tracie cheng
About Tracie:
New Haven, CT
Tracie Cheng is a Taiwanese American artist that weaves lines and paint into dynamic visual dreamscapes. She very consciously observes the life around her—absorbing stories and experiences—and subconsciously watches them unfold onto the canvas. Resembling nature, fractals, patterns and forms, Tracie's paintings are inspired by all the incredible and regular things around us. The lines undulate in and out of visibility and reality while the paint provides shelter and contrast, allowing the paintings to be playful, familiar, yet challenging to our imaginations. It prompts curiosity and assurance, an invitation into wonder and a hope for possibility in the intangible. Tracie's paintings are a reflection of life's textured complexities, giving voice to her ever-evolving relationship with faith, culture, ethnicity, and narrative.
Q+A
Grand Image: How did you get your start in art?
TC: Growing up, my expression of art was mostly in music. It was a really big part of my life, but I was too limited by a fear of failure to try to create anything of my own. The architecture program I was in during college really pushed those limits and fears, opening up a world of creative possibility that I’m forever grateful for. I studied abroad in Italy near the end of my program and one of my core tasks for 4 months was to make watercolors as a way of observation and memory keeping. It was challenging to work with the unpredictability of watercolor, but it formed a love for the creating process, and it shifted my language of “failure” into opportunity and growth.
Grand Image: What is the inspiration behind the pieces that are a part of your collection with Grand Image?
TC: After many years of wonderful commissions and big life changes, it has been good for me to make time and space to just paint; paint without too much thought, paint with colors I haven’t used before, to challenge myself, but also have fun. There are themes of waiting and dreaming that are mixed throughout this collection, a return to journeying in and out of clouds, and a sense of whimsy that has always been present in my artistic expression.
Grand Image: In your artist statement, you mention your “ever-evolving relationship with faith, culture, ethnicity, and narrative.” Can you speak more deeply about this and how it is represented in your work?
TC: Faith, culture, and ethnicity are areas of my life that I am constantly in dialogue about, with myself, God, and others. I came into this world Taiwanese-American, but the journey of acceptance and love for that part of myself has been a long and arduous one. I spent a lot of my childhood trying to resist my given identity, but time, experience, and faith have been able to transform that part of my story into one of healing and wholeness. My spiritual life has been foundational, serving as an ever evolving, grace-filled force that has reminded me time and time again that I am beloved beyond all the things I could possibly do, create, or fail in. It has also been a pivotal place where I’ve found great assurance in my pursuit of art, contributing to an overall narrative of peace, mercy, and transformation—all of which show up in my paintings. I love being able to offer a place of reprieve in the airiness of the lines and the blooms of paint; a space in which hope and light can grow. I think the paintings can serve as a deep breath, a calming break, bringing one’s attention away from the anxieties of the past and future, and back to the solidity of the present moment.
Tracie’s custom installation and commission with Grand Image: 1325 Avenue of Americas, NYC
Grand Image: Where are you from and how is that reflected in your work?
TC: I was raised in Texas by immigrant parents. Growing up influenced by those distinct cultures, I’ve come to value difference, stories, and even the tensions that our experiences carry. I love that my paintings are hard and soft, and that they can reference and remind us of many things. I want to create a safe space for unanswerable questions and unlikely combinations to exist, to be enjoyed and considered.
Grand Image: How has your relationship with art changed the way you view the world?
TC: For me, art is about expression and possibility. Art can help us imagine a world beyond what is in front of us, encouraging us to hope for more. I have loved evolving with my work, seeing how I loosen up and become more comfortable with the unknown and the unexpected, inviting in more wonder.
Grand Image: Your work plays with more structured forms and linework against beautifully blended backgrounds. Was this a choice representative of something deeper or purely a visual concept?
TC: When I first started to overlay lines on paint, the different elements didn’t seem to interact with each other well. It wasn’t until I started to imagine my lines weaving in and out of clouds, or through crashing waves that a relationship was formed. A few years ago, as I was processing who I am as it relates to my ethnicity, the people I came from, and the various cultures I was raised in, I was having a hard time reconciling the many identities and roles I had accumulated over time. The collection “Of Stories Past” came out of a desire to find beauty in the complex person I have become, using color and texture to represent the diverse parts of myself, and the lines to weave them together. This idea of wholeness is further emphasized by blurring the space not captured within the lines.
Grand Image: What do you do when you have a creative block?
TC: I don’t believe in creating only when inspiration strikes, but I do believe that inspiration is all around us if we let ourselves be in wonder over the simple and complex things of our lives and world. If it's about feeling uncreative or lacking in ideas, the best way I’ve found to get out of that space has been to just create. Making without plans, vision, or agenda—removing the pressure for it to be a “good” or finished piece—can free us to enjoy the process.
However, if it’s the kind of block that paralyzes or stifles me, I try to take a break. Rest and fun are great ways to release a creative mind that is overworked. Forcing myself to “do more” has never been a reliable way to regain or expand my capacity, but an intentional shift in activity or perspective has.
Grand Image: Do you have any rituals or routines in the studio—how do you get into flow?
TC: There are no particular routines I follow regularly, but I often start out by cleaning whatever disorder I left the day(s) before. I find that it gives a little space and time for my thoughts to catch up to my hands. In between paintings and tasks, I try to make space to sit in a comfy chair and clear my mind, even if it’s only for a few minutes. If I feel overwhelmed or tense, I go for a short walk and stretch, letting the environment directly outside my studio walls—which is constantly transforming—ground my perspective enough to get back to work.
