, 2025
Claire Oliver Gallery announces Our Family Portrait, the first U.S. solo exhibition by Chinese-Canadian artist Sami Tsang. The exhibition features new large-scale, richly layered figurative and allegorical works in ceramic sculpture, painting, and installation. Tsang’s studio practice delves into the complexities of mythology, identity, cultural inheritance, family dynamics, and personal liberation.
Our Family Portrait will be on view May 24 - July 26, 2025, at Claire Oliver Gallery in Harlem.
Tsang’s ceramic figures exist in a liminal space between tradition and rebellion, bearing the weight of cultural history while simultaneously breaking free from its constraints. “My work and my studio practices are very empowering. I use my work as a way to have difficult conversations with myself,” Tsang says. “My studio practice often explores feeling silenced or confined; by making the work and putting these feelings and memories into forms, I can assert a voice that wasn’t always accessible to me.”
Sami Tsang
When Heroes Were Real
stoneware, glass, acrylic, resin, micro-beads embellishment, wire, 2025
61 x 24 x 33 inches | 155 x 61 x 84cm
When Heroes Were Real
stoneware, glass, acrylic, resin, micro-beads embellishment, wire, 2025
61 x 24 x 33 inches | 155 x 61 x 84cm
Sami Tsang
Nourishing On Pain
stoneware, glaze, glass, acrylic, resin, faux fur, micro-beads embellishment, 2025
60 x 21 x 31 inches | 152 x 53 x 79cm
Nourishing On Pain
stoneware, glaze, glass, acrylic, resin, faux fur, micro-beads embellishment, 2025
60 x 21 x 31 inches | 152 x 53 x 79cm
Our Family Portrait expands her exploration of the domestic sphere as both a site of comfort and constraint. Using humor and symbolism, her sculptural works reflect the psychological complexities of family life, evoking themes of transformation, resilience, and adaptation. Drawing from childhood memories, Chinese proverbs, and cultural symbols, Tsang challenges traditional roles and societal expectations, creating a deeply personal yet universally resonant narrative.
Raised in a traditional Chinese household as the youngest female child, Tsang navigates the tension between obedience, duty, and the pursuit of individuality, revealing the unspoken struggles of a bicultural identity. Her large-scale figures—bold, exaggerated, and emotionally charged—capture moments of repression, rebellion, and transformation. Through humor, distortion, and fantasy, her figures embody the negotiation between traditional Chinese values, rooted in filial piety, modesty, and family honor, and the desire for autonomy and self-expression.
Raised in a traditional Chinese household as the youngest female child, Tsang navigates the tension between obedience, duty, and the pursuit of individuality, revealing the unspoken struggles of a bicultural identity. Her large-scale figures—bold, exaggerated, and emotionally charged—capture moments of repression, rebellion, and transformation. Through humor, distortion, and fantasy, her figures embody the negotiation between traditional Chinese values, rooted in filial piety, modesty, and family honor, and the desire for autonomy and self-expression.
Sami Tsang
Grief's Landscape
stoneware, glaze, glass, lace, micro-beads embellishment, acrylic, resin, 2025
47 x 38 x 25 inches | 119 x 97 x 64cm
Grief's Landscape
stoneware, glaze, glass, lace, micro-beads embellishment, acrylic, resin, 2025
47 x 38 x 25 inches | 119 x 97 x 64cm
Sami Tsang’s work has gained international recognition, establishing her as a significant voice in contemporary ceramics and sculpture. She has participated in prestigious residencies, including the 7th International Artist Retreat and Residency in Anhui, China, and the Harbourfront Centre Residency in Toronto. Her work has been exhibited at leading art fairs such as Art Toronto and EXPO Chicago, reinforcing her presence in both North American and global art markets.
