Susan Chen, Chinatown Block Watch, 2022; Hand-Embellished, Signed, and Numbered Limited Edition Print

**This print is available via private sale only. Please email hello@artforchange.com with your interest. Per the artist's request, all buyers will need to sign and return a 3-year no-resale agreement prior to shipment**

Susan Chen (b. 1992) is an artist searching for the meaning of home. She investigates the psychology of race, concepts of community, immigration, prejudice, identity, family, longing, love, and loss primarily through portraiture, urban and domestic scenes. Curious to discover how painting can be used to survey communities at work, Chen is driven by the political potential of figurative painting to enact social change through increased visibility and representation. 

Chinatown Block Watch captures the resilience and local character of New York City’s Chinatown, a neighborhood teeming with history yet undergoing significant change. The print highlights the namesake advocacy group which has provided assistance and protection to the area throughout the pandemic by surveying the streets and providing ad-hoc care. Captured in the artist’s characteristic vibrant and painterly style, the exaggerated proportions and dense composition unveil Chen’s preoccupation with her subjects and community. Exploding with iconography such as popular shops and restaurants, Chinatown Block Watch marries a dreamy realism with an emphatic, social urgency that captures the concerns and priorities of the moment.  Inspired by the disappearing bilingual street signs, the artist has hand-embellished each print with a red brick border in India Ink and art markers, making each piece a unique work.

Of this project, the artist notes “I wanted to thank Chinatown Block Watch for collaborating and sharing their stories to help bring this painting and these prints to life. The organization has provided so much support to the Chinatown community throughout the pandemic, from providing first aid and self-defense to local Chinese shops and restaurants, to caring for the elderly and advocating for those most vulnerable within the community,” says Chen on the collaboration with Chinatown Block Watch and Silver Arts Project. “As for Silver Arts Projects, they have provided me with a year-long artist residency at 4 World Trade so that I could make this work.  Lifting the burden of studio rent off my shoulder, especially as a young artist, I was able to put those resources back into the community and studio. Having personally experienced how this residency has changed my life, I hope by contributing, to be able to make a small difference in the lives of other artists in need as well. “

5% of the net proceeds of each print sale will be donated to Chinatown Block Watch and Silver Arts Projects. As always, the artist will also receive 50% of net proceeds from each sale.

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*Unframed prints ship within 1-3 weeks.
*Framed prints ship within 3-6 weeks.