FOON SHAM
Born in Macao and raised in Hong Kong, Foon Sham is a sculptor and professor at the University of Maryland, College Park, U.S.A. Sham received a BFA from the California College of Arts and Crafts in 1978, and a MFA from Virginia Commonwealth University in 1981. Since 1980, he has had 28 solo exhibitions and has participated in over 115 group exhibitions in galleries and museums in the United States as well as other countries including Canada, Norway, Mexico, Australia and Hong Kong. Wood has always been Sham’s primary medium in his sculpture and installations. He has sawed, cut, laminated, stacked, carved and assembled a multiplicity of soft and hard wood into organic and geometric forms from small to massive pieces. His art echoes his personal feeling to nature, disaster, and the particular environment. In his recent installations, he invited visitors to participate and share their thoughts and ideas.
Foon Sham has received numerous awards including the Virginia Commission of the Arts (1996), the Nordic Artists’ Centre in Dale, Norway (1999), a Residency Grant from the National Endowment of the Arts (2001), and recently the Franz and Virginia Bader Grant in Washington DC (2009) and the Strauss Fellowship from the Art Council in Fairfax County, Virginia (2009). His public collections include the Nayatad Sculpture Park in Hungary (1995), the Gallery Place-Chinatown Metro-rail Station in Washington DC (2000), the Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia (2003), the Museum of Contemporary Arts of Yucatan, Merida, Mexico (2005), and the Hong Kong Museum of Art (2008).
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