Sami Tsang
I'm the Reflection Of You
stoneware, glaze, glass, acrylic, resin, faux fur, nylon cord, chain, jade, micro-beads
embellishment, 2025
42 x 27 x 19 inches | 107 x 69 x 48cm
I'm the Reflection Of You
stoneware, glaze, glass, acrylic, resin, faux fur, nylon cord, chain, jade, micro-beads
embellishment, 2025
42 x 27 x 19 inches | 107 x 69 x 48cm
Sami Tsang
Burn it
ceramic, glaze, engobe, glass, thread, 2022
37 x 18 x 14 inches | 94 x 46 x 36cm
Burn it
ceramic, glaze, engobe, glass, thread, 2022
37 x 18 x 14 inches | 94 x 46 x 36cm
Sami Tsang
Bathtub Story
stoneware, glaze, underglaze, resin, clay, plastic, 2020
32 x 32 x 19 inches | 81 x 81 x 48cm
Bathtub Story
stoneware, glaze, underglaze, resin, clay, plastic, 2020
32 x 32 x 19 inches | 81 x 81 x 48cm
Sami Tsang
Rotten Roots
stoneware, glaze, acrylic, thread, fabric, resin, faux fur, 2025
28 x 27 x 12 inches | 71 x 69 x 30cm
Rotten Roots
stoneware, glaze, acrylic, thread, fabric, resin, faux fur, 2025
28 x 27 x 12 inches | 71 x 69 x 30cm
Sami Tsang
Saying Hi Is That Hard
stoneware, glaze, colour slip, poly China silk, 2023
25 x 12 x 16 inches | 64 x 29 x 39cm
Saying Hi Is That Hard
stoneware, glaze, colour slip, poly China silk, 2023
25 x 12 x 16 inches | 64 x 29 x 39cm
Sami Tsang
His Bad Days
stoneware, engobe, glaze, resin, tissue paper, polymer clay, clay epoxy, metal hinge,
acrylic, 2021
15 x 10 x 8 inches | 37 x 24 x 20cm
His Bad Days
stoneware, engobe, glaze, resin, tissue paper, polymer clay, clay epoxy, metal hinge,
acrylic, 2021
15 x 10 x 8 inches | 37 x 24 x 20cm
ABOUT CLAIRE OLIVER GALLERY
Claire Oliver Gallery is located in Central Harlem in a four-story brownstone. For 30 years, Claire Oliver Gallery has showcased and celebrated artwork, with a focus on work by women and people of color, which transcends and challenges the traditional art historical canon. Our forward-thinking program and exclusive commitment to the primary market allows for an intensive focus that has nurtured and grown the careers of our artists. Many of the gallery’s artists have been included in The Venice Biennale, The Whitney Biennial, and biennales in Sydney, Pittsburgh, and Lyon and have exhibited works in major international museums including the Smithsonian American Art Museum, The Art Institute of Chicago, Center Georges Pompidou, The Philadelphia Museum of Art, and The Los Angeles County Museum of Art amongst others. Claire Oliver Gallery artists are included in the permanent collections of many important museums worldwide including The Smithsonian American Art Museum, The Art Institute of Chicago, The Tate Britain, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The State Hermitage Museum, MoMA, and the Museum of Arts and Design amongst many others. Claire Oliver Gallery held the first American exhibition for the Russian collaborative AES+F, whose work went on to twice represent Russia in the Russian pavilion of the Venice Biennale. Gallery artists have received prestigious fellowships including Fulbright, Guggenheim, USArtist, and National Endowment for the Arts.
Claire Oliver Gallery is located in Central Harlem in a four-story brownstone. For 30 years, Claire Oliver Gallery has showcased and celebrated artwork, with a focus on work by women and people of color, which transcends and challenges the traditional art historical canon. Our forward-thinking program and exclusive commitment to the primary market allows for an intensive focus that has nurtured and grown the careers of our artists. Many of the gallery’s artists have been included in The Venice Biennale, The Whitney Biennial, and biennales in Sydney, Pittsburgh, and Lyon and have exhibited works in major international museums including the Smithsonian American Art Museum, The Art Institute of Chicago, Center Georges Pompidou, The Philadelphia Museum of Art, and The Los Angeles County Museum of Art amongst others. Claire Oliver Gallery artists are included in the permanent collections of many important museums worldwide including The Smithsonian American Art Museum, The Art Institute of Chicago, The Tate Britain, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The State Hermitage Museum, MoMA, and the Museum of Arts and Design amongst many others. Claire Oliver Gallery held the first American exhibition for the Russian collaborative AES+F, whose work went on to twice represent Russia in the Russian pavilion of the Venice Biennale. Gallery artists have received prestigious fellowships including Fulbright, Guggenheim, USArtist, and National Endowment for the Arts.
Sami Tsang
Ended on The 15th Year
stoneware, engobe, glaze, resin, fabric, polymer clay, acrylic, 2020
14 x 12 x 12 inches | 36 x 30 x 30cm
Ended on The 15th Year
stoneware, engobe, glaze, resin, fabric, polymer clay, acrylic, 2020
14 x 12 x 12 inches | 36 x 30 x 30cm
Claire Oliver Gallery
2288 Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard
New York, NY 10030
212.929.5949
www.claireoliver.com
2288 Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard
New York, NY 10030
212.929.5949
www.claireoliver.com