TIMOTHY LAI
Born 1987, Kota Bharu, Malaysia.
Lives and works in Providence, RI.
Timothy Lai creates moments that are incredibly moving, both in subject matter and in style in which they’re rendered. His scenes often show unresolved dramas, their variability matched in equal measure by the fluidity of the artist’s figures. Though Lai’s paintings are inspired by actual events and snippets from real conversations, the works speak to an experience more universal than autobiographical, as his characters — avatars for Lai and his friends and family — navigate scenarios surrounding interracial love and identity.
Lai’s distinctive method of figurative painting developed from early experiments with Abstract Expressionism and his shifting techniques for further exploring approaches to portraying biracial identity. The complexions of his characters are constantly in flux, even within a single painting, occasionally veering into neutral grays that, as the artist remarks, “bring up the point that, in the system we inhabit, nothing is pure, and everything is always in service to someone else.” Compositions focus less on exacting representation, instead conveying lugubriousness or joy through the bodily languages of exaggeratedly looping limbs or impastoed visages, and settings are dotted with subtle nods to the clashes between the cultures one inherits and the separate societies we navigate on a daily basis.
Lai’s distinctive method of figurative painting developed from early experiments with Abstract Expressionism and his shifting techniques for further exploring approaches to portraying biracial identity. The complexions of his characters are constantly in flux, even within a single painting, occasionally veering into neutral grays that, as the artist remarks, “bring up the point that, in the system we inhabit, nothing is pure, and everything is always in service to someone else.” Compositions focus less on exacting representation, instead conveying lugubriousness or joy through the bodily languages of exaggeratedly looping limbs or impastoed visages, and settings are dotted with subtle nods to the clashes between the cultures one inherits and the separate societies we navigate on a daily basis.
Timothy Lai received his BA in communication from the University of Texas at San Antonio in 2009, and his MFA in painting from the Rhode Island School of Design in 2017. His work has been featured in group presentations at Jack Barrett, Essex Flowers, Bass & Reiner Gallery, Good Naked Gallery, and Field Projects. His first post graduate solo exhibition was in 2019 at 00-LA Gallery and recently had his first solo exhibition with Jack Barrett.