Join Blaffer Art Museum, Asia Society Texas Center, and Houston Center for Contemporary Craft for an artist roundtable held in conjunction with the exhibition, Stephanie Syjuco: The Visible Invisible, on view at Blaffer Art Museum through January 10, 2021. Moderated by Matt Manalo, the roundtable will feature a discussion by artists Stephanie Syjuco, Antonius-Tín Bui (former HCCC resident artist), and Royal Sumikat. Tune into Asia Society’s YouTube Live page to watch live, starting at 7 PM CT.
ABOUT THE PARTICIPANTS
**Stephanie Syjuco**
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.
Syjuco has widely exhibited her work 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 Biennial, and the 2015 Asian Art Biennial (Taiwan), among others. She is a 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 and a 2009 Joan Mitchell Painters and Sculptors Award.
**Antonius-Tín Bui**
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.
**Royal Sumikat**
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, she does this intentionally to highlight contrast in colors, texture, and 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.
**Matt Manalo**
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.
Manalo creates work that involves elements of painting, drawing, sculpture, photography, and printmaking. As 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 event is co-presented by Blaffer Art Museum, Asia Society Texas Center, and Houston Center for Contemporary Craft.
Above: Former HCCC resident artist Antonius-Tín Bui. Photo by Jeric Smith.
