We are pleased to announce that artists Cai Zebin, Leelee Chan, Pixy Liao have been selected to participate Megan Connolly's curatorial project with ARTXPUZZLES to create new and innovatiive artist jigsaw puzzles.
"I immediately gravitated to themes of ‘love,’ ‘equality,’ and ‘new beginnings’ when Art x Puzzles invited me to curate a special collection of ‘Puzzles with Purpose.’ In addition to February’s importance as Black History month and the host of Valentine’s Day, February is also the beginning of a new lunar calendar in the Chinese cosmological tradition (also known as Chinese New Year). Families typically celebrate by gathering together to feast and relax, although 2021 is not a typical year for in-person festivities.
I selected six artists with diverse creative practices and backgrounds to highlight the universal importance of self-care and self-love as tools to help heal our collective spirits and to look towards the future. I worked with each artist remotely as we have all been doing since the pandemic started. Self-care and comfort have become even more essential during the quarantine. Each work in this capsule collection alludes to self-care and comfort during a time when so many around the world are suffering.
Although we cannot gather in ‘real time’ to celebrate the start of a new year, we can stay connected virtually by exercising our minds and our hands as we puzzle together. I hope that puzzlers find joy, inspiration, and inner peace as they join the separate pieces to become a whole.
I would like to thank the artists Cai Zebin, Leelee Chan, Pixy Liao, Curtis Talwst Santiago, and Adrian Wong for joining me on this journey. I also extend a special thanks to Art x Puzzles for giving us the opportunity to stay connected and hopeful as we collaborate on these special projects."
Curatorial Statement: Megan Connolly
