Artist Spotlight
In addition to the exhibition showing in the Seattle Municipal Tower, the Ethnic Heritage Art Gallery wants to highlight the works of artists on our roster and in the community with our Artist Spotlight.
Fiona K. Lau
About the Artist
Fiona K. Lau was born in British Hong Kong and immigrated to Canada as a child. She started taking art classes as a chemistry graduate student at the University of California, Davis. After living in Nigeria for two years, she moved to Seattle in 2013 and joined the Kang-O'Higgins atelier and Studio Arts Intensive program at the Gage Academy, with a concentration on painting and drawing.
Fiona is interested in the cross-pollination between Eastern and Western approaches to visual representation. Her work explores themes of displacement, otherness, and métissage. Sifting from images collected from different places and times, the drawing/painting process questions memories and culture through time, form, and space. Fiona has participated in exhibitions in Atlanta, New York, Seattle, and Japan. She has attended residencies at the Ox-Bow School of Art & Artists’ Residency, the Vermont Studio Center, and AiR Yamanashi, Japan.
Selected Works by Fiona K. Lau











Furinkazan 風林火山, Oil, acrylic, and wax pastel on canvas, 42" x 38"

Navigating the Storm, Acrylic on unstretched canvas, 61" x 44.5"

Sonic, Acrylic, oil pastel, wax pastel, pigment and sand on canvas, 30" x 24"

Prayer, Acrylic on wood, 24" x 17.5"

PmPl, Acrylic and charcoal on canvas, 36" x 48"

Shiodome 5, Acrylic on canvas, 30" x 40"

Sleeping with Sharks, Acrylic on canvas, 24" x 36"

PEDAL, Acrylic, vinyl, oil and wax pastel on canvas, 40" x 40"

The Pull, Acrylic on canvas, 24" x1 8"

Grass is Always Greener on the Other Side, Acrylic and vinyl on canvas, 54" x 60"
Selected Works by Fiona K. Lau

Furinkazan 風林火山, Oil, acrylic, and wax pastel on canvas, 42" x 38"
This painting was based on a found image, which reminded me of the Japanese battle standard from the Sengoku period with a phrase originated from Sun Tzu’s “The Art of War,” which resonated with my approach to painting.

Navigating the Storm, Acrylic on unstretched canvas, 61" x 44.5"
Chinese landscape painting and philosophy have a deep influence on my relationship to nature, its imagery, and its representation. This work was a response to questions on land, culture, and ownership.

Sonic, Acrylic, oil pastel, wax pastel, pigment and sand on canvas, 30" x 24"
This painting explores forms and modes of representation by varying materiality and mark-making.

Prayer, Acrylic on wood, 24" x 17.5"
Made during the pandemic, this painting was an exploration of emotion and hope during a fraught time.

PmPl, Acrylic and charcoal on canvas, 36" x 48"
I was interested in the treatment of space and time. Different experiences were stacked in separate layers, compressing both elements.

Shiodome 5, Acrylic on canvas, 30" x 40"
This painting is part of a series inspired by the disorientation felt in the fragmented urban space in Japan, which juxtaposes the country's deep-rooted connection to the natural world.

Sleeping with Sharks, Acrylic on canvas, 24" x 36"
I was struck by the image of my little nephew, who was a toddler at the time, hugging a plush shark to sleep. It seems wonderfully impossible.

PEDAL, Acrylic, vinyl, oil and wax pastel on canvas, 40" x 40"
This painting was completely unplanned. I was interested in how a mark or a form leads to another. This call-and-response way of working is both exhilarating and nerve-wracking.

The Pull, Acrylic on canvas, 24" x1 8"
This painting was inspired by Asian folk tales about the moon, with references to Hokusai’s ukiyo-e of waterfalls.

Grass is Always Greener on the Other Side, Acrylic and vinyl on canvas, 54" x 60"
I took a lot of walks in my Seattle neighbourhood. This painting was inspired by a chaotic front yard overlooking Lake Washington. I was interested in the mishmash of objects in the lush garden and the way painting can transform relationships between form and space.