Jenie Gao
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jeniegao.bsky.social
Jenie Gao
@jeniegao.bsky.social
1.3K followers 670 following 580 posts
(they/she) Self-employed artist-small business owner. Consultant on equity and ethics. Anti-gentrification / art washing. Pro-fair pay + labour rights. Salty. 🍉🕊️

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jeniegao.bsky.social
Jenie Gao @jeniegao.bsky.social · Jan 16
Hey, lovelies, lil intro: I'm a Taiwanese-Chinese American artist specializing in #printmaking, #publicart, and community storytelling.

I run an anti-gentrification arts business and consult for orgs on equity and ethics. I have bones to pick re: fair labor practices + institutional accountability.
Queer Asian American artist with short hair and an undercut standing with their art installation. The artwork is a large oval table whose surface is inlaid with green and red wood carvings that resemble jade. There are woodblock prints in the background on a vermilion red wall. The installation is from Jenie Gao's series entitled, The Negotiation Table. The series draws attention to the history of Europeans' obsession with finding a shorter route to Asia, which catalyzed their colonization of Turtle Island / North America. The Negotiation Table forges connections between local and global colonial events, to strengthen our collective long-term memories in the pursuit of justice. #portfolioday #installationart Photo by Khim Hipol Queer Asian American artist with short hair and an undercut standing to the right of their art installation. The artwork centers on a diptych of woodblock prints in shades of blue, depicting the artist's migration route overlaid with an iris flower. There are two tables on each side of the diptych, made from the hand-carved woodblocks that made the prints. Mirrored tiles on the floor make the light reflect and shimmer on the artwork. The installation is from Jenie Gao's series entitled, The Negotiation Table. The series draws attention to the history of Europeans' obsession with finding a shorter route to Asia, which catalyzed their colonization of Turtle Island / North America. The Negotiation Table forges connections between local and global colonial events, to strengthen our collective long-term memories in the pursuit of justice. Photo by Khim Hipol #portfolioday #installationart Queer Asian American artist with short hair and an undercut wearing an inky lab coat and pulling a large woodblock print off a printing press. The print is shaped like half an ellipse and is in the colors green and red, designed to resemble hand carved jade, and features a homing pigeon in the center of the artwork. Queer Asian American artist in a yellow shirt in front of a large-scale mural of a steampunk metal ox. The mural is black and white and painted in a cross hatched linework style. This mural is installed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and honors the Year of the Metal Ox which brings reliability and resilience. Photo by Adam White Ossers #portfolioday #murals
jeniegao.bsky.social
Current reading: Against the Loveless World, by Palestinian American author and activist Susan Abulhawa. 💙📚 #palestinianwriters #decolonizeyourbookshelf
Front cover of the novel, Against the Loveless World, by Susan Abulhawa. It's a hardcover book with jewel toned blues, pinks, violets, and peaches in an abstract geometric design overlaid on a starry night sky. The text is gold and white.
October 6, 2025 at 5:24 PM
Reposted by Jenie Gao
jazzreads.bsky.social
So exhausting..
September 28, 2025 at 6:41 PM
Reposted by Jenie Gao
maggietokudahall.bsky.social
This is what I want from my reps or I don't want them at all, tbh
wrecked9n76e.bsky.social Wrecked @wrecked9n76e.bsky.social · Sep 16
Karina Villa protecting her constituents by literally running ICE off the streets in West Chicago and yelling to residents to stay inside their homes.
September 16, 2025 at 9:23 PM
jeniegao.bsky.social
As a millennial, I recall a simpler time on the Internet when pedophiles had usernames like PrincessPeach1982 and Californiagurl69xo.

Today pedophiles have usernames like POTUS.

😞

#potus
September 16, 2025 at 10:23 PM
jeniegao.bsky.social
One of my famous installation guides. I do my best to be kind to the curators and installation teams that handle my work.

For my upcoming solo show, The Integrity of a Story, at Alberta Printmakers, opening Sept 26 in Calgary, AB.

#contemporaryprintmaking #printmakers #printsky #installationart
Photo of a word processing document that contains step-by-step instructions for installing a work of art, plus a sketch of the artwork. The art installation in the sketch consists of a custom-built TV tray table, two chairs, and a framed wall piece. There are dramatic shadows cast onto the floor in the drawing.
September 16, 2025 at 10:21 PM
jeniegao.bsky.social
Wall color for my upcoming solo show. #contemporaryprintmaking
September 15, 2025 at 5:38 PM
Reposted by Jenie Gao
danhon.com
Remember in films that lifelike avatars would be all "I'm sorry, my limited programming does not allow me to answer that question" and now we have LLM that will happily generate incorrect answers!
September 4, 2025 at 2:08 PM
jeniegao.bsky.social
My other kitty, Marigold, and yet another graphic novel about cats.

