Tattfoo Tan’s art practice seeks to find an immediate, direct, and effective way of exploring issues related to the individual in society through which to collapse the categories of ‘art’ and ‘life’ into one. Through the employment of multiple forms of media and various platforms of presentation, Tattfoo promotes group participation between himself and an ‘audience’. Within this collaborative practice both minds and bodies are engaged in actions that transform the making of art into a ritualized and shared experience. In keeping with the spirit of this transformative act, Tattfoo prefers to develop projects that are ephemeral and conceptual in nature.

Tattfoo’s has shown his works and talk in various venues and institutions including; Queens Museum of Art, Lower East Side Tenement Museum, Artisphere, The City of New York Department of Cultural Affairs Percent for the Arts, Eugene Lang College New School for Liberal Arts, Parsons the New School for Design, Fashion Institute of Technology, Syracuse University, Macalester College, Pratt Institute, The Center for Book Arts, Bronx River Art Center, Aljira - A Center for Contemporary Art, Project Row Houses, Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati and The Laundromat Project.

He has be recognized for his effort, service and artistic contribution to the community
and is proud recipient of Proclamation from The City of New York. He is also awarded
the Twenty-Eight Annual Awards for Excellence in Design by Public Design Commission
of The City of New York for his design and branding on the super graphic on Bronx River
Art Center.

 

 

Solo Exhibitions

2013  S.O.S. at Culture Lounge, Council on the Arts and Humanities for Staten Island, Staten Island, New York            

2011  S.O.S. Guilds, Artisphere, Arlington, VA

2009  Black Gold with Abigail DeVille curated by José Ruiz at Bronx River Art Center, Bronx, New York

2008  Eat Draw Play, Azarian McCullough Art Gallery at St. Thomas Aquinas College, Sparkill, New York

           Cuisine du Jour, Lower East Side Tenement Museum, New York, New York

           PONDering, Earlville Opera House, Earlville, New York

2007  Everyone Is An Artist, Redux Contemporary Art Center, Charleston, South Carolina

2006  PONDering, Peng Gallery, solo show, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

           Passage, Cheryl McGinnis Gallery, New York, New York

           Tattfoo Tan New Paintings, Paul Sharpe Contemporary Art, New York, New York

2005  TanahAir: The Cultral Hybrid Series, Peng Gallery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

2004  Secret Garden, David Allen Gallery, solo show, Brooklyn, New York

           Paintings From Within, Paul Sharpe Contemporary Art, solo show, New York, New York

2001  SG Series, Williamsburg Art and Historical Center, solo show, Brooklyn, New York

           Tanah Air, The Cultural Hybrid, The Cultural Project, solo show, New York, New York

 

Group Exhibitions

2013 Upstream/Downstream, curated by Ruthann Godollei, The 2013 Southern Graphics Council International Printmaking            Conference, Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design, University of Wisconsin- Milwaukee, March 20 – 23, 2013

           Common Interests: Mobility and Transformation of Public Life, curated by Sara Reisman,
           Rowan University Art Gallery, New Jersey, January 22 through March, 2013

           FEAST! The Art of Playing With Your Food, The New Children's Museum, San Diego, California

           MoMA Design Store, Destination: NYC, Nature Matching System Placemat will be available in store & online May 2013

           Green Acres: Artists Farming Fields, Greenhouses and Abandoned Lots
           American University Museum in Washington D.C. Sept 6-Nov 24 Reception: Sept 6, 2013
           Arlington Art Center, Arlington, Virginia, June 26-Oct 27 Reception: June 29, 2013

2012 Re:Green, Martha Gault Art Gallery, Slippery Rock University, Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania

           S.O.S. L-A-W-N at Arthur M. Berger Gallery, Manhattanville College, Purchase, New York

           Trash Talk, curated by Lisa Dahl, Spattered Columns, New York, New York

           Made You Look: Hidden Narratives Unveiled, Spattered Columns, New York, New York

           Core77 Open: All City All Stars on the occasion of New York Design Week, 350 Bowery, New York, New York

