Calvin Lai

Calvin Lai's art is a mixture of medicine, meditation, and personal growth. He found early on that drawing was something he loved, and to make a picture appear lifelike became his goal. Through constantly drawing, Calvin’s work began to breath, and his fascination with value and perspective led him to become a student of realism. Eventually, he moved from where he grew up in Los Angeles to San Francisco. There he studied drawing and printmaking at San Francisco State University. In 2008, he enrolled in the Academy of Art for illustration, but began painting instead. He found that he preferred the fine arts over commercial illustration, and now works as a full time oil painter.

Since then he has continued to develop and refine his oil painting skills. Lai’s work has been shown nationally in galleries, group exhibitions and juried shows. He has executed a large number of commissioned portraits over the past several years, and his paintings have appeared in national and international publications. Throughout his career, Calvin Lai has expanded his focus from figurative and portraiture to encompass a variety of subjects such as still lifes to the San Francisco cityscape. Now he has no borders to what he chooses to paint, and he is d...

2008 - 12 MA, Academy of Art, San Francisco, CA

1991 - 97 BA, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA

Solo Exhibitions

2014 Art Murmur, Awaken Cafe, Oakland, CA

2012 The Pour House, San Francisco, CA



Group Exhibitions

2018

Small Works Holiday Show, Christian Daniels Gallery, San Francisco, CA

Cityscapes 2018, Christian Daniels Gallery, San Francisco, CA

People and Places, Christian Daniels Gallery, San Francisco, CA

Streets of San Francisco, Christian Daniels Gallery, San Francisco, CA

Spring Showcase, Christian Daniels Gallery, San Francisco, CA

Urban Landscapes, Christian Daniels Gallery, San Francisco, CA

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2017

Cats Vs. Dogs, The Vendue, Charleston SC

Art Auction, Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento CA

Urbana Contra Naturaleza, Wonderland SF, San Francisco, CA

In Dreams, Spoke NYC, New York, NY

Lover's Eye, Modern Eden Gallery, San Francisco, CA

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2016

The Best of America, National Oil & Painters' Acrylic Society, Addison Art Gallery, Orleans, MA

Fall Gallery Night, Art Room, exhibited at Brik, Fort Worth, TX

Anniversary Show, Wonderland SF, San Francisco, CA

Portraits of Friends, Modern Eden Gallery, San Francisco, CA

Art Auction, Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, CA

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2015

Wes Anderson Art Show, Spoke Art, exhibited at Joseph Gross Gallery, N...