CCA News
Maturity Pays Off: Painting Faculty Yee Jan Bao Receives $25,000 Grant
Posted on Tuesday, October 28, 2008, by Sarah Owens
Painting faculty member Yee Jan Bao received a praiseworthy $25,000 individual support grant from the Adolph and Esther Gottlieb Foundation Inc. Bao was awarded the grant in honor of his status as a mature artist—defined by having spent a minimum of 20 years in the specific fields of painting, sculpture, or printmaking—who has dedicated his life to his work.
Established in 1976, the Adolph and Esther Gottlieb Foundation Inc. offers grants in the memory of artist Adolph Gottlieb, an American painter and sculptor who in 1935 was a founding member of The Ten, a well-known group of abstract expressionist painters. He also become a founding member of yet another group of abstract painters, the New York Artist Painters, in 1943.
Bao is one of 12 artists of a pool of 482 international applicants to be awarded an individual support grant, and one of only two West Coast artists to receive the award this year. A panel of five independent jurors—not affiliated with the foundation—selects the recipients. (The foundation also extends an emergency grant to those visual artists who have incurred catastrophic events.)
Maturity being a principle determining factor, the foundation's website states: "Maturity is based on the level of intellectual, technical, and creative development maintained over this time period." Artists in consideration must submit a selection of slides that illustrates 20 years' worth of work, one slide per year that collectively demonstrates the artist's growth and uninterrupted dedication to painting and sculpture. (Judges also take into account financial need, as documented by recent tax statements.)
Bao has been an adjunct professor in the Painting/Drawing program since 2002. He also has received grants from the Guggenheim Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Pollock-Krasner Foundation, and the Chicago Arts Council.
With his most current grant Bao will continue to work on his upcoming solo exhibition at the Mark Wolfe Contemporary Art Gallery in San Francisco starting January 9. Learn more.
View additional artwork by this artist online in the faculty gallery.
Visit the Gottlieb Foundation website.