American artist, born 1975, Volcano, Hawai'i
October 2015, I moved together with my husband Joshua to the Big Island, Hawaiʻi as permanent residents. It had taken me thirty-five years to follow my footsteps back to my place of origin. Almost. I reside in Mahiki not Volcano.
Nearly a decade later I have lived in the same home for the longest period in my life. My return has in many ways lead me to reflect deeply on my family story and ancestral lineage. I now see for the first time the importance to include my Chinese name as a practicing artist; to be known by my birth name in entirety: Ajna Joy Ch’iu Lichau. To me, my name speaks to the complexity of my family story. This story has informed my practice in many different reflections and mediums.
My current body of work began from the inspiration of place. My environment. The dew that is my constant because of geographical location. The flora that breathes and sings under the forests canopy. The canopy itself and the sky above filled with dreamy images amongst the clouds and shadows. My current work consists of two projects: works on paper: Flora prints/Hawaiian native/canoe plants and Dew Prints/imagined landscapes. These pieces are created with a play of chance and control using simple materials: gathered leaves and flowers from our farms forest, morning dew on grass, paper, sumi ink, water, and genuine gold and copper leaf.
Bio
Ajna currently practices mainly in the forms of works on paper, photography and installation. She is from a family of artists whose life began in Volcano, Hawaiʻi, 1975 and from the age of five was raised in New Mexico and then from fourteen in Oregon. She holds an MFA from San Francisco Art Institute and a BFA from Parsons School of Design, New York. Her projects and collaborations have been shown nationally and internationally for example: SOMArts, WorkSound, Mark Wolfe Contemporary Art, Spur Projects, San Jose Museum of Art, and 9th Havana Biennial.
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2015
Pure Surface, Valentines, movement -Dawn Stoppiello, text- Endi Bogue Hartigan, film- Ajna Lichau, Portland Oregon.
White Noise 2.0, Worksound International/Natural History, Portland Oregon.
2014
Whats Funny?, Procvetaj Festival, Paviljon Cvijeta Zuzonic, Belgrade, Serbia
2012
XXX, MDW Fair, Chicago, Illinois.
EFF Portland, GalleryHOMELAND, Portland, Oregon.
2011
Third Strike: 100 Performances for the Hole, SOMarts, San Francisco, California.
2010
Night Light: Multimedia Garden Party, SOMarts, San Francisco, California.
Dominion, Tribute Gallery, Portland Oregon.
East West Project, Espace 72, Dison/Verviers, Belgium.
2009
Girls on film, Espace apART - Free art-base - F518, Guangzhou, China.
East West Project, Espace 72, Dison/Verviers, Belgium.
It’s the way that you move, Million Fishes Gallery, SF California.
2008
East West Project, Espace 72, Dison/Verviers, Belgium.
Water, The Garage, San Francisco.
Accoutre, Worksound, Portland Oregon.
2007
Collectif 2007, Espace 72, Dison/Verviers, Belgium.
Ajna Lichau & Jessica Pezalla, Mark Wolfe Contemporary, SF California.
East West Project, Espace 72, Dison/Verviers, Belgium.
Onde, Les Contemporains, Bruxelles, Belgium.
2006
Ajna Lichau, Spur Projects, Portola Valley, California
Master of Fine Arts Graduate Exhibition, SFAI, Herbst Pavilion, Fort Mason, SF California.
Body functions, screening at the 9th Havana Biennial, Cuba.
Heavenly Bodies, San Jose Museum of Art, San Jose, California.
2005
Emerge, GenArt; The Warfield building, San Francisco, California.
Participate, MonkeyFresh Studios, San Francisco, California.
2004
The Chicken Show, Crucible Steel Gallery, San Francisco, California.
Nurturing the New 2004, NurtureArt Gallery, Brooklyn, New York.Figurative Photographs, Walter Wickiser Gallery, New York.
2002
Moments of Clarity: A midsummer night interlude, Sotheby’s, New York.
Donnata Estetica, Art Point Black, Florence, Italy.
2001
New Work, Ajna and El Nino, Apogee Gallery; Stevenson Fine Art, New York.
2000
Parsons Senior Exhibition, The Gallery on 13th Street, New York.
Parsons Benefit Auction, Arnold and Sheila Aronson Galleries, New York.
1999
New Visions, MaxMara Boutique, New York.
Parsons Benefit Auction, Arnold and Sheila Aronson Galleries, New York.
1997
Hermony, Catch 22 Gallery, New York.
EDUCATION
2006
MFA, New Genres, San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco, California.
2000
BFA, Photography, (awarded honors), Parsons School of Design, New York.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
2010
Michelle Weidman, “Review: Dominion.” Ultrapdx, August
2007
Koppman, Debra, “Ajna Lichau and Jessica Pezalla,” Artweek, March.
2006
Morris, Barbara. “Ajna Lichau at Spur Projects,” Artweek, December.
Fischer, Jack. “Technology & Identity, S. J. exhibition explores how the digitallandscape is shaping perceptions of the human mind,” Mercury News, March 19.