Tofer Chin b. 1979 Los Angeles, CA
Education: 2002 BFA, Otis College of Art and Design, L.A.,CA
Awards: 2008 Graphic Design Annual Gold Award (Flaunt No. 79)

Inspired by the built environment, natural or manmade, I create geometric paintings, sculptures, and photographs that interpret observations of urban and geological landscapes. My investigation produces images and patterns from architectural facades to land formations. In the studio, I recreate these images as minimalist forms or archetypes. The intent is to merge the objective and subjective, and present a particularly honed vision. Although each work adheres to a formulaic expression, it is a window into a psychological space within the viewer. Each work is based on the keyhole perspective, seeing only a portion of what's behind.

My work relies on mathematics to achieve visual harmony, structural integrity, and logical construction. Digital tools and an increasing interest in architectural form have given me the means to describe and build spatial constructs that allow me to investigate altered mental states. Artists such as John Baldessari, Oscar Neimeyer, Katharina Grosse and sculptors Richard Serra, John McCracken, and Cai Guo-Qiang have influenced my vocabulary of straight lines, cubes, and quadrilateral pyramids that are balanced between pattern, movement, and form; a fusion of perceptual mystery as my line obscures the content as well as manifests the imagery and the dimensional properties of the shape. My practice relies on the active process of the viewer’s mind to visualize information and incorporate it into a final product.

Selected Public Projects/Commissions
2015 4 Formations, DTLA Mural, Los Angeles, CA
(Commissioned by Silverlake Wine and ERB)
2014 2 Corners (Black), Miami Beach, Miami, Florida
(Commissioned by the Standard Hotel & Spa,
Fifteen Grey, Maderas Village, San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua
(Commissioned by the Maderas Collectives)
Stalagmites, Harajuku, Tokyo, Japan
Dois, Rua Apucarana, São Paulo, Brazil
Three, Cahuenga Blvd., North Hollywood, CA
2013 3 Stalagmites (White), Divisadero St., San Francisco, CA
(Commissioned by Absolut Vodka, ‘Open Canvas’
1 Corner (White), Madison St., Chicago, IL
2 Cliffs (Black), Mansfield Ave, Los Angeles, CA
2011 Fourteen Black, Nova, Parque Lage, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
2010 ABCD, Construction fence, Av.Faria Lima,São Paulo,Brazil
2009 3 Towers, Parque Ibirapuera, São Paulo, Brazil