Blue Line Art gives a voice to immigrant artists in upcoming show

From today through Dec. 28, Blue Line Arts in Roseville celebrates the immigrant population of Placer County with its "US Show" that features artwork from immigrant Americans. The show consists of 16 artists representing 10 countries in three continents and showcases numerous art mediums. "This show is really about saying we still believe in the American dream and you are welcome from whatever country you are from," Blue Line Arts Co-Director Brooke Abrames said. According to Abrames, the nonprofit organization has done the show for several years and usually invites artists but the gallery wanted it this year to be more open and inclusive. "This year, we felt that it should be an open national call just to make it more accessible to people and also to bring a greater range of artists," Abrames said. "Historically, artists who are immigrants have been under-represented in mainstream art so we felt it was important to give them a voice." Two artists showcased in the current show include Trung Cao and Thu Nyguen, who immigrated to the United States from Vietnam after the Vietnam War. Cao's Statue of Liberty painting depicts men and women climbing Lady Liberty. "Painted in oil, I wanted to convey a universal theme of mankind that regardless of when, who, or where, lighting and carrying the torch of liberty comes from the fire that burns from within all of us," Cao said in his artist statement. Cao escaped from Vietnam after the war in a boat across the South China Sea, according to his artist statement. "Only two out of three boats that escaped Vietnam after the Vietnam War survived the journey at sea in search of freedom," Cao said in his statement. "After two days lost at sea and being robbed by pirates, the next obstacle we encountered was residing in an overcrowded refugee island of only one mile in diameter with 700,000 people for nearly a year." Nyugen came to the United States after the fall of Saigon in 1975. "I came here as an orphan and I am now living the American dream," Ngyuen said. "I remembered as a child, I used to watch my uncle (paint) and (wished) to become a painter … Thank you to America for giving me a home and (helping me) to do what I love." This show allows Brazilian-born sculptor and painter Flavia Krasilchik to showcase Brazil's native people and the threat they are under from destruction of their homes in the Amazon rainforest. "Many tribes are being expelled from their land by political instigation, by loggers, miners, the cattle and agriculture industries, in the name of 'economic development,'" Krasilchik said in her artist statement. "My work is a celebration of the indigenous culture of my mother country." Krasilchik immigrated to the United States in 2003 and practiced architecture until she was 50, before becoming a full-time artist. Two years later, she was at the Potters Studio in Berkeley where she started on a pottery wheel and moved to hand-building objects. Krasilchik then studied painting at Laney College in Oakland. The "US Show" varies in mediums, topics, form and other variables as these artists immigrated from different countries. "I think it is a good conversation starter for people who walk through the gallery and to be thinking about the different kind of art that different types of people make," Abrames said. "We do believe it is important to start conversations about these things and art is really about having the important conversations, challenging people and making people think critically." Blue Line Arts is at 405 Vernon St., next to the Tower Theater in Roseville. For more information, visit BlueLineArts.org or call 916-783-4117.