Cats of the Louvre, by Taiyo Matsumoto.

#graphicnovel #comics #cats 💙📚
Photo of a long-haired black cat lying on a table next to a hardcover book entitled Cats of the Louvre. The cover features an illustration of a white cat on a Queen Anne style chair against a red gallery wall with two framed paintings, and several small illustrated cats around the title.
August 8, 2025 at 5:19 AM
Reposted by Jenie Gao
austinwalker.bsky.social
I know a lot of you have already heard or read about BDS Movement's call against Microsoft, and felt weird and bad about it all, but decided to move forward as normal because of some degree of ambiguity.

"What service is Microsoft providing?"

Here it is, clear as day. A direct line to death.
According to three Unit 8200 sources, the cloud-based storage platform has facilitated the preparation of deadly airstrikes and has shaped military operations in Gaza and the West Bank. Thanks to the control it exerts over Palestinian telecommunications infrastructure, Israel has long intercepted phone calls in the occupied territories. But the indiscriminate new system allows intelligence officers to play back the content of cellular calls made by Palestinians, capturing the conversations of a much larger pool of ordinary civilians.
August 6, 2025 at 9:01 PM
jeniegao.bsky.social
Decided to scare myself by reading Octavia Butler's prescient novel, Parable of the Sower.

Written in 1993. Set in 2024-2027. The book follows a disabled Black youth who devises survival strategies amidst high unemployment, addiction, militarized states, privatized cities, and religious zealots.🪐📚💙
Front cover of Parable of the Sower, by Octavia Butler. The title is in red serif letters at the top, the author's name in large capital sans serif typeface at the bottom. The cover is simple with a white background and an illustration of a Black woman's silhouetted profile wearing a red dress and head wrap with a few leaf like shapes around her.
August 4, 2025 at 6:55 PM
jeniegao.bsky.social
A stranger took a candid photo of me making a #watercolor #painting from a viewpoint at Cypress Mountain.

💜🖼️🐡 #sketchbook #enpleinair #mountains
Photo of the artist, Jenie Gao, sitting on a rocky ledge overlooking a mountain and ocean view. Jenie has black hair and olive skin, is holding a sketchbook, and is wearing a green tank top, bucket hat, and shorts.
July 28, 2025 at 8:05 PM
Reposted by Jenie Gao
palumboliu.bsky.social
I dream of a time when we elect leaders who are not genociders. #FreePalestine.
July 28, 2025 at 2:38 PM
Reposted by Jenie Gao
meemalee.bsky.social
Na’amod @naamoduk.bsky.social (British Jews against occupation) protesting Trump’s visit to the UK near Downing Street today ✊🏽🇵🇸❤️
A group of protestors standing in front of King Charles Street Arch holding Palestine flags and wearing keffiyeh. Some of the protestors are holding up a big yellow banner which says ‘Starmer, will you oppose ethnic cleansing? UK Jews say: Stand up to Trump!’
July 28, 2025 at 6:48 PM
jeniegao.bsky.social
My cat, Mintaka, plus literature.

Junji Ito's Cat Diary: Yon & Mu.

💙📚 #catlovers #blackcats #booksky #graphicnovels #comics 🐈‍⬛
Photo of my hand—with an orange long sleeve—booping my cat, Mintaka, on the nose. Mintaka is a fluffy longhaired black cat with gold eyes. On the table adjacent to Mintaka is the book, Junji Ito's Cat Diary: Yon & Mu. The cover is black, white, and yellow and consists of a line art portrait of Junji Ito at the bottom, his wife at the top, and their two cats, a white cat with a black cap on the left and a fluffy tabby on the right.
July 28, 2025 at 7:40 PM
Reposted by Jenie Gao
jeniegao.bsky.social
One pleasant surprise when I joined Bluesky earlier this year is how robust and active the #printmaking community is here.

Follow and share your work with over 100+ folks on the #Printsky feed! 🌟

It searches for a variety of print-related terms and filters out AI content.
May 28, 2025 at 1:51 PM
Reposted by Jenie Gao
jeniegao.bsky.social
Formosan Sika Deer keep their spots long after they grow into adulthood.

