Lenore Chinn
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Lenore Chinn | |
|---|---|
| Born | June 20, 1949 |
| Education | City College of San Francisco, San Francisco State College (BA) |
| Occupations | Visual artist, activist |
| Known for | Painting |
| Relatives | Benjamen Chinn (uncle)[1] |
| Website | www |
Lenore Chinn (born June 20, 1949) is an American visual artist, known for her American realist paintings and her queer activism. Chinn was a founding member of Lesbians in the Visual Arts and Queer Cultural Center (QCC), and served on the San Francisco Human Rights Commission.[2] She lives in San Francisco, California.
Lenore Chinn was born on June 20, 1949, in San Francisco, California. She is a second generation Chinese-American.[3] Both her mother and father were raised in the Chinatown.[citation needed] Her father was a mathematician and teacher, and her mother was a translator for the United States federal government.[3][4] When Chinn was two years old, her family moved to the Richmond District of San Francisco.[4] The Chinn family was one of the first Chinese-American's to move to the area dominated by white, middle-class neighbors.[4] Because of their position as a minority in a primarily Caucasian area, the family taught Lenore and her younger brother about Chinese stereotypes.[3] In an interview conducted by Rudy Lemcke in 2001, Chinn said, "I grew up with a family model, which offered simultaneously a traditional Chinese cultural framework of community and family, along with the opportunity to embrace non-traditional and non-Asian ideas. In short, my life's journey became a cross-pollination of other world views."[5] These teachings would influence Chinn's artwork.[6]
Chinn attended George Washington High School.[4] She continued her studies at City College of San Francisco.[4] In 1972, while on the Dean's list, she earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology from San Francisco State College (now San Francisco State University).[3][7]
Career
Chinn moved to the Castro District in the 1980s and became involved in activist groups, including the Harvey Milk Club.[3] As the AIDS epidemic impacted her life, she started painting portraits of people in the district.[8] Chinn co-founded the Lesbians in the Visual Arts and Queer Cultural Center (QCC).[2][6] In 1991 Chinn joined the Asian American Women Artists Association (AAWAA), based in San Francisco.[9] Her work often aims to fight cultural stereotypes by showcasing minorities and homosexuality.[6][10]
Chinn speaks about her work and about lesbianism. She has spoken at the College Art Association, Women's Caucus for Art, and other organizations. Chinn is also a curator, working at galleries in San Francisco. She has exhibited her paintings at Pacific Union College and the National Arts Club.[6]
Exhibitions
Solo exhibitions
- Lenore Chinn: Realist Paintings (1985), UC Extension, 55 Laguna Street, San Francisco, California[11]
- Lenore Chinn: Cultural Confluences (2012), Luggage Store Gallery, San Francisco, California[12]
Group exhibitions
- Lenore Chinn and John Thomas Staple: Paintings and Sculpture (1980), Lucien Labaudt Art Gallery, 1407 Gough Street, San Francisco, California[13]
- Out of the Bubble: Artists on Queer Travel (2008), Femina Potens, San Francisco, California; including artists Lenore Chinn, Dusty Lombardo, and Lydia Daniller[14]
- LGBT Journey (2014), group exhibition, Commonwealth Club of California and the Queer Cultural Center, San Francisco, California; curated by Pamela Peniston and including artists Lenore Chinn, Rudy Lemcke, Bren Ahearn, Indira Allegra, and Preston Gannaway[15]
