Cheryl & Heinrich Toh

Ever since she was child, Cheryl Toh always had a knack for creative problem-solving. She came from a family of "creative do-it-yourselfers" and was influenced and encouraged to become handy with tools and construction. She studied and practiced as an arts educator and administrator for several years before deciding to take her art full-time.

Heinrich Toh also came from a fine arts and crafts background. A painting major in his native Singapore, Heinrich arrived in the United States in 1997 with just 2 suitcases. He first settled in Philadelphia to attend the University of The Arts to study under stained glass artist Judith Schaechter, whose work he long admired. He later transferred to Cleveland Institute of Art.

Cheryl studied painting in college and took a variety of workshops, including metal-working at Penland School of Crafts in North Carolina where she and Heinrich met. But it was her first look at an encaustic painting that changed her creative direction. She took a year to teach herself the painstaking process of how wax paint works and she has now been working with encaustic for more than eight years.

At Penland, Cheryl was doing a metal-smithing workshop and Heinrich was taking a glassblowing workshop in the summer of 1999. After graduating in the Fall of 2000, Heinrich moved out to Phoenix where Cheryl was living at the time. They ended up moving to Seattle together a year later so Heinrich could rent time in a hot shop at the Pratt Fine Arts Center to make his own glass work.

Heinrich realized he didn't enjoy the production aspect of the craft of glass-making. Making the same functional object over and over again didn't jibe with his cultural identity that began to surface in his two-dimensional work.

While living in Seattle, the Tohs decided to try out art fairs as a way to get their work in front of a new audience besides the usual gallery habitués. This has been their job for the last five years, allowing them to make a living while creating the art they want to make. They have found working directly with collectors allows for a unique opportunity to make a connection with their patrons.

The people who have followed their work for a longer period of time have a stronger understanding of its representation. For some that see it for the first time, there is a relationship to a sense of place, memory and connection.

For the most part, Cheryl stays focused on trying out new ideas to move forward with her work in addition to running the business end of her art. She makes time throughout the year to be an active applicant to galleries and juried shows- writing proposals for exhibitions, grants and residencies. Sometimes, the balancing tips awkwardly between the actual business of her art and spending studio time to create it, flexibility is key to reaching her goals.

Cheryl recognizes that good photo documentation of ones work is important for gallery, grant and residency applications. Her paintings are photographed by Heinrich and drawings are documented by Ben Pieper.

If the business side of her practice is a cut-and-dry proposition, the cathartic relationship of her art is a bit more relaxed. Cheryl uses abstract forms and colors that create their own interpretations, allowing her audience to make a subtle connection with her work.

This use of color, repetition and hidden elements add an intimate quality to her work. The use of encaustic emphasizes the layering process. Things seem to change as one observes the painting. Hidden layers become more apparent the more a viewer interacts with the work. The same is true for her drawings which often include subtle secret elements that are only visible up close- pierced paper, white on white drawings, sewn inclusions.

Cheryl draws her inspiration from various sources – subtle gradations of graphite and colored pencil in evidence. They serve as markers of time in her drawings. Her encaustic pieces echo these same qualities "while employing the subtractive process of scraping, creating subtle dialogues within the layered compositions."

Consideration is given to line and form through the use of repetition. This emphasis conveys the communal relationships hinted at by the dialogues within the layered compositions of her paintings and the time-markers of her drawings.

Heinrich's source material ranges from imagery that he photographs or otherwise documents himself. This includes Asian statuary, architecture, and other objects that connect or serve as a reminder to his cultural background.

Chinese silk brocade fabric has inspired certain pattern elements in his work that he realized was derived from the formality of its use and acknowledges the changes in Asian culture.

Recently, Heinrich started using vintage photographs of Caucasian families that he found, after using his own family photos for awhile. He loves the timeless sense of nostalgia and how he finds similarities between cultures and the way they lead viewers on a path between their own layered memories.

The vast American landscape (both urban and not) seem to find its way into his work, as a reminder along with the Caucasian photos, that a greater assimilation is happening to him and his work.

In 2010, Cheryl received an Inspiration Grant from ArtsKC to experiment with new installation work using clay, as well as a studio residency with the Urban Culture Project through the Charlotte Street Foundation in downtown Kansas City. Heinrich received an Inspiration Grant from ArtsKC to attend Vermont Studio Center. That same year, both were invited to participate in the 2010 Kansas City Flatfile show at H&R Block Artspace at the Kansas City Art Institute.

In terms of market, Heinrich hasn't noticed much of a directional change for the past five years or so. He has had offers from companies that commercialize art in some form or another with a monetary promise, but this aspect of commercialism doesn't interest him.

He does spend time following up with potential collectors, gallerists or consultants when there is an interest or possible sale. Heinrich realizes the work doesn't sell itself, so he is diligent in the back and forth of emails. He also has the confidence to talk about his work and where it comes from.

For the coming year, Cheryl plans to experiment more with installation work and further explore sewing and embroidery techniques within her drawings. She is also is seeking additional gallery representation. Cheryl has reached a point where its time to change things up and is actively looking to return to her one-time field of management or arts administration.

Heinrich looks forward to more experimentation and is participating in a show at The Ink Shop Printmaking Center in Ithaca, NY. November 4th to December 23rd curated by printmaker: Jenny Pope from Reston, VA. He also plans more large-scale dark room alternative photo techniques and collaborations with several artists around the country that he met during a residency at Vermont Studio Center in early 2011.

Cheryl and Heinrich are Fall 2009 Artist INC Fellows.

Visit Cheryl's website here and Heinrich's here.

Written by Blair Schulman, 2011