           Art, Environment, Action! Parsons The New School for Design, New York, New York

          Green Acres: Artists Farming Fields, Greenhouses and Abandoned Lots, Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati, Ohio

2011 With Food in Mind curated by Nicole Caruth at The Center for Book Arts, New York, New York

           Contain, Sustain, Maintain, curated by Sara Reisman, Welmoed Laanstra and Ernesto Santalla,
           Artisphere, Arlington, Virginia          

           Chat Room curated by Krista Saunders at BRIC Rotunda Gallery, Brooklyn, New York

           Toy and Game with a Twist at Longwood Art Gallery, Bronx, New York

           Round 34: Matter of Food curated by Ashley Clemmer-Hoffman and Linda Shearer
           at Project Row Houses, Houston, Texas

           LUMEN, curated by Denise Carvalho, Staten Island, New York

           Mobility, Momenta Art, Brooklyn, New York

           Marie Celeste, Artspace, New Haven, Connecticut

2010  Brooklyn Utopias: Farm City curated by Katherine Gressel and Derek Denckla at Old Stone House, Brooklyn, New York

           Irrelevant: Local Emerging Asian Artists Who Don’t Make Work About Being Asian, Arario Gallery, New York, New York

           NMS and Lights Resolve’s animated graphic at LUMEN at Atlantic Salt, Staten Island, New York

           Food Game, Game Play: A Juried Exhibition of Art Inspired By Games at H. Don and Connie J. Osborne Family Gallery at            the Dr. C.C. and L. Mabel Criss Library at the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

           Hope-a-holic, curated by Patrick Grenier, Newhouse Center for Contemporary Art, Staten Island, New York

2009  Mobile Garden and Sign of Growth with Simonetta Moro, Eve S. Mosher and students of Eugene Lang College at Art in            Odd Places along 14th Street, New York, New York

           Photopurri at This & That International Mail Art Swap, Curated by Christine Wong Yap and exhibited in Involved, Socially            curated by Michelle Blade at Triple Base Gallery, San Francisco

           Plan B curated by Krista Saunders at NurtureArt, Brooklyn, New York

           Value Pack at Art By The Ferry Festival, Staten Island, New York

           NMS-Nature Matching System animated graphic projecction, debut with Lights Resolve at High Line Ballroom, New York,            New York

           NMS-Nature Matching System Seceen Saver, available for free download at www.tattfoo.com

2008  Metro Poles: Art In Action, at Jamaica Center for Arts & Learning, Queens, New York, curated by Heng-Gil Han,
           Robert Lee of Asian American Arts Centre and José Ruiz of Bronx River Art Center

           Bread Rock in The Last Supper-Film, Art, Music, Food Festival, Brooklyn, New York

           Fake Attraction in Conflux Festival, St. George, Staten Island, New York

           Open Secret in Living Room, a project of Flux Factory in conjunction of Open House New York,
           curated by Chen Tamir, New York, New York

           “This Case of Conscience”: Spiritual Flushing and the Remonstrance, Share-A-Prayer,
           Queens Museum of Art, Queens, New York, curated by Valerie Smith and Hitomi Iwasaki

           Violence Transformed, Doric Hall, Massachusetts State House, Boston, Massachusetts,
           curated by Jonathan Shirland

           My El Barrio in Art for Change’s (an organization that provides a forum for creating innovative art and media programs that
           inspire people to take an active role in social justice ) Hacia Afuera, New York, New York

           Memento Mori, The F.U.E.L. Collection, LLC, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, curated by Katerina Lydon-Warner

           Artist in Residency 2007 Showcase, Center for Book Arts, New York, New York

           Fine Art Adoption Network Selection Showcase, Pocket Utopia, Brooklyn, New York

2007  Bread Rock at Drift Art Project, Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation, New York, New York,
           curated by Eileen Torpey and Bradley Antone Pecore

           Bread Rock at Empire Fulton Ferry State Park, DUMBO Art Festival, DUMBO Art Center, Brooklyn, New York

           The Field, Jamaica Center for Arts & Learning, Queens, New York, curated by Heng-Gil Han

