Gallery featuring 14 Asian-American artists opens at Qualia Contemporary Art through June | Stepping Out

“The idea is to celebrate AAPI heritage month,” Daxue Xu, director of the gallery, said. “We want to show people how talented these artists are and how they contribute to the rich culture of America by using their own heritage.”

According to Xu, the featured artwork could be done in traditional cultural painting styles but have a message about something modern like environmental issues and immigration.

“Everything definitely reminds you of ancient tradition, but then is also closely related to current societal issues, or their own identity and their own life,” Xu said.

The featured artists include Michael Arcega, Arnold Chang, Hai-Hsin Huang, Yun-Fei Ji, Hung Liu, Masako Miki, Younhee Paik, Ren Light Pan, TT Takemoto, Rupy C. Tut, Kelly Wang, Xiaoze Xie, Stella Zhang and Zheng Chongbin. They represent cultures from across Asia, including China, India, Korea, Japan and the Philippines.

“We want to show the people in the Bay Area different cultures,” Xu said. “We all have certain things in common – like our humanity – so we (should) understand each other better. That’s how you avoid prejudice and hate.”

The exhibition features artists from around the world and educated in other countries, but also Bay Area artists such as Filipino-American Michael Acerga. The San Francisco resident came from Manila as a child and later received his Master’s of Fine Arts from Stanford University. Now, he’s an associate professor at San Francisco State University.

Acerga…