WITH CHELSEA RYOKO WONG
BEHIND THE SCENES WITH CHELSEA RYOKO WONG
Chelsea Ryoko Wong is a San Francisco-based painter whose vibrant works celebrate human connection and cultural diversity. Raised in a mixed-race family with Chinese and Japanese American roots, her art reflects a deep engagement with identity and representation. Her paintings, rich in vivid colors and dynamic compositions, depict joyful scenes of communal life—friends sharing meals, families enjoying nature, and diverse groups engaged in everyday activities. Through these portrayals, Wong emphasizes that “we all deserve happiness and to be portrayed as such,” creating a world on canvas where inclusivity and harmony take center stage.
Her creative process is fueled by personal interactions, travel, and a fascination with everyday beauty. Inspired by both familiar faces and chance encounters, she transforms fleeting moments into striking compositions that balance energy and order. Wong’s commitment to community extends beyond her studio, with large-scale murals gracing spaces like La Cocina’s Municipal Marketplace, the Asana office, and the Facebook Artist in Residence Program. She has studied at Parsons School of Design and California College of the Arts, and is represented by Jessica Silverman Gallery here in San Francisco.
I have followed Chelsea’s work for some years and recently had the opportunity to visit her studio and ask a few in-depth questions. Her installation Ancestral Visions is currently on view at the Oakland Museum.
Chelsea Ryoko Wong in her San Francisco studio
CL: Part of what draws me to your work is the cast of characters contained in them (it's diverse and intergenerational) and that you share your memories and experiences as an Asian American woman. Were there any major influences for you growing up and eventually becoming an artist?
CRW: My mom was a ceramicist before she became a graphic designer so I was exposed to creativity and art from an early age. We grew up going to art museums and I was part of an afterschool program led by the Seattle-based artist, Lana Sundberg. Her work is very raw and mysterious and she still inspires me to this day. We did paper marbling and ceramics and she glued the shiny side of CDs to her lilac VW bus, and I think all of those things encouraged me to express myself in unconventional ways. I have three older sisters and we have different ethnic backgrounds and they have been the subjects of my art and curiosity since I was little. I was always conscious of diversity and what role it played in my life, so it felt natural to work around those ideas as an artist.
Paintings in various states of progress
CL: The joyfulness in your paintings in large part comes from the color palette - the mix of colors is masterful and inspiring for me as an interior designer. How do you think about color? Do you have colors in mind before you put paint to canvas or does it evolve organically as you're creating the painting?
CRW: Sometimes I have a color palette I want to work with before I start, but usually it emerges and evolves as I paint. When creating works for my show at the Oakland Museum of California, because I was working with Chinese qipao and cheongsam dresses from the 1940s-1970s, I was aware of the mood and imagery I wanted to evoke and how I wanted to use color to achieve this. For example, I was thinking about midcentury modern Chinese restaurants from the 1950s and the colors that came to mind were red, maroon, brown, teals and pale yellow. I think color has the ability to express so much emotion and create movement on the canvas. Certain palettes transport us to the Mediterranean, while others recall bygone eras. The mixing and matching is innate to me. I think painting is like cooking. You add heat, salt, sweetness and spice until it feels right. Or, for painting you use colors that harmonize and sing, add something here, add something there. But what makes a good dish or finished painting? Hard to say but when you know, you know. It's the creative vision.
Acrylic paints
CL: Interiors often show up in your work and you expressed an interest in exploring furniture and pattern design - what in particular about these fields interests you? I also sense an interest in fashion. How do all these various design disciplines influence you and your work?
CRW: I love design in all its modalities. I studied at Parsons in NY and there I studied lots of design. I think both mediums overlap through expression and problem-solving. You aren't necessarily solving problems by making paintings but you are problem solving while painting. Design does something similar for me, it's merging functionality with beauty, with form as the medium. When I was young I was interested in fashion design and graphic design, and now I'm more curious about interior design and architecture. My curiosity about history and the built environment are all inspiration for my work. The lucky thing about being a painter is that I get to create wild interior spaces without the headache of permitting!
On the wall hangs an early watercolor of a scene from Sea Ranch
CL: Your residency with the Oakland Museum has involved research into Asian families who have lived in the Bay Area for generations. What has been the most impactful insight or learning that you've taken away from the research?
CRW: I feel really lucky to have been able to immerse myself in this year-long residency with the Oakland Museum of California. Through working with their permanent collection of dresses, I learned about the lives of Asian-American women who donated them. Their stories of coming here in search of a better life, working hard, building community, and supporting their families all while facing adversity, echo the same sentiment many people face today. I was blown away and humbled by their lives. It reminds me to continue advocating and fighting for others while being grateful for everything we have in the world we're living in now.
Life’s Full Circle, 2025, currently on view at the Oakland Museum
Wong’s installation Ancestral Visions at the Oakland Museum