They are indigenous to Taiwan, and I've included them in my newest #woodcut and #printmaking projects as a part of familial storytelling.

#printpromptmonday #growth #taiwaneseamericanartist 💜🖼️
Closeup of Jenie Gao's latest woodcut in progress and a carving tool. The artwork features a Formosan Sika Deer and Clouded Leopard leaping in a cyclical chase.
May 29, 2025 at 4:03 PM
jeniegao.bsky.social
I was fortunate to have my work in Go West, a group exhibition showcasing Asian American artists in Boulder, CO this year.

Thank you to Dairy Arts Center, curator Stella Witcher, and jurors Rajiv Menon + Roseline Nevling for including me in this showcase.

#contemporaryart #printmaking #woodcut
Photo of a white cube contemporary art gallery called Dairy Arts Center in Boulder, CO. Jenie Gao’s artworks are on the far wall: two woodblock print diptychs in blue (left artwork) and green/red (right artwork), and also on a plinth in the center of the room, an artist’s book designed to resemble a Chinese takeout menu. There are a few other artworks in this shot, including a green chain link fence installation, a 2D photograph, and a sculpture of hands holding pingpong paddles. Photo by Wes Magyar. Photo of a white cube contemporary art gallery called Dairy Arts Center in Boulder, CO. Jenie Gao’s artworks are on the far wall: two woodblock print diptychs in blue (left artwork) and green/red (right artwork), and also on a plinth in the center of the room, an artist’s book designed to resemble a Chinese takeout menu. There are a few other artworks in this shot, including a green chain link fence installation, a 2D photograph, and a sculpture of hands holding pingpong paddles. There is a grayscale 2D artwork of a landscape in the foreground of this photo. Photo by Wes Magyar. Photo of a white cube contemporary art gallery called Dairy Arts Center in Boulder, CO. This is a close-up of Jenie Gao’s woodblock diptychs. On left: My Migration Route | Iris Roots Clean the Water, two long pale blue woodblock prints on canvas of a map of the Great Lakes overlaid with an iris flower. On right: Cycle | Breaking and Making: Pigeon and Fènghuáng, two woodblock prints on canvas hung like scrolls, of a pigeon (left) and fènghuáng / Chinese phoenix (right), in an elliptical chase designed to look like large green/red jade pendants. Photo by Wes Magyar. Photo of a white cube contemporary art gallery called Dairy Arts Center in Boulder, CO. Jenie Gao’s artworks are on the far wall: two woodblock print diptychs in blue (left artwork) and green/red (right artwork), and also on a plinth in the center of the room, an artist’s book designed to resemble a Chinese takeout menu. There are a few other artworks in this shot, including a green chain link fence installation, a 2D photograph, and a sculpture of hands holding pingpong paddles. There are grayscale 2D artworks of landscapes in the foreground of this photo. Photo by Wes Magyar.
July 15, 2025 at 2:46 AM
Reposted by Jenie Gao
catsuka.bsky.social
Stickers by Antony Ho.
linktr.ee/antonyho
#JapanExpo2025
July 3, 2025 at 5:59 PM
jeniegao.bsky.social
We'll Prescribe You a Cat: A Novel.

Chill read at an easygoing, slightly off beat pace with very mild twists as the plot reveals itself. Almost as if an aloof cat wrote it lol.

It won't make my favorites list but I finished it quickly and enjoyed it!

💙📚 #cats #catlovers
Front cover of We'll Prescribe You a Cat: A Novel, by Syou Ishida, translated by E. Madison Shimoda. The cover is light blue with an illustration of a grey and white tabby cat perched inside of an orange medical prescription container. The title text is in a black serif typeface.
June 30, 2025 at 2:49 AM
jeniegao.bsky.social
The Deer Garden, #woodcut completed during my Women’s Studio Workshop residency.

The woodblock will be embedded in a custom-built TV tray table to resemble inlaid jade, in an exploration of what it means to steward my mother’s stories and home.

