J.A. Tan, a Vancouver based visual artist, became a member of the exclusive United Nations stamp design club when his artwork, “Victory” was issued as a United Nations stamp on April2012. Chosen from over 200 worldwide submissions, his piece echoes his vision as an artist.
Born and raised in the Philippines, J.A. moved to Vancouver and completed his Bachelor of Fine Arts at Emily Carr University of Art + Design in May 2010. Since then he has had solo and group shows in Canada, Philippines, USA, China, and U.K. He has also been commissioned to create pieces for homes and offices and has spoken in international conferences about how art informs his life.
J.A. Tan describes himself as an artist with autism. Diagnosed as a high functioning child with autism before his third birthday, J.A. aims to show through art how his mind works.
He says, “Thru my work, I hope to make the world less scary for everyone.” For this submission with the theme “Celebrating mixed Asian heritage of Canada”, I have three pieces that represent how I celebrate my living here in Vancouver for the last 10 years while likewise celebrating my Philippine heritage.
My works, most of which are in the abstract genre, use powerful and strong colors as I speak in colors – each color has a specific meaning in my works. Blue, green and yellow are my favourite colours. For me, blue stands for the sky, water, and freedom. Green represents grass, trees and peace. And yellow represents light, sun and happiness. These three qualities – freedom, peace, and happiness – are important recurring elements in these pieces. These are part of what life in Canada is for me.
2012 年 4 月，温哥华视觉艺术家J.A. Tan的作品《胜利》作为联合国邮票发行，成为联合国独家邮票设计俱乐部的成员。他的作品从全球200多份提交中选出，呼应了他作为艺术家的愿景。
在菲律宾出生和长大，J.A.搬到温哥华并在2010年5月在艾米丽卡尔大学完成了他的美术学士学位。之后，他在加拿大、菲律宾、美国、中国和英国举办了个展和群展。他还受委托为家庭和办公室创作作品，并在国际会议上就艺术如何影响他的生活发表演讲。
J.A. 将自己描述为一名患有自闭症的艺术家。在他三岁生日前被诊断为患有自闭症的高功能儿童，J.A.旨在通过艺术展示他的思想是如何运作的。他说：“通过我的工作，我希望让世界对每个人都不那么可怕。我的作品，大部分是抽象类型的，在我用颜色说话时使用了强烈而强烈的色彩——每种颜色在我的作品中都有特定的含义。蓝色、绿色和黄色是我最喜欢的颜色。对我来说，蓝色代表天空、水和自由。绿色代表草、树和和平。黄色代表光明、阳光和幸福。这三种品质——自由、和平和幸福——是这些作品中重要的反复出现的元素。这些是我在加拿大生活的一部分。“
