Jessica Silverman is delighted to present Nostalgia for the present tense, an exhibition of twelve paintings by Chelsea Ryoko Wong. Inspired by recent travels in Europe, East Asia, North Africa, and California, these canvases explore moments when the artist was struck by the value of community. In a time of war, political polarization, social media “haters”, and rampant acrimony, Wong explores instances of social harmony, not just for the comfort they offer, but for their power as self-fulfilling prophecies. An existentialist who believes in the artist’s role in resisting nihilism, Wong seeks to bring order to chaos and mindful purpose to godforsaken emptiness.

In A work that outlives me, four smiling characters inhabit a highly patterned environment inspired by time spent in Morocco and Tunisia. Despite her refusal of three-dimensional modeling, shading, and shadows, Wong’s composition is not entirely flat. Through her use of perspective on the tile floor and some fancy footwork (literally), she creates several theatrical planes of spatial existence. Typical of Wong’s figures, these bazaar characters are all in profile. They avoid confrontation, but acknowledge the viewer’s gaze. However, inside a painting within this painting is a self-portrait in which Wong faces forward next to a tall mustachioed man, reminiscent of Salvador Dali. Indeed, most of Wong’s paintings include discrete self-portraits in which the artist often looks out at her audience.

In both Keeping chaos at bay and The spectacle of love, Wong revisits a perennial theme in her work and one longstanding in art history – bathing scenes. Although set in different locations (a Rocky Mountain lake and a Pacific bay), both paintings portray heavens on Earth. These sublime, awesome landscapes are also cozy enclaves that foster relaxed connections between diverse peoples. The beaches' social scenes are free and formal, intimate and courteous, serene but animated. They are tableaux of civility.

The exhibition features paintings of interiors, exteriors, and works that combine the two. One such painting is A Sweet Sanctuary, which commemorates a high point in the artist’s time at a temple in Kyoto, Japan. A Japanese musician plays an Indian sitar in the background, soothing a motley gathering of locals and tourists, whose differences evaporate through music. Rows of blossoming trees and manicured green hills suggest a gracious relationship between nature and culture. Even if this idyllic experience is fleeting, it is worth remembering as an unsung cultural achievement and evidence of peaceful internationalism.

“Real generosity toward the future lies in giving all to the present”, said Albert Camus, the famous existentialist. Honoring beautiful, pro-social moments in the here and now is key to the ethos of Wong’s paintings in Nostalgia for the Present Tense. By these means, the artist casts a spell on the world in the hope that nature and culture can find greater equilibrium.

Chelsea Ryoko Wong (b. 1986, Seattle, WA) is a painter and muralist. She attended Parsons School of Design, New York and received her BFA in printmaking from California College of the Arts. She is the first recipient of the Hamaguchi Emerging Artists Fellowship award at Kala Art Institute, Berkeley and was a 2022 finalist for SFMOMA’s esteemed SECA Art Award. She has participated in recent group exhibitions at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, Creativity Explored, Chinese Cultural Center, and Bolinas Museum. Her work will be included in a forthcoming group exhibition at the de Young. She has completed large-scale mural projects in San Francisco at Asana; La Cocina; Facebook Artist in Residence Program; and forthcoming at the Asian Art Museum. Her work has been acquired by institutional and private collections including de Young, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, Crocker Art Museum, CA, and Bolinas Museum, CA. Wong lives and works in the Mission District of San Francisco. She is represented by Jessica Silverman, San Francisco.