Biography
Jay Tang
Fine art photographer
Jay Tang (1981) is born in The Netherlands to Hong Kong Chinese parents. He was raised with traditional values of the Chinese culture and grew up with the sober and open-minded attitude of the Dutch. The duality and, some times, contradicting nature of both cultures has shaped him as a person and as an artist. ‘Identity’ and ‘Legacy’ have become themes that are influential to his work, especially as he becomes a father of two.
In 2012, Tang enrolls in the study Photographic Design at the University of Applied Photography in Amsterdam from which he graduated with honours in 2015. That same year, he was awarded the second prize for his project ‘Son, this is your home’ at the Keep an Eye Fotovakschool Grant 2015 by the Keep an Eye Foundation, a foundation that acknowledges and supports upcoming talents in the creative and arts sector.
In the following years, he works on a series of abstract photographs, titled ‘Everyday Landscapes’, using everyday materials including paper, tissues, plastic bags and their shadows to create landscapes and calligraphy that harkens back to his heritage. The work has been exhibited in metropolitan cities like Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Chicago and Hong Kong. In 2020, he collaborates with Anita Neve Galerie, to produce his first solo exhibition.
He is also actively involved as a contributing member in local art festivals like Noordwaarts and Open Ateliers Amsterdam Noord.
Exhibitions & Achievements
November 18 – 19 2023 • Amsterdam
For the first time since 2020’s Everyday Flora, Jay Tang returns to the scene with complete new work in the Everyday Landscapes serie, themed ORDER & CHAOS.
May 7 – June 21 2022 • Anita Neve Galerie
Two years after the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, Anita Neve Galerie returns with a group exhibition titled ‘Transiency or the Floriade’ to coincide with the 2022 edition of the Floriade Expo. This exhibition is themed on transiency and features work from visual artist Jay Tang, flower photographer Alexandra Wieringa and visual artist Wim Adema.
October 2 – 3 2021 • Amsterdam
After two postponements due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Open Ateliers Amsterdam Noord returns in its biggest form with over 100 visual artists participating in the two-day event.
During OAN 2021, Jay Tang exhibited work that debuted in his 2020 solo alongside his latest work ‘Everyday Flora’.
February 15 – March 22 2020 • Anita Neve Galerie
The very first solo exhibition that documents the journey of Jay Tang’s body of work ‘Everyday Landscapes’, a serie of abstract landscape photographs created with everyday materials, like paper, tissues, plastic bags and even cushion fillings. This exhibition includes the early works that led to the iconic minimalistic black and white landscapes, as well as the analogue experiments.
September 26 – 29 2019 • Groeneveld Castle, Baarn
FINE art & antiques fair is the annual international art fair in and around Groeneveld Castle in Baarn. At FINE 2019 Anita Neve Galerie exhibited work from Gemmy Woud-Binnendijk, Cara Louwman, Christine Mooijer, Nathalie Dekker and Jay Tang.
May 25 – 26 2019 • Amsterdam
The 30th anniversary edition of OAN, the annual art festival of Amsterdam Noord, where local visual artists open the doors to their ateliers to the public to meet, talk and sell.
In this edition of OAN new work in the series ‘Everyday Landscapes’ was shown.
August 22 – October 22 2018 • Anita Neve Galerie
Anita Neve Galerie represented Jay Tang for the first time in 2018 for the ‘Great Heights’ group exhibition, along with other photographers Christine Mooijer, Tony Tangel, Ruud de Jong, Enk Hartveld and Aloys Ginjaars.
May 26 – 27 2018 • Amsterdam
OAN is the annual art festival of Amsterdam Noord, where local visual artists open the doors to their ateliers to the public to meet, talk and sell. In this edition of OAN new work in the series ‘Everyday Landscapes’ was shown.
September 30 – October 1 2017 • Amsterdam
At the 9th edition of the bi-annual local arts festival weekend Noordwaarts, Jay Tang exhibited his works ‘Hikari Revive’.
March 13 2016 • Hong Kong
At the 2016 ‘The Perfect Imperfections’ charity show which debuted the collection of fashion designer Angelle Chang, Jay Tang showcased his works ‘Mountains’ of what would later become known as ‘Everyday Landscapes’.
November 2015 • Amsterdam
The Keep an Eye Fotovakschool Grant 2015 is a collaborative initiative between the Keep an Eye Foundation and the Fotovakschool (University of Applied Photography) to support upcoming photography talent.
Jay Tang presented his upcoming project ‘Son, this is your home’ / 孩子，這是你家鄉 (working title) to the judges, consisting of Ellen Dosse, Theo Audenaerd and Ahmet Polat, in an emotional pitch and was awarded second place of the Keep an Eye Fotovakschool Grant 2015.
His peers Misho Pipercic (‘Bosnian Dreams’) and Annemoon van Hemel (‘Geraakt door water, portretten van dijkgraven’) were awarded first and third prize respectively.
October 21 – 27 2015 • Fotovakschool Amsterdam, Amsterdam
The 2015 edition of the Graduation Show, displaying the 2015 graduation projects by students of the Amsterdam, Apeldoorn, Boxtel, Rotterdam and Venlo branches.
July 3 – 31 • Rotterdamse Schouwburg, Rotterdam
An extended edition of the Double Exposure exhibition, displayed at the 12 meter wide media wall at the Rotterdamse Schouwburg.
April 10 – May 10 2015 • Rotterdamse Schouwburg, Rotterdam
An exchange program between the Fotovakschool in Amsterdam and Rotterdam and the Columbia College Chicago, which resulted in a simultaneous group exhibition of selected students at three locations (Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Chicago).
24 January – 7 February 2015 • Fotovakschool Amsterdam, Amsterdam
In 2015 Jay Tang graduated with the highest honour from the study ‘Photographic Design’ at the Fotovakschool in Amsterdam.
His graduation project ‘Stalker’ was exhibited along with the work of his peers during the ‘Nieuw Licht’ group exhibition.
About
Jay Tang is a visual artist and fine art photographer based in Amsterdam, known for his work in the ‘Everyday Landscapes’ serie – abstract landscapes created using everyday objects and material, like paper, tissues and cling foil.
Studio
Zamenhofstraat 150/unit 7
1022 AG Amsterdam
The Netherlands
Represented by
