Karen Tam | Sea of Clouds

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g.l'heureux

Karen Tam, “From Yiwu to you,” 2022

(Photo credit: Guy L'Heureux.) (Courtesy of the artist.)

Sea of Clouds investigates the rich history of World Fairs and Expositions, particularly focusing on the representation—or the idea—of China from the 1851 London Fair to the 2010 Shanghai Expo, and its ties to the Chinese diasporas in North America. Initially, portrayals of China were influenced by the British-directed Chinese Customs Service to serve imperialistic agendas and shape perceptions in North America and Europe. However, as seen in the 1893 World Columbian Exposition in Chicago, where Chinese Americans took charge of their pavilions in response to the Chinese government’s refusal to participate due to the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act, these events evolved into platforms for cultural exchange and understanding.  

Karen Tam is a Tiohtià:ke/Montreal-based artist whose research focuses on the constructions and imaginations of “ethnic” spaces through installations, sculptures, textiles, and drawings. Since 2000, she has exhibited her work and participated in residencies in North America and Europe, including Victoria and Albert Museum (UK), He Xiangning Art Museum (China), Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec (Canada), Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (Canada), McCord Stewart Museum (Canada) and Deutsche Börse Residency at the Frankfurter Kunstverein (Germany). Karen Tam was awarded the 2021 Prix Giverny Capital. She was long listed for the 2010 and 2016 Sobey Art Awards. In 2024, her exhibition Swallowing Mountains at the McCord Steward Museum received an honourable mention from the Canadian Museum Association. 

Karen Tam holds an MFA in Sculpture from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and a PhD in Cultural Studies (Goldsmiths, Universityof London). Her work is exhibited in museums and corporate collections such as the Irish Museum of Modern Art, Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Musée d’art Contemporain de Montréal, Musée National des Beaux-arts du Québec, Global Affairs Canada (Embassy of Canada in London), Hydro-Québec Art Collection, La Caisse de dépôt du Québec, Collection of the Royal Bank of Canada, TD Group, Microsoft Art Collection, and in private collections in Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom.