About the Exhibition
Elevate at 21c presents temporary exhibitions of works by artists living and working in the communities surrounding each 21c Museum Hotel property. Elevate provides hotel guests and the public unique access to the work of notable regional artists, while featuring their work in the context of 21c’s contemporary art spaces. We are proud to partner with The Durham Art Guild to present When I Think of Home, a living installation by Malu Tan with support from curators Dara Baldwin, Jonh Blanco and Liz Gage. On display now in the Main Street vitrines.
From the artist’s website:
When I Think of Home is a created space of suspended live Yoshino cherry trees that takes a literal cue from the fabled Hanging Gardens of Babylon, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World that was built by the Neo-Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar II for his homesick wife Queen Amytis and reminiscent of the green mountains of Media (northwestern Iran).
The installation examines the emotional gravity of a place, the transience of life, and the psychological anxiety related to displacement, nostalgia, and the quest for identity.
About the Artist: Malu Tan
Malu Tan (b. 1964, Manila Philippines) is a multi-media artist with a deep identification with nature. In her late forties, she obtained a Certificate in Painting from the Art Academy in London. She has shown at various museums and galleries, including Marin Museum, CA; Katonah Museum, NY; Ayala Museum in Manila; On Center Gallery, MA; Monika Olko Gallery, NY; Faber Birren, CT; and The Philippine Consulate in New York. She is a recipient of the Artist Support Grant and the Creative Renewal Fellowship in North Carolina. Her work is part of the permanent collection of The Yale-New Haven Medical Center, Childrens Hospital of the King’s Daughters, and Cartus Corporation, among others. She currently lives and works in Charlotte, NC.
Artist Statement
My work is an attempt to find myself and capture the essence of a place. Through my abstract and narrative paintings, and constructed installation spaces, I explore the emotional gravity of a place as a way to understand myself and navigate through my everyday chaos toward calm.
I confront nostalgia and transitory feelings of longing for home by creating abstract spaces. I allow my imagination to collide, using the radiance of made-up scenes to find moments of joy. To me, creating these imagined scenes is as significant as seeing them.
About The Durham Art Guild
The Durham Art Guild is finding new and unique ways to show the works of North Carolina artists throughout the Triangle and the state to celebrate the talent of the region, bridge communities together, spark conversation and reflect the diverse voices in North Carolina.
