Christina Sun

Christina Sun is a young and emerging Chinese-Australian artist based in Sydney, who works with the medium of oil on various surfaces such as ceramic, canvas, linen, and paper. Since beginning her painting practice in June of 2020, she has sold a number of large scale artworks to various Australian collectors. In 2021, Sun was nominated as a finalist for two Australian art prizes: The Inaugural National Capital Art Prize, and the Newcastle Blackstone Gallery Works on Paper Prize where two of her works were further acquired by private collectors. Sun was also previously involved in Sydney’s first Centenarian Portrait Project, a socially driven arts exhibition showcasing 100 members of the centenarian population within NSW from the perspectives of young artists; here Sun painted the late Joyce Tucker, 103.

With a love of both detailed surrealism and figurative impressionism, Sun’s current oeuvre is a doublet of styles. Her surrealistic paintings depict dream-like scenes, narrating the infinite subconscious of human thought. The viewer is drawn into the visceral experience of drifting in and out of reality, much like the experience of a daydream. Sometimes, the subject matter is a host of ‘random’ objects: a teacup, a napkin, a pillow, a basket. Other times, these objects are symbolically significant to the artist’s cultural identity: mandarins, an orchid, a Chinese ware. These grisaille paintings are revisited over several months, the details refined after successive layers and translucent glazes.

Contrarily, her pastel-like, figurative paintings capture reality as it unfolds in the urban landscape: a chance meeting between old friends beside the rushing Rhine, lovers taking an evening stroll beside Uffizi Gallery, colleagues rehashing their day at a favourite local pub. These works are often quick, spontaneous and alla prima. Here, Sun is heavily inspired by the quiet nostalgia of Anne McGill and Edward Hopper.

Both styles however seek to communicate the shared and very often unheard moments of everyday, quotidian life. Sun’s work makes visible the ‘in-between’ yet phenomenological experiences associated with living and feeling.

Her experimental nature is informed by her study of architecture, where Sun completed a Bachelor of Design in Architecture (with integrated Honours) degree at The University of Sydney, her thesis focussing on alchemy as a facilitator of magic realism in architecture. Here, Sun explores how a deep knowledge of matter allows one to draw out the magical moments latent within everyday objects and experiences. Sun hopes to integrate architectural interests into her artistic practice, and continue her postgraduate studies in fine arts and philosophy.