Mimi Chen Ting was a Chinese-American painter, printmaker, and performance artist known for blending Eastern and Western aesthetics. She was active in the Bay Area and Taos, NM, where she found inspiration in both urban and natural landscapes.
Born in Shanghai during China’s political upheaval, Ting was raised in a traditional household before moving to Hong Kong, where she attended a convent school and developed an early passion for art. Exposure to Buddhist temples, Beijing Opera, and calligraphy shaped her visual sensibilities, though she only fully appreciated these influences later. Initially encouraged to pursue a practical career, she left Hong Kong in 1965 for San Francisco College for Women, studying sociology and literature before switching to art at San Jose State University.
Ms. Ting held teaching positions at San Jose Metropolitan Adult Education, San Jose State University, San Jose City College, University of California at Berkeley Extension, and more recently at Taos Institute of Art. She received a National Endowment for the Arts Grant in 2003 for her performance “How to Make a Book and Eat It Too” at the Millicent Rogers Museum, Taos, NM. In 2012, she was awarded the Agnes Martin Award for Abstract Painting and Drawing from Fall Arts, based in Taos, in 2012. Her work can be found in collections of the Harwood Art Museum, Taos and in the Annie Wong Art Foundation. Aside from being a noted artist, Ms. Ting was a self-described “opera, NPR and chamber music addict.” She loved gardening and science fiction, practiced yoga and tai chi, and thought hard about the world’s most pressing geopolitical and environmental concerns. She is survived by her husband, two children, and four grandchildren.
Dallas Art Fair 2025 is Alisan Fine Arts New York Gallery’s first time presenting the artist.
