Sami Tsang
SAMI TSANG
Sami Tsang (b. 1997 Windsor, Ontario, Canada) is a Toronto-based ceramic artist whose work explores domestic encounters and private narratives borne out of the flux amidst two cultures – Chinese and Western. Sami studied traditional Chinese painting for 7 years in Hong Kong, which profoundly affected her pursuit of an art career.
Sami earned her BA in Craft & Design from Sheridan College (2019) and her MFA in Ceramics from Alfred University, NY (2021). Sami has presented solo, and group exhibitions and art fairs in the United States, China, and Canada, including Sculpture Space, NYC, The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery, the Gardiner Museum, Cooper Cole Gallery, Toronto, ON, Claire Oliver Gallery in NYC, Toronto Art Fair, NADA Miami, and AYE Gallery in Beijing, China. Tsang’s work is included in private collections, Collection Majudia, and Gardiner Museum. Sami is an Artist-in-Residence (Ceramics) at Harbourfront Centre (Toronto, Canada).
Artist Statement
Being genuine is central to who I am. Mediated through materials and self-reflection, my work is a raw, truthful, and spontaneous response to lived experiences, driven by an urgency to ask, What is so pressing? This question guides my exploration of resilience, displacement, and belonging, themes shaped by my family’s migration story and my identity as a Chinese-Canadian artist.
The initial sketches that inform my work draw inspiration from Chinese proverbs rooted in my childhood memories. Themes of humor, vulnerability, and challenging tradition are interwoven with reflections on overcoming the complexities of childhood and adolescence. My sculptures often respond to moments when I felt repressed and silenced, transforming these emotions into bold, liberated forms that embody transition and self-expression.
When creating ceramic sculptures, I work from a meditative place, allowing each piece to evolve intuitively through layered additions. My process brings together ceramics, textiles, and resin, creating playful yet poignant characters that reflect personal and cultural narratives. These figures hold the tensions of transformation and unresolved emotions, inviting viewers to navigate dualities such as tradition and rebellion, grief and hope, and adaptation and resistance.
As I continue to have difficult conversations with myself, my work celebrates identity while challenging its boundaries—holding space for complexity and connection. By honoring the resilience of the past and exploring the contradictions of the present, I aim to create works that spark dialogue, evoke emotion, and reimagine what it means to belong.