2006  Tattfoo Tan and Cindy Suriyani, Paulina Miller Gallery, Pheonix, Arizona

           Welcome/Home, Cheryl McGinnis Gallery, group show, New York, New York

           Making a Difference through the Arts, Cityarts Benefit, The Chelsea Art Museum, New York, New York

           Repetition; negotiating the irrationalities, ArtSpace@16, group show, Malden, Massachusetts

           Between Two Worlds: Reflections of Contemporary Chinese Art, Flushing Council on Culture & the Arts,
           Smithsonian Institution Affiliations Program, Flushing Town Hall, Queens, New York

           Night of 1,000 Drawings, Artists Space, New York, New York

           Works on Paper, Flux Factory, group show, Long Island City, New York

2005  Postcard from the Edge, Benefit for Visual AIDS, Robert Miller Gallery, group show, New York, New York

           Rain Event Benefit, Contemporary Art Center, group show, New Orleans, Louisiana

           The Asian Poster, Track 16 Gallery, group show, Santa Monica, California

           Nutureart “Nurturing the New ‘05”, Spike Gallery, group show, New York, New York

           CityArts Benefit, The American Society, group show, New York, New York

           Biannual All Artist Show, Paul Sharpe Contemporary Art, group show, New York, New York

2004  Works on Paper, Peng Gallery, group show, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

           Draw, Drawing, Gallery 32, group show, London

           Affordable Art Fair, Latin Collector, group show, New York, New York

2003  The Invisible Thread, The Buddhism Project, Newhouse Center for Contemporary Art, Staten Island, New York

           New York Paints, Paul Sharpe Contemporary Art, New York, New York

           DNA Gallery, Provincetown, Massachusetts

2002  Ambience, Art Corridor, Malden Cable Television Network, Malden, Massachusetts

           Small Works, ArtSpace@16, Malden, Massachusetts

           Get Real Art, New York, New York

           Gallery Petite, Clinton, New Jersey

           Salon Show, Williamsburg Art and Historical Center, Brooklyn, New York

2001  Gift Show, Mastel+Mastel Gallery, Brooklyn, New York

 

Programs, Presentations and Workshops

2013 Making Art with Food in Mind with Nicole Caruth at Just Food’s Eat Work Grow Conference, New York, New York

2012 Feeding the World: Globalization, Food, and Agriculture in the 21st Century, Macalester College, St. Paul, Minnesota

           Visiting Artist at 601 Tully, Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York

           Salute to Women in the Arts, an affiliate of the Art Center of Northern New Jersey

2011 Ecoartspace at The New New York, Green Home NYC’s DIY Green Block Party, Brooklyn, New York

           Urban by Nature with Vincent Appel and Everett Hollander at BMW Guggenheim Lab, New York, New York

           A-Lab Forum: ARTE SOCIAL presented by Queens Media Arts Development, Queens, New York          

           New New Yorkers Student Council presentation at Queens Museum of Art, Queens, New York

           The People’s Potluck, New York City, supported by MAPP International Productions

           S.O.S. Guilds, an artist initiated grant program using art as a tool for social change on sustainability and ecology.
           
           Raising Chickens in NYC, Socrates Academy: Skills for Resourceful City Living, Socrates Sculpture Park,
           Long Island City, New York

2010  Agents of Change: Artists and Sustainability, Brandon Ballengee, Jackie Brookner, Eve Andree Laramee, Stacy Levy, and
           Tattfoo Tan Moderated by Amy Lipton and Patricia Watts of ecoartspace, Parsons The New School for Design Sheila C.
           Johnson Design Center, Fifth Avenue at 13th Street, NY, NY, Co-hosted by ArtTable, ecoartspace, and the Sheila C.            Johnson Center at Parsons The New School of Design, December 10, 6-8pm

           Creative Action and Everyday Urban Agriculture, Living Concrete / Carrot City at The Sheila C. Johnson Design Center,
           Parson The New School for Design

           Salt at Queens Museum of Art’s 2010 Gala, Queens, New York

           Mobile Garden attending NYU Program Board and Earthmatters programming at Solar One, New York, New York

           Mobile Garden attending St. George Day, Staten Island, New York

           The Urban Wilderness Action Center (UWAC) is a project initiated by Eyebeam alum Jon Cohrs, in collaboration with the            Eyebeam Student Residents (New York), Eyebeam Education Coordinator Stephanie Pereira, and UK-based
           artist Kai-Oi Jay Yung (UK). The UWAC project includes a web platform uwac.anewfuckingwilderness.com and a day of            action where people from NYC, Berlin, and London will work with us to design and disseminate specific guerrilla            gardening projects.

