California Lutheran University - Kwan Fong Gallery of Art and Culture

Kwan Fong Gallery of Art and Culture

The Kwan Fong Gallery in the Soiland Humanities Center was established by the Kwan Fong Charitable Foundation, co-founded by Maria Lee and Katie Yang, with the participation of Dr. Ed Tseng, Professor Emeritus of Political Science of California Lutheran University and Dean of International Education. Established in 1984, the foundation has supported hospitals, schools, and homes for the elderly and mentally challenged.

Maria Lee was a member of the California Lutheran University Board of Regents, and is a prominent artist combining traditional Chinese techniques with certain qualities of Western art to produce large canvases of great expression and freedom. Katie Yang is a celebrated diva of Cantonese opera, and also a painter who uses quotations from famous Cantonese opera as subjects for her work. She is well known for her rendition of peonies.

Recognizing her contributions to international business and philanthropic work, Maria Lee received a Doctor of Law degree from California Lutheran University, and Katie Yang, for her work as a businesswoman, artist, actress, and eminent performances in Chinese opera as well as film, received a Doctor in Humane Letters from the university.

The Kwan Fong Gallery inaugurated its role in providing a venue for art in the Conejo Valley by an exhibit of the paintings of the sisters, as well as resplendent costumes worn by Ms. Yang on stage.

Since its establishment the gallery has become an important center for art in Ventura County, exhibiting works by Cyn McCurry, Gary Palmer, Christophe Cassidy, Morgan Alexander, Christopher Marshall and many others. Recently the gallery has seen residencies by artists become part of its programming, the first in 2007 by Dallas / Fort Worth based figurative painter Cyn McCurry.