#printsky #contemporaryprint #asianamericanartists 🐡
Woodcut printed in a fountain roll of light to dark jade green, designed to resemble hand-carved jade. The imagery features a Clouded Leopard and Formosan Sika Deer in a cyclical chase against a wood-like pattern. - The Deer Garden contends with the changing landscape surrounding my mother’s home in rural Kansas, as suburbanization encroaches. Since 2024, my spouse and I have taken turns visiting my mother to help her with house repairs and to assert our presence to overly inquisitive real estate developers and new neighbors. In my mother’s home, we have meals sitting across from each other at a TV tray table in her kitchen. In this modest, intimate setting, my mother steps into one of her most profound roles as our family’s knowledge keeper. Her stories—historical, allegorical, almost mythic, and sometimes prophetic—come alive. The Deer Garden features a Formosan Sika Deer and Clouded Leopard in a continuous, cyclical chase. As I pester my mother on specifics, I find myself negotiating what it means to be a good historian, researcher, and steward. The “mountain lions” outside her childhood bedroom in Taiwan turn out to be feral cats. The deer outside her windows in Kansas become stand-ins for celestial gods. My prints reflect this cyclical tension, as I set up strict matrices for works that are inherently about the immeasurable qualities of stories that can never—perhaps should never—be rendered quite perfectly. The final woodcut is designed to resemble a piece of hand-carved jade, which will be inlaid on the surface of a TV tray table. Shout-out to Woody at WSW for taking my sketches and crafting such a gorgeous table to hold this work. 💚 The inimitable Woody, staff member at Women’s Studio Workshop, who brought my design drawings by building this custom TV tray table to hold my woodblock for The Deer Garden. Here Woody is sanding down the table for final test fitting to inlay the woodblock on the tabletop.
June 26, 2025 at 10:23 PM
jeniegao.bsky.social
New York book haul.

Book author details and the bookstores I visited in alt text.

💡📚💙

#writersofcolor #palestinianauthors #feministwriting #readdiversebooks
Front covers of books. Left column: -Responses to "Forbidden Colors" (1988) by Felix Gonzalez-Torres, bought at Dia Beacon, 100% proceeds to medical aid in Palestine -Gardens Speak by Tania El Khoury, bought at Printed Matter -a French bilingual copy of Martin Luther King's I Have A Dream speech with a preface by Amanda Gorman, bought at Albertine Books Right column: -In Dark Times by Rehab Nazzal, bought at Printed Matter -After Institutions by Karen Archey, bought at Printed Matter -We Gon' Be Alright: Notes on Race and Resegregation by Jeff Chang, bought at Mercer Street Books Front cover (in hot pink with light pink text) of exhibition catalog, A Radical Alteration: Women's Studio Workshop As A Sustainable Model for Art Making A gift from WSW archivist Faythe Levine
June 25, 2025 at 12:04 AM
jeniegao.bsky.social
Just finished The Emperor of Gladness.

Ocean Vuong has really nailed the art of writing melancholy + queer + small town coming-of-age stories focused on Vietnamese American protagonists in yet another heart wrencher.

💙📚
Front cover of The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong. The book features a silhouetted portrait in profile against a hazy orange and black background with yellow-gold title text in all caps.
June 22, 2025 at 6:20 PM
jeniegao.bsky.social
Hands at work. Images of my newest #woodcut and #artistsbook in progress at my Women’s Studio Workshop residency. It feels amazing to be on the Vandercook again.

Photo credit Natalie Thomas.

#letterpress #photopolymer #reliefprint #contemporaryprintmaking #bookarts #aapiart 💜🖼️🐡
Artist Jenie Gao printing a photopolymer plate on the Vandercook letterpress at Women’s Studio Workshop. Jenie has short black hair with a side shave and is wearing a teal tank top with a lime green apron. Close-up of Jeni’s hands carving a woodcut. The woodcut imagery is of a Formosan Sika Deer and Clouded Leopard in a cyclical prance / chase, with a branch-like pattern in the background. Close-up of Jenie’s hands stacking an edition of prints from the letterpress. The imagery is in teal ink and of a wood grain-like pattern. Close-up of Jenie’s hands folding prototypes of a new artists’ book shaped like a circle.
June 6, 2025 at 2:23 PM
jeniegao.bsky.social
Clouded Leopard #woodcut close-up. Almost ready to print!

#printsky #contemporaryprint 💜🖼️
Closeup of a hand carved woodcut of a leaping clouded leopard with an open mouth and fangs showing, by artist Jenie Gao.
June 1, 2025 at 4:48 PM
Reposted by Jenie Gao
lisag724.bsky.social
They call immigrants "freeloaders" while attacking them in their workplaces
May 31, 2025 at 12:30 PM