           Umami ( Food & Art Festival ): Urban Garden Roundtable, Sunday, March 14th, Solar One, Green Energy, Arts & Education
           Center, Stuyvesant Cove Park, FDR Drive at 22nd Street.

           Visiting Artist at Pratt Institute on the topic The Role of Object in Arts and Cultural Management Program class

2009  Enacting Change: The Artist’s Role in Social and Political Transformation: panel discussion at inaugural Artist Forum
           at Art in General, Shelly Bahl, (The Work Office) Katarina Jerinic and Naomi Miller, Akiko Ichikawa, Barrie Cline,
           Jenny Zhang, (Eteam) Franziska Lamprecht & Hajoe Moderegger, Nicky Enright, Cassie Thornton

           Visual Art & New Media grant review panel for Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, New York, New York

           The Queens Museum of Art and MetLife Foundation’s First Sunday for Families Artist Workshop,
           presenting Food Game, May 3, 2009

           Contemporary Interpretation of Traditional Philosophy by Tattfoo Tan at Fashion Institute of Technology

           An online conversation between students of California Institute of Arts and artist Tattfoo Tan,
           moderated by artist Patrick Killoran

           “Community, Public, and Intervention Art: Creating Art in Your Community – A Cross-Borough Dialogue”.
           A Creative Conversation, hosted by the Americans for the Arts, the Council on the Arts and Humanities for Staten Island,
           and SICoLab, Cargo Café, 120 Bay Street, Staten Island. Panelists: Christoph and Trish (http://northshore.noizart.com)
           Emcee C.M., Master of None (www.emceecm.com) Chen Tamir, Flux Factory (www.fluxfactory.org/chen-tamir), Tattfoo Tan

           Windows Advisory Committee for Tenement Museum (A New York City Museum that tells the stories of immigrants who            lived in 97 Orchard Street, a tenement built in 1863 on Manhattan’s Lower East Side) 2008-2009

           Panelist in Visual Arts Panel Discussion, Breaking Into the Visual Arts presented by Council on the Arts & Humanities for
           Staten Island, Panelists include: Andrea Horisaki-Christens, Assistant Curator, Art In General; Staten Island Visual Artist,            Tattfoo Tan, and John Leo, Co-Owner, Leo Kesting Gallery. Moderated by: Melanie Cohn, COAHSI Executive Director            Location: Jewish Community Center (JCC) 1466 Manor Road, Staten Island, New York

           Mobile Garden on board the Waterpod (Mary Mattingly’s floating sculptural habitat and community) as Artist in Residence

2008  Queens Museum of Art, Artist talk for the educators at Charles R. Drew Early Learning Center, June 5, 2008

           The Center for Book Arts, Artist-in-Residence artist talk with Catarina Leitão and Nicolás Dumit Estéves, May 16, 2008

 

Awards

2011  Love Your Block Grant, NYC Service and Citizens Committee for New York City, awarded for S.O.S. Guilds Greenade            wildflower planting campaign.

