portraits and seals

vincent chong

A full length portrait of a person named Yen. Yen is standing leaning Yen’s upper body into a white ridged column. Yen is standing with the left arm down touching the column, and Yen’s right arm is up and bent, resting the hand on Yen’s head. Yen crosses the ankles, right over left. Yen is nude and has dark pink hair. Behind Yen is a pink and blue rectangle with stars and circles that takes up most of the background, except for a silver of gray along the right side and bottom.

A full length portrait of a person named Yen. Yen is standing leaning Yen’s upper body into a white ridged column. Yen is standing with the left arm down touching the column, and Yen’s right arm is up and bent, resting the hand on Yen’s head. Yen crosses the ankles, right over left. Yen is nude and has dark pink hair. Behind Yen is a pink and blue rectangle with stars and circles that takes up most of the background, except for a silver of gray along the right side and bottom.

Portrait of a person named Aki sitting on a bed with his head leaning on his right hand and his right arm resting on his right knee, which is more elevated than his left leg. He is shirtless, with visible top surgery scars, and wears dark blue jeans and white sneakers. Lying on the bed next to him is a black dog whose head is between Aki’s body and left arm.The room is a light greenish blue color with wood floors and a white window with a tied white curtain on the back wall. On the back wall is a small framed piece of art, on the floor is a multicolored striped rug, and on the brown wooden bed is a purple and yellow abstract pattern comforter.

Portrait of a person named Aki sitting on a bed with his head leaning on his right hand and his right arm resting on his right knee, which is more elevated than his left leg. He is shirtless, with visible top surgery scars, and wears dark blue jeans and white sneakers. Lying on the bed next to him is a black dog whose head is between Aki’s body and left arm.

The room is a light greenish blue color with wood floors and a white window with a tied white curtain on the back wall. On the back wall is a small framed piece of art, on the floor is a multicolored striped rug, and on the brown wooden bed is a purple and yellow abstract pattern comforter.

A portrait of a Korean-American person named ET. He is painted lying on his back on a white comforter in a fetal position. His arms are wrapped around his legs which are folded near his chest. He is nude other than a pair of black ankle socks with white toe and heel caps. ET appears to make eye contact with the viewer and sits in front of a dark blue sky background with a gemini constellation. ET has a tattoo on his upper left arm and left side of his neck.

A portrait of a Korean-American person named ET. He is painted lying on his back on a white comforter in a fetal position. His arms are wrapped around his legs which are folded near his chest. He is nude other than a pair of black ankle socks with white toe and heel caps. ET appears to make eye contact with the viewer and sits in front of a dark blue sky background with a gemini constellation. ET has a tattoo on his upper left arm and left side of his neck.

Portrait of a person named Ping lying on a bed. They lie with their head propped up on a black pillow against a gray wall, right arm bent with the hand touching the pillow, and left hand resting on their stomach. Their knees are bent with their feet flat on the bed with a pink comforter with small white spots. They wear a cropped gray crewneck t shirt, purple midthigh shorts, and white socks. They have a small tattoo on their right arm by the elbow.

Portrait of a person named Ping lying on a bed. They lie with their head propped up on a black pillow against a gray wall, right arm bent with the hand touching the pillow, and left hand resting on their stomach. Their knees are bent with their feet flat on the bed with a pink comforter with small white spots. They wear a cropped gray crewneck t shirt, purple midthigh shorts, and white socks. They have a small tattoo on their right arm by the elbow.

A hand holds the seal showing the bottom of the seal to the camera. A white piece of paper with the printed seal is on the gray background. The seal is a whitish stone with orange ink left on the bottom in the grooves of the carving. The carving is a square with ET carved in the winding style of 9-fold script and worm script, surrounded by dragons, a turtle, and a tiger. The piece of paper has this seal printed onto it in orange.

A hand holds the seal showing the bottom of the seal to the camera. A white piece of paper with the printed seal is on the gray background. The seal is a whitish stone with orange ink left on the bottom in the grooves of the carving. The carving is a square with ET carved in the winding style of 9-fold script and worm script, surrounded by dragons, a turtle, and a tiger. The piece of paper has this seal printed onto it in orange.

A small carved seal in Chinese soapstone laying next to a white piece of paper with Chinese characters on it on a gray background. The seal is in a white stone with pink marbling and has a traditional Chinese style carving of a creature on top and the base of the seal is a cube. The piece of paper has a square icon on it, the print of the seal. It is printed in orange ink with images of dragons, a tiger, and a turtle, with characters that say ET in the winding style of 9-fold script and worm script.

