The First Year Core Studio Program presents an evening of conversation between CCA alumnae Chelsea Ryoko Wong, Liz Hernandez, and Rosalie Wild.  They will share their journey as artists and creatives and share their most recent endeavors.

Chelsea Ryoko Wong is an artist whose vibrant figure compositions reflect the diversity and style of her home in San Francisco. Through the use of watercolor, gouache and acrylic techniques, Wong creates busy scenes of co-mingling people drawing from real-life events and her imagination. Her work is known for celebrating racial and cultural diversity, promoting working class communities and evoking a sense of curiosity and wonder. Through heavily stylized and idyllic imagery, Wong creates an encouraging visual statement promoting joy, acceptance and openness to one another.

Wong began her studies at Parsons School of Design (New York, NY), and finished at California College of the Arts (Oakland, CA)  with a B.F.A. in Printmaking in 2010. She is the first recipient of the Hamaguchi Emerging Artists Fellowship award at Kala (Berkeley, CA, 2010) and has recently completed murals for Asana (San Francisco, CA, 2021), La Cocina (San Francisco, CA, 2021) and the FB AIR Program (San Francisco, CA, 2019). She is represented by Jessica Silverman Gallery in San Francisco.

Liz Hernández (b. 1993) is a Mexican artist based in Oakland, California since 2011. Her work spans a variety of techniques—painting, sculpture, embroidery, and writing —which she uses to blur the space between the real and the imaginary.

Deeply influenced by the craft traditions of Mexico, her practice investigates the language of materials and the different stories they tell. She draws inspiration from literature, anthropology, syncretism, oral traditions, and the landscape of Mexico City, always looking for an element that breaks the normalcy of everyday life.

Her partially autobiographical work has led to collaboration with her family in the shape of very personal research. Hernández has exhibited nationally and internationally. Her work is in the permanent collections of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco.

Liz Hernández (n. 1993) es una artista mexicana radicada en Oakland, California desde el 2011. Su trabajo abarca una amplia variedad de técnicas –como pintura, escultura, bordado y escritura—, que utiliza para desdibujar el espacio entre lo real y lo imaginario. Profundamente influenciada por las tradiciones artesanales de México, su producción artística investiga el lenguaje de los materiales y las diferentes historias que cuentan.

Hernández se inspira en la literatura, la antropología, el sincretismo religioso, las tradiciones orales y el paisaje de la Ciudad de México, buscando siempre un elemento que rompa la normalidad de la vida cotidiana. Su obra, parcialmente autobiográfica, ha llevado a la colaboración con su familia a través de una investigación muy personal.

Hernández ha expuesto a nivel nacional e internacional. Su obra se encuentra en las colecciones permanentes del Museo de Arte Moderno de San Francisco y de los Museos de Bellas Artes de San Francisco.

Rosalie Wild has a diverse work experience spanning several industries. Rosalie has worked at Heath Ceramics since 2013, starting as a Designer and progressing to Senior Product Designer, Principal Designer, and currently Design Director. At Heath Ceramics, Rosalie has been responsible for designing and developing products, including dinnerware, tile, and home products. Rosalie has also supported special projects and events.

Rosalie Wild attended the California College of the Arts from 2008 to 2012, where they earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) degree in Industrial and Product Design. Prior to that, from 2005 to 2008, they attended the University of the Arts and took part in their Saturday School program, which offered high school courses. During this time, they studied Graphic Design, Printmaking, Industrial Design, Drawing, Color Darkroom Photography, and Sculpture. In 2005, they briefly attended the Charter High School for Architecture and Design, although no degree or field of study is mentioned for that period.