Art In Embassies: Lima, Peru

Insufficient Capacity, oil on CNC routed panels, 72 x 84 in, 2022.

In August 2024 I was invited to participate in the U.S. Department of State Art in Embassies program. My painting Insufficient Capacity was selected by curator Tiffany Williams to be included in an exhibition for Stephanie Syptak-Ramnath, the new Ambassador to Peru. Ambassador Syptak-Ramnath is interested in working with artists who create work that encourages connections and drives conversations. It is an honor to participate in this exhibition. The painting is currently being shipped to Peru and I hope to share installation images in the coming months.

Insufficient Capacity depicts a semiconductor and the island of Taiwan. Inspired by the recent semiconductor shortage, the island of Taiwan manufactures over 50% of the world’s semiconductors and over 90% of the world’s most advanced semiconductors. The island has become a flashpoint and frontline of the power struggle between the U.S. and China. In response to these tensions U.S. and Taiwanese companies have begun to build manufacturing capacity in the United States. (Lee, Y., Shirouzu, N., Lague, D., 2021) The industry is essential to Taiwan’s security. The painting speaks to these realities using visual language. An additional layer of meaning is established through the work’s method of construction. This five panel painting is made using vector lines and a CNC router, tools directly supported by semiconductor technology. Combined, the process and subject produce a layered account of this geopolitical moment.

Lee, Y., Shirouzu, N., Lague, D. (2021) ’T-DAY: The Battle For Taiwan’, Reuters, 27 December, Available at: https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/taiwan-chinachips/