Timothy Lai
Timothy Lai (b. 1987, Kota Bharu, Kelantan, Malaysia) graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design in 2017 and lives and works in Providence, USA. Exploring societal hierarchies through the lenses of art-historical reference, personal storytelling and relational dynamics, Lai’s paintings, like his subjects, exist in a state of flux, suspended between the figurative and the abstract, between revelation and withdrawal. Lai was the subject of a major institutional presentation at Longlati Foundation in Shanghai in 2022 and the same year was awarded the Rhode Island State Council of the Arts Fellowship in Painting.
Education
2017 M.F.A Painting Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, Rhode Island
2009 Bachelor of Arts in Communications, University of Texas at San Antonio, Texas
Solo Exhibitions
2025 Still. Yet. Still, Jack Barrett, New York
2024
Towards a Blue Room, Josh Lilley, London, UK
2023
Double Wall, Jack Barrett, New York
2022
Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me, Pa, Longlati Foundation, Shanghai, China
2021
Soft Words Make it Easier to Bear, Jack Barrett, New York
2019
Oh Brother. Oh Bother., 0-0 LA Gallery, Los Angeles, California
2015
Exploring The Mark, Mercury Project Gallery, San Antonio, Texas
2013
Conversations, Sopac Gallery, San Antonio, Texas
2010
Installation, Salon Rouge, San Antonio, Texas
Group Exhibitions
2023
New Moroism, White Cube, Hong Kong
2022
Dallas Art Fair, Jack Barrett, Dallas, Texas
2021
Trove, Miami Beach, Florida
NADA Miami, Jack Barrett, New York
Longlati Foundation, Shanghai, China ILHAM Gallery, Kuala Lumpur
8 Americans, Chart, New York
2020
NADA Miami, Jack Barrett, New York
Home Alone, Jack Barrett, Long Island, New York
Envelope, curated by Essex Flowers hosted by Drawer.NYC, New York
2019
ROMCOM, Good Naked Gallery, New York
2018
Velvet Ropes NYC, GIFC and Fisher Parrish Gallery, New York
Bathers, Drawer at Bass & Reiner Gallery, San Francisco, California
Got It For Cheap, Internationally Traveling Exhibit
2017
RISD MFA Painting, 315 Gallery, Brooklyn, New York
RISD Thesis Exhibition, RI Convention Center, Providence, Rhode Island
Painting Graduate Biennial, Sol Koffler Gallery, Providence, Rhode Island
2016
Hang Ten, Field Projects, New York
Prisoner’s Cinema, Gelman Gallery, RISD Museum, Providence, Rhode Island
2015
First Year Painting, 505 Gallery, Providence, Rhode Island
2014
3rd Annual Anaclaus A Colorful Holiday Extravaganza, AnArte Gallery,San Antonio, Texas
Annual Juried Student Art Exhibition, San Antonio College, San Antonio, Texas
2013
Private show, AnArte Gallery, San Antonio, Texas
La Vida Dulce, AnArte Gallery, San Antonio, Texas
Student Exhibition, St. Philip’s College, San Antonio, Texas
2012
Student Exhibition, St. Philip’s College, San Antonio, Texas
Spring Student Exhibition, University of Texas at San Antonio, Texas
2011
Fall Student Exhibition, University of Texas at San Antonio, Texas
2010
Una Noche De La Gloria, Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center, San Antonio, Texas
Public Collections
Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University, Stanford, California
Green Family Art Foundation, Dallas, Texas
ILHAM Gallery, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami, Florida
Longlati Foundation, Shanghai, China
Press
CV
Exhibitions
Metabolic Rift
Group Show
Towards a Blue Room
Solo Show