ida tong - Visual Artist , World Citizen
“History is a relentless master. It has no present, only the past rushing
into the future. To try to hold fast is to be swept aside.” - J. F. Kennedy
Most Recent Paintings:
"Ida's paintings are brilliant and technically sound, deeply evocative..." - Michael Spillane
Short Bio After working as a graphic designer for 10 years (1980 - 1990), I am delighted to dedicate my time on some fresh and innovative paintings. Four years of consuming arts and culture in Italy (1991 - 1995) planted a creative seed in my heart, I came back to Toronto and started to paint passionately. From 2000 to 2015, I ran a commercial art studio in Toronto, teaching drawing and painting to children and adults. Recently, I am retired from teaching and moved to New Hamburg (Ontario, Canada) with my husband, enjoying a lifestyle with tranquility, and exploring a body of work in futuristic paintings. Awards 2021 - FCA Active Membership Award See "Journal" on next page 2021 - Favourite Visual Artist (Platinum) The Wilmot Post (Ontario, Canada) 2018 - Best in Show Award Etobicoke Art Gallery, COAA (Ontario, Canada) 2018 - Heather's Choice Award Button Factory Arts, COAA (Ontario, Canada) 2010 - Trillium Garden Award City of Toronto (Ontario, Canada) 1980 - Alan Fleming Award Oakville (Ontario, Canada) |
Artist Statement
To make art is to know ourselves. And to reveal who we are is to tell our stories. Using art as a visual language to evoke philosophical views on human evolution is my greatest inspiration. Exploring the past in order to comprehend the future while experiencing the present is a theme in my recent work. The depictions of chimpanzee, homo sapiens, and humanoid are prominently interconnected throughout my conceptual but surrealistic paintings. They represent our past, present, and future, respectively. Whenever an idea appears, I research to get appropriate references keeping facts relevant. Taking pictures for a particular image is also necessary. To have an "ideal" composition with all three mentioned characters on a canvas is a lengthy design process. When painting, I apply multi layers of acrylic or oil paint, blending in and glazing over each other to create a picture that is worth a thousand words. Educations 2016 - Mohawk College Autism & Behavioural Science Online 2014 - Ontario College of Art & Design University Bachelor of Fine Arts Toronto, Canada 1994 - Palazzo Spinelli Painting Restoration Florence, Italy 1992 - Ontario College of Art Fine Arts Diploma Florence, Italy (off campus) 1980 - Sheridan College Graphic Design Diploma Oakville, Canada Public Recognition March 3, 2020 A one-hour Art Presentation for the KWSA monthly meeting at the Kitchener Community Centre, Kitchener, Ontario. April, 2017 Conducted an art show at the Village Centre of Morningside Community in New Hamburg, Ontario. Memberships UpTown Gallery Waterloo www.uptowngallerywaterloo.com/ida-tong-gallery National Federation of Canadian Artists (Active Membership) artists.ca/links Federation of Canadian Artist Toronto (FCA Toronto) www.fcatoronto.ca/ Kitchener Waterloo Society of Artists https://www.kwsa.ca/ida-tong1.html |
"The world doesn't make sense, so why should I paint pictures that do?" - Pablo Picasso
|
Current & Upcoming Shows July 19 - Sept 18 - A featured artist in a new exhibition "Relationship and Emotion" with 2 other artists, plus the works of 30 local artists at the UpTown Gallery, Waterloo Town Square. 75 King St. S. Waterloo. My four big paintings are on display including "We're Not Alone," "The Age of Dataism," "Wonders of Life," and "Past and Future." http://uptowngallerywaterloo.com/ Sept. 26 - Oct. 16 - Federation of Canadian Artists, "We're Not Alone" is accepted for this Juried 2022 Annual International Representational Exhibition, online only. https://federationgallery.com/federationgallery.com/ Solo Exhibitions 2014 - Gerrard Art Space Gallery Toronto, Canada 2010 - Bluff Gallery Scarborough, Canada 2006 - Cliffcrest Library Scarborough, Canada 2003 - Studio 21 Scarborough, Canada 2000 - A Space Gallery Toronto, Canada 1992/3 - Library of British Institute Florence, Italy Group Exhibitions Uptown Gallery (long-term member), participating on-going shows and being a featured artist once a year for two months, Waterloo (2017- present); The Federation of Canadian Artists, The Federation Gallery (2022), Vancouver, BC; The Federation of Canadian Artists, Toronto Chapter, in various galleries; The Paris Bohemian Gallery, Paris, Ontario (2022); Central Ontario Artist Association, juried member show, Etobicoke Civic Centre Art Gallery (2018); Central Ontario Artist Association juried member show, Art Gallery of Hamilton (2018); New Hamburg Studio Tour, New Hamburg (2017); Women Art Association of Canada, Toronto (2010-2015); Orange Art Gallery, Ottawa (2014); Bluff Gallery, Scarborough (2000-2015); Cedar Ridge Art Centre, Scarborough (2013); Scarborough Civic Centre, Scarborough (2002); just to name a few. |
Publications March 11, 2021 - A quarter-page article of The Wilmot Post featuring its 1st annual Willi Wellie Community Choice Awards for Ida Tong's winning of the Platinum Award as the "Favourite Visual Artist" in the Wilmot Township. wilmotpost.ca/news/article.php?Your-Willie-Wellie-Award-winners-2021-513 October 8, 2019 - A one-page article of the Waterloo Region newspaper called "Record" in the Arts & Life section; a headline “Ida Tong’s Imagination runs wild” to feature Ida’s latest paintings with a theme “Human Evolution to Artificial Intelligence” by Terry Pender. https://www.therecord.com/entertainment/2019/10/07/artists-among-us-ida-tong-s-imagination-runs-wild.html March 2018 - A two-page article in the Baden Outlook Monthly Newsletter, volume 18, issue 8, page 10 and 11, featuring Ida Tong’s latest paintings and her art journey. https://www.badenoutlook.com/PDFs/Archives/March18.pdf 2014 - A one-page with a short artist statement and two colour photos of Ida Tong’s latest paintings, published in an art book called International Contemporary Artists, volume IX, page 288, ICA Publishing, with editor and curator, Olga Antoniadou. https://www.idatong.org/discover.html "Painting above: We're Not Alone, acrylic, 36" x 24" |
"There is no such thing as ART. There are only ARTISTS." - E. H. Gombrich