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Exhibit: Vivian Chiu: From Here at Virginia MOCA (Virginia Beach)
September 11, 2026 - March 21, 2027
September 11, 2026-March 21, 2027
Through reconstructed reclaimed wood vessels and intricate images made from wood veneer, Vivian Chiu layers personal narratives with histories of craft and Chinese ceramic traditions. She examines how place, culture, and identity are carried and reshaped across generations and geographies. She considers what is preserved, altered, or rebuilt as people move between places and ways of life.
Many of Chiu’s sculptures began as wooden shipping crates that held porcelainware as they traveled from Asia to the United States. Chiu dismantles, cuts, and reassembles the crates with a unique faceting method that preserves the crates’ original stamps, manifesting complex layers of memories. Their organic material will continue to accumulate traces of time, even as evidence of their original purpose remains.
Chiu bases her practice in Richmond, VA after spending much of her childhood in Hong Kong. Her artwork explores the complexities of remaining connected to a place from afar. Memories, traditions, and contemporary experiences of Hong Kong continually reshape her understanding of belonging.
In From Here, Vivian Chiu explores how we remain connected to the places we come from as both we and those places continue to change. What does it mean to be from somewhere when home is not a fixed point, and where do we go from here?
Vivian Chiu: From Here is presented as part of the Goode Prize, which recognizes the Best in Show artist from the 2024 Made in VA Biennial and is on view in conjunction with the 2026 Made in VA Biennial.
