My work has always been figurative, inspired by antique Asian figures.  Initially, I used female images, combining traditional figures with contemporary elements, but now my more recent work includes both male and female as the image base.  In the same way that, as an Asian-American I have come from one culture and live in another, so my work has a traditional source but discusses contemporary issues.

Part of my interest in the figure comes from my extensive experience as a New York fashion designer.  As a result of my understanding of clothing, many of my sculptures exhibit very detailed garments and distinctive textile patterning.

In a recent body of work, Invisible People, I am motivated by experiences from my own life, focusing on the many ordinary people who drift by unobserved.  The titles are instructive:  Plain Jane and Shrinking Violet are catch phrases for underdogs and imply anonymity.  By using glass components I can create figures with almost intangible features, portraying people who essentially have no expression and no outward manifestation of interior feeling.  The material mimics this condition perfectly; transparent glass for apparently transparent lives.

Another aspect of this series is represented by my portrayal of historical figures, the Tang Ladies. The titles here are also instructive, Precious Me and Goddess, exemplifying vanity. The early Tang Dynasty (about 650 a.d.) was a golden era in China during which women reached the very height of sophistication and fashion.  The sculptures of this period are so highly stylized that there is an almost total obliteration of the individual face and personality.  Many portrayals of women were created in the likeness of Yang Gufei, the Emperor Taizong’s favorite Imperial concubine. During his reign, the individual unique personalities of all other women disappeared.  They were invisible.

The Invisible People series also includes Corporate Ladies, Ragamuffin Children, Warriors and Geishas, each of which addresses another facet of anonymity.