Irvine Fine Arts Center Exhibitions

Tseng-Yao Terry Sun: The Charm of Chinese Leisure Seals

September 10–24
Opening Reception: September 11, 6:30–8:30 p.m.

Seal carving is a unique artform appreciated and valued by artists and collectors in East Asian cultures. Historically, people in China and Japan owned a seal with their name for official identification. Artists used special seals to authenticate paintings or works of calligraphy. Leisure seals—carved with lines of poetry or quotes from classic texts—were used by artists to add a decorative element to their artworks, or to be enjoyed as their own forms of art with profound meaning.

In the 1980s, Tseng-Yao “Terry” Sun, developed a technique of enlarging seal designs and carving them into wood, making a traditionally arcane artform more accessible to the public. His beautiful woodcuts, coupled with his own calligraphy, emphasized the beauty and meaning of each seal. He devoted his time to this artform and sharing it with a broad audience.  

Terry’s work has been exhibited in the Arthur M. Sackler Museum at Harvard University, the Gallery of Palos Verdes Library, the East Asian Library at the University of Southern California, and the San Diego Chinese Historical Museum.