Artwork Page for Chinese Hand Laundry

Details / Information for Chinese Hand Laundry

Chinese Hand Laundry

1984

Martin Wong

(American, 1946–1999)
Culture
America
Medium
acrylic on canvas
Measurements
Overall: 121.9 x 175.2 cm (48 x 69 in.)
Credit Line
Purchased with funds donated by Scott Mueller 2014.3
Copyright
Courtesy of the Estate of Martin Wong and P.P.O.W Gallery, New York
This artwork is known to be under copyright.
Location
Not on view
Print
?

Did You Know?

This artwork is made from three canvases that the artist joined together.

Description

The son of Chinese immigrants and a resident of New York’s Lower East Side in the 1980s, Wong was interested in and sensitive to the life and struggles of American citizens who were often disenfranchised by local and national government. Based on a now-destroyed storefront on East Fifth Street, Chinese Hand Laundry serves as a reminder of the complex and ongoing issues of immigration in American politics and society.
A horizontally oriented acrylic painting depicts the brown exterior of a shop. Green walls and shelves filled with numbered packages are visible through a window painted with "CHINESE LAUNDRY." The canvas is flanked with smaller signs, to our left listing cleaning prices, our right "NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR GOODS LEFT OVER 30 DAYS."

Chinese Hand Laundry

1984

Martin Wong

(American, 1946–1999)
America

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