Julio Fine Arts Gallery

By: Anna Giardino In Foon Sham's exhibit Sea of Hope we get to see the gathering of many messages of faith and strength from hundreds of individuals around the world. The paper boats set for the exhibit hold inside of them messages of hope and strength for those who were struggling with cancer. Each boat was either hand folded by Foon himself or by individuals who decided to take part in his art display. Sea of Hope has been featured all around the world including in China, Australia, and the U.S. The inspiration for this piece stems from Foon's own experience of losing his mother to Cancer. He wanted to give those who were experiencing the emotional effects of fighting cancer a place to go to know that they were not alone on their journey. Sea of Hope gently conveys messages of strength and unity with each additional boat. It is currently installed in the Julio Fine Arts Gallery and is free to the public!

Foon Sham's Sea of Hope is an installation which is a tribute to his mother who passed away in 2002 after battling cancer. The long wooden vessel is symbolic to the long journey she experienced but also being peaceful. New origami boats are being added every day with messages of hope for loved ones who have or are currently suffering from cancer. Stop by the art gallery anytime to experience this unique, amazing exhibit and to write your own message of hope!

Foon Sham: Reception      by: Kristen Koczot '20         The Julio Fine Arts Gallery held the reception for Foon Sham: Sea of Hope  on October 24, 2019. Many guests came to visit this memorable display Foon Sham built and created in memory of his mother who passed away from cancer. During the reception, new boats were added to the display, each carrying a message which will be added to Foon's collection and will later be read. Many people were intrigued and moved by the powerful message this display left them. Personally, it took me a few days to get the courage to write a boat for this display, but a brief talk with Foon at the beginning of the reception gave me the push to create and write a message. Many of the guests who attended the reception had a moment to speak with Foon. He shared how he collected and saved every boat he received from people around the world. He makes it his mission to read each one when he folds the boats up when cl...

This week marks the opening of Foon Sham's Sea of Hope, which is an installation in homage to his mother who passed away from cancer in 2002. The wooden vessel is in the shape of a boat, which will help carry his mothers spirit into the afterlife. Surrounding the installation are origami boats with messages that viewers from all over the world have written to their loved ones. Sham has displayed this installation in Hong Kong, Macau, Australia and the United States; With each installation his collection of origami boats grows, and therefore the "Sea of Hope" grows. I am currently enrolled in the Professional Practices class here at Loyola, and we were fortunate enough to help Foon Sham install Sea of Hope  and hear him speak about his experience with building and displaying this work all throughout the world. He spoke about how the vessel is so large that it would be extremely expensive to send it from continent to continent, so he built a different vessel in the US, Ho...

This week marks the closing of Stelae by René Triviño. Because of this I want to take a moment to reflect on the amazing pieces we’ve been seeing. Specifically my favorite piece of the collection, entitled Embrace 1.  It is a piece I can clearly see from my seat at the desk and have consequently spent hours of my time this week studying. Something about it calls out to me, the way two bodies are entwined and almost look as they are one, the flow and twist of their bodies, it’s intriguing and I feel I could look at for hours on end. This time spent looking at the piece has been very beneficial to understanding it and coming to my own definition of the piece, which to me is the most important thing about art, not only the meaning behind it to the artist but also the meaning to the viewer.  Sometimes we are able to resonate with the artists meaning behind the art but sometimes we have such different life experiences that we can’t resonate with the arts meaning. Wh...

Each time I have walked in the gallery these past few weeks, I have been in awe. When it comes to any type of art, an artist works hard on the details. But Stelae by René Treviño is something else. The amount of detail that was put into each work is incredible. No matter how many times I look at the giant pink wall full of flies or any of the work on leather, I find something I hadn't seen before. As an artist myself, I applaud René for the time and patience it took him to do this. Each of the over 1000 flies is so intricately detailed with gold and rhinestones and meticulously placed on the wall creating a pattern that creates an aesthetically pleasing display. The amount of time it took boggles my mind, but if no one has told him before, it was worth every second. On the bigger pieces, I love the intense detail that was put into each one with the glitter and color. Each accent is placed perfectly and adds so much to the work. The use of multimedia with paint, stitchings, le...

As I have gotten older, I have started to see art as a medium to convey a message. Visual art has a way of saying everything without saying anything. René Treviño’s piece,  Ballplayers in Love , spoke to me immediately. No doubt,  Dropping Like Flies , the large pink wall embellished in over 1,000 hand gold-leafed and rhinestoned plastic flies definitely caught my eye. But,  Ballplayers in Love  told me everything about René Treviño without ever having met him. This piece combines Mayan rituals with humor, an interesting combination. I think this serves to give insight into the human experience and call on the viewers to explore their identities. Treviño’s work is alive; not only can it be seen but it can be felt. Through his work, Treviño expresses themes of identity and challenges traditional ideas of race and sexual orientation. He confronts societal assumptions and gives a voice to the underrepresented with just acrylic and paper. Simply ...