Su-en Wong
Born in Singapore, Su-en Wong is a painter in realist style depicting young female figures, usually posed erotically.  She lives in Brooklyn New York, having left Singapore in 1989.  With her images of pre-adolescent girls, she explores what she describes as "the ambiguous nature of the transition between childhood and adulthood" and her own experiences "of breaking away from obscurity".  Wong’s graphite on paper drawings also examine the artist’s subtext of "playground politics" – body image, social hierarchy, the simultaneous desire to conform and rebel. With their modest scale, these beautifully articulated black and white drawings allow for quiet intimacy and reflection. She addresses western stereotypes of Asian girls as being objects to satisfy erotic desires and the conflict within the girls of people's expectations and their own inner desires. Wong received her MFA from the School of the Art Institute Chicago. In 2005, the Aldrich Museum in Ridgefield, Connecticut held an exhibition of her work titled "Contemporary Erotic Drawing". She has exhibited extensively throughout the United States and Canada.

Untitled, 2006
Graphite on paper
22 x 30 inches
Courtesy of the artist and Danese
Gallery, New York
Value: $7,500