           Real Community Engagement, Creative Capital’s Professional Development Program

2010  Annual Awards for Exellence in Design, Public Design Commission of the City of New York, for the Rehabilitation of the            Bronx River Art Center ,1087 East Tremont Avenue, Bronx. A Project of the Department of Design and Construction, the            Department of Cultural Affairs and the Bronx River Art Center by Sage and Coombe Architects and Tattfoo Studio

           S.O.S. Sustainable. Organic. Stewardship. in The Laundromat Project, Create Change Public Artist Residency
           Program, Staten Island, NY

           Mobile Garden Expo is made possible with grants from Summerfest, Council on the Arts & Humanities for Staten Island            and supported by New York City Department of Transportation’s Urban Art Program within the Arteventions program

2009  Compiling Your Heirloom Recipe made possible with grant from FIT Diversity Council as Artist-in-Residence with
           Fashion Institute of Technology, New York, New York

           S.O.S. Sustainable. Organic. Stewardship., an urban farming project with grant from Council on the Arts & Humanities for            Staten Island, New York State Council on the Arts Original Work Grantees

           Nuevo Americana Recipe is made possible by JPMorganChase Arts In Our Communities Regrant. The project is printed            as a special insertion to Council on the Arts & Humanities for Staten Island newsletter

           Articulation, Celebrating The Art of Community & The Community of Art, Proclaimation presented by Council member,            Kenneth C. Mitchell, 49th District, City of New York

2007  Art for Recovery, Verazzano Foundation artist workshop with participants recovering from mental illness

           Artist-in-Residence Workspace Program, The Center for Book Arts, New York, New York

2006  Tin Shop Guest Artist program, The Town of Breckenridge, Colorado

2005  Premier Grant for “Multiple” a curated exhibition of Yoonjo Chun, Tamiko Kawata, Wen-Fu Yu from Council on the Arts
           & Humanities for Staten Island, Staten Island, New York

2004  Exhibiting Arts Award, Council on the Arts & Humanities for Staten Island, Staten Island, New York

           Emerge Six (artist professional development program and exhibition), ALJIRA, Newark, New Jersey

2003  The One Academy Platinum Achiever Awards, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

2002  Singapore International Design Award, Singapore

1999  Arjo Wiggins Horseman Design Award, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

 

Commissions / Public Art

2012  S.O.S. p:ARK, 5x5 projects, Washington, D.C., commissioned by DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities,
           DC Creates! Public Art Program

           Enri¢hed, commissioned by Umami Food & Art Festival, 3rd Ward, Brooklyn, New York

2011  S.O.S. Pledge, Public Art commissioned by Percent for the Arts and School Construction Authority
           at PS 971, Brooklyn, New York

2010  S.O.S. Mobile Classroom, commissioned by fi:af French Institute Alliance Française: Crossing The Line-Farm City,            Percent for the Arts and School Construction Authority

           DIrtY Dancing, Empire State Partnerships/TEDx at Galapagos Art Space, Brooklyn, New York

2009  Flushing Ethnography with Fashion Institute of Technology Presidential Scholars, the honors program in
           Flushing, Queens, New York

2009  Foodgame commissioned by Empire State Partnerships, NYC Regional Learning and Leadership Network Spring            Symposium at Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, New York

2008  NMS-Nature Matching System at Port Authority Bus Terminal,
           commissioned by Fashion Center Business Improvement District and Time Square Alliance, New York City, New York

2008  NMS-Nature Matching System commissioned by Summer Workshop & Creative Lab of Empire State
           Partnerships at C.W. Post Campus, Brookville, New York

2008  DUMBO NMS-Nature Matching System mural, Front Street (between Adams and Pearl Street), Brooklyn, New York
           commissioned by DUMBO Improvement District and Department of Transportation

2007  Re:construction: Concrete Jungle, public intervention, commissioned by The Lower Manhattan Cultural
           Council and The Downtown Alliance, site located on Broadway and Fulton Street

 

If art is looking for a lareger purpose beyond commodity and investment vehicle,
beyond entertainment and urban decoration, then this is it...Environmental health,
social justice, and cultural achievement are not mutually exclusive.

