On May 1, Perspective Narrative, featuring the works of Megan Lee ’13, Wan Lin Qin ’17, and Dear Liu ’19 opened in the Tremaine Gallery.
Ms. Lee grew up in northern CT. She said, “While my friends invested the majority of their time in playing sports, I stayed in my room and drew illustrations on my books or shredded paper and made it into bugs. I always had some sort of tie to art.”
At the school, Ms. Lee took visual art classes and created independent projects in art during her Upper Mid and Senior years. “Hotchkiss was the perfect environment to practice, because I could search, test, and reflect. Here, I learned to push myself and be brave,” she said.
Ms. Lee recently spent five months traveling through Asia. “Although it was my first time visiting, I felt an immediate connection. I formed this deep link to Asia from my grandparents, and I’m glad I had the opportunity to rekindle it. My pieces in the Tremaine Gallery are inspired by the nostalgia I felt,” she said. Ms. Lee contributed 11 pieces to the exhibition, including “Remember to Forget”—an installation featuring 2,304 folded paper cranes displayed on a 12’x12’ mirror, accompanied by a small print.
Wan Lin Qin ‘17 initially struggled to fully immerse herself in art at the school. She said, “I had a lot of fights with my parents, who wanted me to pursue medicine. They told me that if I did not win a national award by the time I graduated, I would not be allowed to pursue the arts. This led me to compare myself with fellow artists in competitions to a point that my whole life started to crumble.” However, she found solace in the Edgar Cullman Art Studio. “In my artwork, I included all of my insecurities and worries. This outlet of emotions made life worth living,” she said.
After graduating, she attended the L’École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, and now lives in London, where she studies spiritual healing with the Harry Edwards Foundation. Ms. Qin contributed 11 pieces to the exhibition made from diverse media, including lace, silk embroidery, oil paints, and Venchi chocolate wrappers. Describing the painting “Place Furstenberg,” she said, “I am certain living beings imprint their essence into the spaces they inhabit and the objects they touch. As spaces, places, and belongings accumulate this energy, they earn a soul of their own.”
Dear Liu ’19, who was unavailable for an interview, is pursuing a Master of Architecture I at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. Nine of her pieces are included in the show—six paper collages and three stainless steel sculptures.
Ms. Lee and Ms. Qin joined the community for an artists’ talk on May 1 and an opening reception on May 2. Ms. Lee said, “As a student, it was my dream to have my artwork exhibited in the gallery. It felt unreachable, and now I’m here in front of all of you.”
