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Schedule

Wednesday, January 6, 2021
7 p.m. Discussion

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Artist Roundtable: Visuality is moderated by Matt Manalo and features Stephanie Syjuco, Antonius-Tin Bui, and Royal Sumikat.

Join Blaffer Art Museum, Asia Society Texas Center, and the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft for this artist roundtable, held in conjunction with Stephanie Syjuco: The Visible Invisible on view at Blaffer Art Museum through January 10, 2021.

About the Artists

Stephanie Syjuco works in photography, sculpture, and installation, moving from handmade and craft-inspired mediums to digital editing and archive excavations. Her recent work has focused on how photography and image-based processes are implicated in the construction of racialized, exclusionary narratives of history and citizenship.

Currently The Visible Invisible is on display at Blaffer Art Museum through January 10. Syjuco has exhibited her work widely nationally and internationally, including at the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, the MoMA/P.S.1, the Whitney Museum of American Art, The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, The 12th Havana Bienal, The 2015 Asian Art Biennial (Taiwan), among others. Smithsonian Artist Research Fellow at the National Museum of American History in Washington, DC, and is the recipient of numerous accolades including a 2014 Guggenheim Fellowship Award, a 2009 Joan Mitchell Painters and Sculptors Award.

Antonius-Tín Bui (they/them pronouns) is a spontaneous shapeshifter and polydisciplinary artist with roots all over the United States. They proudly identify as a queer, nonbinary, Vietnamese-American Slaysian. Born and raised in Bronx, NY, Bui moved to Houston before pursuing a BFA at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MIC/A). Since graduating in 2016, Biu has garnered fellowships from the Vermont Studio Center, Kala Art Institute, Tulsa Artists Fellowship, Halcyon Arts Lab, Houston Center for Contemporary Craft, Yaddo, Anderson Center at Tower View, The Growlery, and Fine Arts Work Center. Bui has exhibited at various institutional, private, public, and underground venues including the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, IA&A at Hillyer, Lawndale Art Center, Pennsylvania College of Art & Design, Artscape, Satellite Art Fair Austin, Blaffer Art Museum, Laband Art Gallery, and the Smithsonian Arts & Industries Building.

Born in the Philippines and residing in Houston, multi-city muralist and painter Royal Sumikat is a dynamic human and a futuristic artist. She works with spray paint, gouache, acrylic paints, markers, and most recently, the app Procreate. While the images in her works appear to contradict each other, this is intentional, highlighting contrast in colors, texture, and in ideas.   

Sumikat’s work is informed by her experiences as an immigrant, community organizer, and priestess – taking inspiration from the spaces afforded by these different identities. Storytelling and mythology are prevalent in her work as she aims to strengthen the connection she has with her ancestors.

About the Moderator

Matt Manalo is an artist and community organizer. He was born and raised in Manila, Philippines and has called Houston, Texas, home since 2004. He received his BFA in Painting at the University of Houston. He runs a community-based alternative art space Alief Art House and founded Filipinx Artists of Houston.

Matt Manalo creates work which involves elements of painting, drawing, sculpture, photography, and printmaking. Being a first-generation immigrant, Manalo discusses his experiences navigating around physical and social structures of society while exploring issues like erasure, colorism, and colonial mentality in his work.

This program is organized by Blaffer Art Museum, Asia Society Texas Center, and the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft. Exhibitions and their related programs at Asia Society Texas Center are presented by Nancy C. Allen and Leslie and Brad Bucher. Major support comes from Chinhui Juhn and Eddie Allen and Mary Lawrence Porter, as well as The Brown Foundation, Inc., The Hearst Foundation, Houston Endowment, and the City of Houston through Houston Arts Alliance. Generous funding also provided by The Anchorage Foundation of Texas, The Clayton Fund, Texas Commission on the Arts, National Endowment for the Arts, Wortham Foundation, Inc., Olive Jenney, and Ann Wales. United Airlines is our official airline partner. Funding is also provided through contributions from the Exhibitions Patron Circle, a dedicated group of individuals and organizations committed to bringing exceptional visual art to Asia Society Texas Center.

Stephanie Syjuco: The Visible Invisible is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts. Generous support is also provided by Seth Ammerman, Wanda Kownacki, Janet Mohle-Boetani, Nion McEvoy and Leslie Berriman, Tom Schiff, Megan & Paul Segre, and Carlie Wilmans. Special thanks go to Catharine Clark Gallery, San Francisco and Ryan Lee Gallery, New York for their extensive assistance and support of this exhibition. Lead annual support for exhibitions and programming at the Blaffer Art Museum is provided by The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts and The Farrell Family Foundation. Major annual funding is provided by Leslie & Brad Bucher and the John P. McGovern Foundation. Generous annual support is provided by Bridget & Patrick Wade and Blaffer Art Museum Advisory Board members. The following donors sustain Blaffer Art Museum in perpetuity by giving through endowments: Cecil Amelia Blaffer von Furstenberg Endowment for Exhibitions and Programs, Jane Dale Owen Endowment in the Blaffer Art Museum, Jo and Jim Furr Exhibition Endowment in the Blaffer Art Museum, Sarah C. Morian Endowment, Sarah Campbell Blaffer Foundation Blaffer Gallery Endowment.

About Asia Society at Home

We are dedicated to continuing our mission of building cross-cultural understanding and uplifting human connectivity. Using digital tools, we bring you content for all ages and conversations that matter, in order to spark curiosity about Asia and to foster empathy.

About Asia Society Texas Center

With 13 locations throughout the world, Asia Society is the leading educational organization promoting mutual understanding and strengthening partnerships among the peoples, leaders, and institutions of Asia and West. Asia Society Texas Center executes the global mission with a local focus, enriching and engaging the vast diversity of Houston through innovative, relevant programs in arts and culture, business and policy, education, and community outreach.