Ed Pien researches the convergence of history, beliefs and mythology from diverse cultures. Using drawing, paper-cuts, installation, sound and video work, the artist explores curiosity, wonder and enchantment while celebrating diverse ways of being in the world. For the past few years he has been basing his work on the strange and fantastic creatures culled from the celebrated Chinese literatures, Journey to the West and The Classics of Mountains and Seas. In his drawing-based works, images of strange and hybridized figures defy quick or simple reading, and have recently become even more complex, with the use of overlapping and gestural lines to render agitated and densely packed creatures.
Ed Pien is a Canadian artist based in Toronto. He has been drawing for over 20 years. Born in Taipi, Taiwan, he immigrated to Canada at the age of 11. He holds a Master of Fine Arts Degree from York University, and a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Western Ontario.
Ed Pien has exhibited nationally and internationally including the Drawing Center, New York; La Biennale de Montreal 2000 and 2002; W139, Amsterdam; Contemporary Art Gallery, Vancouver; Middleborough Art Gallery, the UK; Centro Nacional de las Artes, Mexico City; The Contemporary Museum in Monterrey, Mexico; The Goethe Institute, Berlin.
Ed Pien is a part-time Associate Professor, at the University of Toronto in the Visual Studies Program. He teaches drawing and paper-based media.
Stir, 2010
Stir, incorporates mirrors, plexiglass, cut mylar, nylon paper, ropes and video. The use of reflective, translucent and transparent materials, coupled with pre-recorded video images and casted illusionary shadows; work in concert to bring about a complex, provocative and mesmerizing play of moving light and shadow.
This installation deliberately conceals the working elements and presents only the resulting visual effects that are projected onto the glassine screen.