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  • Untitled (ca. 1970)

    John Kwok

    This untitled painting reflects John Kwok's fondness for experimenting with abstract form and pattern, and underscores the influence of Western modernism in his own artistic practice. John Kwok was born in Shanghai, China, in 1920, and died in Los Angeles in 1983. He studied art at Sacramento Junior College (1938–40) and Chouinard Art Institute in Los Angeles (1940–42). He designed window displays and signage for fine department stores, including I. Magnin and Bullock's Wilshire, and spent the latter part of his career working as a freelance artist executing commissioned portraits, many for community figures and the local chapter of Jack and Jill of America. Nearly every year from 1947 until 1983, the year he died, Kwok participated in multiple watercolor shows and competitions around the country, winning prizes at the majority of these shows.


    Gouache on paperboard 40 x 30 in
    Collection of The John Kwok Family John Kwok

  • Lifeguard Station (1992)

    Milton Quon


    Watercolor on paper 12 1/8 x 16 1/8 in
    Courtesy of the artist © Milton Quon

  • Mother and Child (1938)

    Milton Quon


    Ink and watercolor on paper 22 x 17 in
    Courtesy of the artist © Milton Quon

  • Peachy Color Collage (1994)

    Milton Quon


    Watercolor and collage on paper 15 x 22 1/4 in
    Courtesy of the artist © Milton Quon

  • Santa Monica Pier (2002)

    Milton Quon


    Watercolor on paper 10 1/2 x14 1/2 in
    Courtesy of the Artist © Milton Quon

  • Downtown Train Yard and City Hall (1986)

    Milton Quon


    Watercolor on paper 11 x 15 in
    Courtesy of the artist © Milton Quon

  • Chinatown (early 1930s)

    Tyrus Wong


    Oil on canvas 22 1/4 x 22 1/2 in
    Collection of Leslee See Leong © Tyrus Wong

  • The Philosopher (early 1940s)

    Tyrus Wong


    Oil on fabric 48 3/8 x 20 5/8 in
    Collection of Carol Courtenay © Tyrus Wong

  • Reclining Nude (ca. 1940s)

    Tyrus Wong

    The rich, vibrant palette, and the seductive, Asian-inspired style of Tyrus Wong's Reclining Nude, is reminiscent of the Chinese painting tradition, the modern California watercolor style, and Stanton MacDonald-Wright's synchromism—all of which were important in Wong's development as an artist.


    Oil on canvas 29 3/4 x 48 in
    Collection of Leslee See Leong © Tyrus Wong

  • Self-Portrait (late 1920s)

    Tyrus Wong

    Tyrus Wong was born in 1909 in Guangdong, China, and currently lives in Sunland, California. He received a scholarship to study at Otis Art Institute (1928–35), after which he went to work at Disney Studios on the film Bambi (1942). Wong was employed at Warner Brothers Studios for more than two decades, where he illustrated storyboards for dozens of films, including The Wild Bunch, Rebel Without a Cause, Around the World in Eighty Days, and other award-winning films. As the father of three, Wong took private commissions and freelance assignments to augment his income, such as designing Christmas cards for Duncan McIntosh, California Artists, and Looart, and dinnerware for Winfield Pottery. Wong retired in 1970s, and has been creating and flying his own kites at Santa Monica Beach.


    Watercolor on paper 14 x 21 3/8 in
    Collection of Chinese American Museum © Tyrus Wong

  • Tyrus Wong in His Studio, Sunland (1997)

    Irene Poon

    Since Tyrus Wong retired from Warner Brothers Studios in the 1970s, he has been building and flying his own brand of traditional Chinese-style kites. Several centipede kite faces hang on the studio wall behind him.


    Photograph
    Collection of Irene Poon © Irene Poon

  • San Francisco Chinatown Street Corner (date unknown)

    Jake Lee

    Jake Lee lived in Berkeley and worked in the Bay Area after completing his studies in architecture and philosophy at San Jose State University. He continued to learn about watercolor painting from his friend and well-known watercolorist, Dong Kingman. It was in San Francisco's Chinatown that the two of them painted together, often inspired by the area's familiar sights, sounds, and cuisine of the vibrant landscape and the bustling community.


    Watercolor on paper 23 x 29 1/2 in
    Collection of Richard Liu © Jake Lee

  • Olvera Street Grocery Store Front (date unknown)

    Jake Lee

    Watercolor artist Jake Lee spent much of his life in Los Angeles, depicting scenes from neighborhoods all over Southern California. This painting, set at the edge of what was once Los Angeles's original Chinatown, demonstrates Lee's unique talent for capturing the distinctive spectrum of the city's colors beneath the Southern California sun.


    Watercolor on paper 19 x 26 in
    Collection of Chinese American Museum © Jake Lee

  • Abstract in Green Field (early 1960s)

    George Chann


    Oil and sumi ink on canvas 60 x 48 in
    Collection of Janet Chann © George Chann

  • American Calligraphy (1970s)

    George Chann


    Sumi ink and oil on canvas 28 x 22 in
    Collection of Janet Chann © George Chann

  • Calligraphy Tablet with Yellow Frame (1960s)

    George Chann


    Sumi ink and watercolor on rice paper 35 x 12 in
    Collection of Janet Chann © George Chann

  • Self Portrait (n.d.)

    George Chann


    Oil on canvas 39 x 34 in
    Collection of Crystal Cathedral Ministries © George Chann

  • Untitled (1970s)

    John Kwok


    Gouache and pen on paperboard 40 x 30 in
    Collection of The John Kwok Family © John Kwok

  • Untitled (1970s)

    John Kwok


    Gouache and pen on paperboard 30 x 40 in
    Collection of The John Kwok Family © John Kwok

  • Untitled (1950s-early 1960s)

    George Chann


    Oil on canvas 16 x 12 in
    Collection of Crystal Cathedral Ministries © George Chann

Vincent Price Art Museum, East Los Angeles College

'Round the Clock: Chinese American Artists Working in Los Angeles

'Round the Clock: Chinese American Artists Working in Los Angeles presents the work of George Chann, John Kwok, Jake Lee, Milton Quon, and Tyrus Wong, contemporary Chinese American artists who employed their artistic abilities in their professional lives while remaining true to their own artistic pursuits in their personal lives. The exhibition will feature more than 100 works by these Los Angeles-based artists, including paintings, watercolors, storyboard illustrations, animation cells, drawings, photographs, film clips, and ephemera. Round the Clock will consider how these contemporary artists balanced their personal art-making and their professional demands; how they achieved success on their own terms in their commitment to making art in Los Angeles; and the significance of their contributions to the region's artistic and cultural legacy
01/21/2012 – 05/25/2012
Vincent Price Art Museum, East Los Angeles College
East Los Angeles College
1301 Avenida Cesar Chavez
Monterey Park, CA 91754