-Twylene Moyer, The New Earthwork: Art, Action, Agency


Bibliography

The Growing Trend, Nicole J. Caruth, BigRedandShiny.com

Green Acres, Artists Farming Fields, Greenhouses and Abandoned Lots, Sue Spaid, Contemporary Art Center, 2012

The New Earthwork: Art, Action, Agency, ISC Press, 2012

Courses and discourse, Jane F. Ragavan, The Star Malaysia, August 2011

Portrait of an Artist, Wily and Engaged, Christine Wong Yap, Art Practical, May 2011

New York Foundation for the Arts, Immigrant Artist Project Newsletter: Issue 15, August 24, 2010

Greenmonger at heart, Lim Ai Lee, The Star, September 12, 2010

Public Art; Paint-by-Vegetable Mural (With a Reminder to Eat Them), Haley Thurshwell, The New York Times, February 28, 2008

Artist to fix eyesore with kids’ help, Adam F. Hutton, The Brooklyn Paper, January 19, 2008

A culinary window to immigrants’ home life, Sylvia Carter, Newsday, February 6, 2008

Pickled memories, Kate McKean, Metro, January 24, 2008

Art, food for thought at Tenement Museum, Michael Fressola, Staten Island Advance, January 27, 2008

Preserved memory by pickling in a bottle, Mike Liu, Sing Tao Daily, January 7, 2008

Immigrants cuisine made local, David Hsieh, World Journal, January 25, 2008

Dressing Up Those Bleak Downtown Construction Sites, David W. Dunlap, New York Times, November 2007

Downtowners deconstruct construction art, Margarita Lopez, Downtown Express, November 16, 2007

Dress your side walk in orange and yellow, Michael Fressola, Staten Island Advance, November 29, 2007

Construction site serve as canvas for art, Amy Zimmer, Metro, November 14, 2007

Kedah boy earns his stripes in Big Apple, Foo Yee Ping, The Star, December 1, 2007

Orange Zebra Stripes painted on concrete barrier, Mike Liu, Sing Tao Daily, November 26, 2007

DIY Art, Redux exhibit let’s you play around, Nick Smith, Charleston City Paper, October 10, 2007

Ancient art gets a modern touch, Leslie Brefeld, Summit Daily News, November 2006

Interpretation of Nature, David Hsieh, World Journal, April 18, 2006

Scholar Rock - reflection and contemplation, Mike Liu, Sing Tao Daily, April 10, 2006

Repetition, building new artistic play ground at Artspace@16, Sing Tao Daily, March 20, 2006

Between Two Worlds, group show in Flushing in celebration of Lunar New Year, Sing Tao Daily, January 31, 2006

Between Two Worlds, a group show of five Chinese Artist, Richard Liang, World Journal, February 1, 2006

A Multicultural Sampler, Benjamin Genocchio, The New York Times, December 25, 2005

Art Review, Holland Cotter, The New York Times, December 9, 2005

A Home for an Artist, and for Art, Fred A. Bernstein, The New York Times, November 27, 2005

Asian Artist is Leading Contemporary Art in Staten Island, Mike Liu, Sing Tao Daily, November 28, 2005

Tattfoo Tan: Tanah Air: The Cultural Hybrid Series, Roberta Fallon, Philadelphia Weekly, April 13-19, 2005

Tattfoo Tan solo exhibition in April at Philadelphia, Mike Liu, Sing Tao Daily, March 29, 2005

Paper World at Peng, Roberta Fallon, www.fallonandrosof.com/artblog, November 29, 2004

Carving Out a Cultural Corner in Staten Island, Sarah Wyatt, New York Sun, November 16, 2004

Metaphor in Black and White, Mike Liu, Sing Tao Daily, June 2004

A Boom Grows in Brooklyn, James Kalm, New York Arts Magazine, 2004

Islands Hopping, Brian Glaser, Visual Arts Journal, School of Visual Arts Magazine, Fall 2004

Immersion in Art, Foon Fong Loh, The Star, Malaysia, June 2004

(Ad)venture, Laura Jean Watters, Council for the Arts and Humanities for Staten Island, Arts and Letters, March/April 2004

Finding Surprises as They Are Turned Up by the Karma Wheel, New York Times, Holland Cotter, November 7, 2003

A Poetry of Transience, Shambhala Sun, March 2004

Paintings from Within, Mike Liu, Sing Tao Daily, January 12, 2004

Artist Designer Launches in House Island Gallery, Michael Fressola, Staten Island Advance, February 23, 2003

Temple of art in the Big Apple, Johan Fernandaz, The Star, September 28, 2003

Malden Observer, November 28, 2002