Vita | RaymondChow.com - The Artist's official site.

Vita Raymond Chow

I was born an artist in the back of an east end grocery in Vancouver B.C. My parents were both born in Vancouver and both came from large families; my father from 15, my mother from 10. Both my Chinese grandfathers emigrated from South China, the Toy San area.

To quell the small space, my parents bought me a new small brown upright Mason Riche piano and I started piano lessons age 5. When my grandfathers’ 160 acres of farm in Richmond was sold, my mother designed a house in the Mount Pleasant area and my father and his friend built the house in three months. I still remember the two working on building the roof of that house, where my son and granddaughter live now.

In the summers, I was shipped to stay with my aunts and uncles on the Richmond 160 acres between number One road between Williams and Francis roads. We had fun as children running free between rows and rows of corn sheaves and seeing huge mountains of potatoes in my grandfathers large barns. My grandfather Mah Bing became known as the potatoe king of Richmond in the 1940’s to 1950’s. I watched my uncle who was studying to become a young architect, drawing buildings, and who eventually became a successful architect. I wanted to be like my uncle and draw houses.

At age 7, I was constantly drawing and copying master artists at age 9. At age 12 my watercolours were put into a century vault at Queen Elizabeth to be opened 2054. I won contests and won a bike and the Red Cross poster contest, with a painting of a robin feeding her young. At age 14-16, I was drawing stores in the East End and buildings in Chinatown. At age 18, I had two art agents. One who handled the art of Picasso, the Art Emporium, the other handled the best Vancouver established artists, the Harrison Art Gallery, formerly Dutch Art Gallery, Alex Harrison.

At age 28, I had art agents in Hamilton, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Winnipeg, Kelowna, Victoria, Gig Harbour, Washington. Later at age 38, I owned 3 art galleries and 3 grand pianos and travelled to London, England, for ten months and owned a large 4,000 square foot house and 12 automobiles and warehouse to restore them. I completed 3 hours of 16 mm film as experiments in Film, I was influenced by the great film maker Norman McLaren of the National Film Board. I went 4 times to Hawaii to draw and paint and enjoy the warmth of Hawaiian beaches.

At age of 48, I was working on the White Gown Series and had completed the 40 painting series of Lisa Chow, who became a Miss Vancouver Chinatown in 1989/1990. At age 68, I discovered I was instantly related to Cho Cho who united 3 fighting kingdoms to form China and Cho Xuquin who wrote the great 18th century novel Dream Of The Red Chamber in China, made compulsory reading by chairman Mao Tse Tung in the 50’s. After selling my house where I was a single parent when my son was 5 and daughter 9, I bought a warehouse some 8 years ago when I was 62 and sized down.

My imagination went to highgear and experimented profusely with computer parts and abstractionist paintings with a piano theme. I bought a wonderful 7 foot Jaded Heintzman grand from the Piano House in Vancouver and Richmond and wrote some 300 original piano compositions for a future film I call The Key To The Red Chamber. I went to a Picasso show at the Vancouver Art Gallery 5 years ago and discovered how similar we were in art subjects in paintings I created some 10 to 30 years ago.

Raymond Chow

Born 1941 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Academia

University of British Columbia, Bachelor of Fine Arts
Toronto Royal Conservatory of Music, Associateship of the Royal Conservatory of Toronto

Collectors

Princess Elizabeth of Yugoslavia
Deputy Premier Grace McCarthy, British Columbia
Prime Minister Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi, India
Sir Roger George Moore
Sunny & Cher
Samantha Eggar
Paul Anka
Gordon Lightfoot
Raymond Burr
Noel Harrison
Paul Anka
Gordon Lightfoot
Fran Belzberg
Doreen Braveram
Carol Taylor
Susan Matheson
Clint Eastwood

Exhibitions & History

Present
The Archer & The Horseman Gallery, Vancouver
Capulet Art Gallery, Richmond
Fragrant Wood Gallery, Vancouver

2008
Asai’s Art Gallery, Korea and Japan

2007
Produced Vancouver Historic Chinatown Calendar

2005
Started Art Gallery Warehouse in Richmond, B.C.

2002
Finished “White Gown” Series of Paintings

2000
Fundraised for Richmond Sunrise Rotary
Began Mata Hari Projects Including DVD

1999
Finished “Karen” Series of Paintings

1998
Fundraised for Shooting Stars Foundation
Started Painters of Painter’s Lodge in Campbell River
Exhibited at Museum & Library Complex in Vancouver Chinatown
Began & Completed “Golfing” series

1997
Fundraised for Langley Fine Arts School
Worked with Vancouver Symphony Orchestra

1996
Exhibition of Drawings and Paintings at L’Alliance Francais de Vancouver
Started “Karen” Series of Paintings

1994
Established Art Gallery in Steveston, Richmond, B.C.
Began “White Gown” Series of Paintings

1992
Opened Art Warehouse in Richmond, B.C.

1990
Established Art Gallery in Richmond, B.C.

1989
Fundraised for Richmond Hospital Foundation
Exhibited Along the West Coast of USA

1987
Created First CD of 29 Original Pieces Released by Mushroom Studios

1985
Worked with Political Leaders to Fundraise for Canadian Paraplegic Association
Played Piano at Cecil Green Alumni Association for UBC

1983
Designed Vancouver Symphony Show House Cover
Painted “Beautiful People of Vancouver” Series

1978
Designed Captain Cook Coins, Canada
Jack Hambleton Gallery, Kelowna

1977
Art Emporium, Vancouver (Exhibited with Andrew Wyeth)

1976
Hycroft Manor, Vancouver

1974
Peter Ohler Gallery, Richmond

1973
Exposition Gallery, Vancouver
Gallery 1661, Halifax
Leafhill Gallery, Victoria
Raymond Chow Gallery, Vancouver
Royal Palace of India, Rajasthan
Jack Hambleton Gallery, Kelowna

1972
Gallerie Fore, Winnipeg

1971
Exposition Gallery, Vancouver
Campden Hill Club, London
Canada House Gallery, London

1970
Vancouver Historic Society, Victoria
Thomas Beckett Gallery, Hamilton
Alice Beck Gallery, Burington
Varlow Gallery, San Francisco
Shaw-Rimmington Gallery, Toronto

1969
Exposition Gallery, Vancouver
Jack Hambleton Gallery, Kelowna

1968
Moos Galbria Gallery, Montreal
McPherson Theatre, Montreal

1967
The Downstairs Gallery, Winnipeg
Federation of Canadian Artist Gallery, Vancouver
Eaton’s Display of Historical Landmarks, Saanichton
Dutch Gallery, Vancouver
Sobot Gallery, Toronto
Index of National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa

1966
Mary Frazee Gallery, West Vancouver
Harrison Gallery, Vancouver
Dutch Gallery, Vancouver
Federation of Canadian Artist Gallery, Vancouver
The Little Gallery, New Westminster

1965
Studio Art Gallery International, Vancouver
Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver
Peter Ohler Gallery, Richmond

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