A small carved seal in Chinese soapstone laying next to a white piece of paper with Chinese characters on it on a gray background. The seal is in a white stone with pink marbling and has a traditional Chinese style carving of a creature on top and the base of the seal is a cube. The piece of paper has a square icon on it, the print of the seal. It is printed in orange ink with images of dragons, a tiger, and a turtle, with characters that say ET in the winding style of 9-fold script and worm script.

A hand holds the stone seal to show the bottom to the camera. In the background is a white piece of paper with the print of the seal in orange, and the paper sits on a gray background. The seal has orange ink left on it and shows the character for Ping carved 4 times in 4 historical variations in a grid shape. The small rectangle piece of paper has this seal printed onto it.

A hand holds the stone seal to show the bottom to the camera. In the background is a white piece of paper with the print of the seal in orange, and the paper sits on a gray background. The seal has orange ink left on it and shows the character for Ping carved 4 times in 4 historical variations in a grid shape. The small rectangle piece of paper has this seal printed onto it.

A ¾ view of the carved seal in Chinese soapstone and a piece of paper with a printed seal on it. The seal has a white and pink marbled cube base with a traditional Chinese carving of a creature on top. The side of the seal has raised Chinese characters in 2 columns. The white piece of paper has a square icon on it, the print of the seal. It is printed in orange ink with images of dragons, a tiger, and a turtle, with characters that say ET in the winding style of 9-fold script and worm script.

A ¾ view of the carved seal in Chinese soapstone and a piece of paper with a printed seal on it. The seal has a white and pink marbled cube base with a traditional Chinese carving of a creature on top. The side of the seal has raised Chinese characters in 2 columns. The white piece of paper has a square icon on it, the print of the seal. It is printed in orange ink with images of dragons, a tiger, and a turtle, with characters that say ET in the winding style of 9-fold script and worm script.

A seal engraved in green Chinese soapstone. It is a rectangular prism with an irregular rounded top laid on its side next to a piece of paper with the seal printed onto it in orange ink on a gray background. The seal has Chinese characters engraved in 3 columns onto it. The piece of paper shows the seal, which is the character for Ping’s name 4 times in a grid, in 4 different historical styles.

A seal engraved in green Chinese soapstone. It is a rectangular prism with an irregular rounded top laid on its side next to a piece of paper with the seal printed onto it in orange ink on a gray background. The seal has Chinese characters engraved in 3 columns onto it. The piece of paper shows the seal, which is the character for Ping’s name 4 times in a grid, in 4 different historical styles.

vol. 01 summer 2021

vol. 01
summer 2021

A photo of a Chinese-American gender non conforming queer in nature. Photo is cropped to show head and shoulders. Their shoulders face away from the camera, with their head turned towards it, making eye contact. Their hands are clasped in front of them. They have short, almost buzzed, brown hair, and they wear a small gold chain around their neck. In the background there are trees and lots of branches, as well as some shrubbery and grass.

A photo of a Chinese-American gender non conforming queer in nature. Photo is cropped to show head and shoulders. Their shoulders face away from the camera, with their head turned towards it, making eye contact. Their hands are clasped in front of them. They have short, almost buzzed, brown hair, and they wear a small gold chain around their neck. In the background there are trees and lots of branches, as well as some shrubbery and grass.

about the artist

I'm Vincent Chong (he/she/they), and I am perhaps best described as a Queer gnc mixed-race Chinese-American multidisciplinary prop-queen (artist) living and working on occupied Lenape land commonly referred to as New York City. My practice is grounded in a foundation of Chinese calligraphy and seal carving. I am a student of Taiwanese calligrapher Master Wu Wensheng who was a student of the late Master Wang Beiyue. I began teaching and performing with the intention of creating space within traditional art where my Queer community and chosen family could see reflections of our experience. In the past year, I began painting large scale portraits of my Queer chosen family to create representation of our community. I aim to carve seals for each of the folks who have spent time live modelling for portraits, which has felt like a meaningful way to exchange skills, gifts, and time with QTBIPOC friends. I aim for my work to address and reverse the erasure we have historically experienced. I take some limited commission projects for seals, and I am always happy to get to work with QTBIPOC folks. If you are looking for ways to support, feel free to inquire about buying a painting or hiring me to perform, paint, or write calligraphy. I have a solo show coming up at Skånes Konstförening gallery in Malmö, Sweden May 2022.