In Mei-ling Hom's installation Silkworm Grind, three enormous silkworm forms are suspended from the ceiling and slowly gyrate. Like their real-life counterparts, these silkworms continuously rotate in a mesmerizing fashion. But instead of producing silk, the worms grind a pile of spices and produce a low rumbling sound. Inspired by the traditional silk textiles of Asia, Hom's silkworms are themselves the result of a tremendous amount of labor. Produced in association with The Fabric Workshop and Museum in Philadelphia, metal armatures were hand-wrapped with yards of silk strips, then intricately draped in transparent layers of fabric. The bold colors, combined with their gargantuan scale and smell of spice, create a magical realm where the viewer is momentarily transported to another world, not unlike the Lilliputian land of Gulliver's Travels.

Like many of Hom's sculptural installations, Silkworm Grind is at once related to something specific and a metaphoric exploration. Beginning in 1990, Hom began to explore Asian American cultural identity in her art by investigating the forms, scents, and moods of Asia. Hom grew up in New Haven, Connecticut where her parents were the proprietors of a Chinese grocery and her great-uncle ran a Chinese hand laundry. But rather than make a direct correspondence to Asian American identity, Hom creates art that obliquely evokes the aesthetic sensibilities of Asia. Hom once stated that she was intrigued by "how little Chinese culture I know officially, but how much I know informally." The fellowship to Japan provided Hom with an opportunity to informally absorb what she had only officially known before, and this engagement has made a profound impact on her art practice.

BIOGRAPHY
Mei-ling Hom is based in Philadelphia and teaches at the Community College of Philadelphia. She is the recipient of a 1999 Leeway Foundation Fellowship, a 1998 Pew Fellowship in the Arts, and a 1992 Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest residency in Thailand. Her work has been featured in exhibitions nationally, including the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, The Alternative Museum in New York, and the Headlands Center for the Arts in Marin County). She was recently commissioned to design a large-scale sculpture and amphitheater for The Japanese House and Garden in West Fairmount Park, Philadelphia.

SELECTED AWARDS AND RESIDENCIES
2002    Civitella Ranieri Fellowship - Five week residency in Umbria, Italy
2000    The Fabric Workshop And Museum - Artist Residency
1999    The Leeway Foundation - Grant for Excellence
1998    Pew Fellowship in the Arts
           Center For Contemporary Arts
           Two month Delaware artist residency Wilmington, Delaware
1996    U.S./Japan Creative Artists Exchange Fellowship Program
           Six month artist residency in Japan
1995    Pennsylvania Council On The Arts - Fellowship in Visual Arts
1994    National Endowment For The Arts
           Visual Artists Fellowship Grant in Visual Arts
           Pennsylvania Council On The Arts - New Forms Regional Grant
1993    Cite Internationale Des Arts, Paris, France - Four month artist’s residency
           Headlands Center For The Arts Fellowship
           Marin County, California - Three month artist’s residency
1992    Lila Wallace-Reader’s Digest Arts International Residency
           Six month artist residency in Thailand
1991    Brandywine Workshop Visual Artist Fellowship, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
           Juror’s Award - BIENNIAL ‘91
           Delaware Art Museum, Wilmington, Delaware
           Pennsylvania Council On The Arts - Fellowship in Visual Arts
           Mildred Bougher Award - Works On Paper
           Beaver College Art Gallery, Glenside, Pennsylvania
1990    Headlands Center For The Arts - Pew Fellowship Marin County, California - Three month artist’s residency
           Juror Recognition Merit Award 24th University of Delaware Biennial, Wilmington, Delaware
           Women’s Studio Workshop Fellowship Rosendale, New York - Two month artist’s residency
1989    Seminario de Sargadelos
           Fabrica de Sargadelos (Sargadelos Ceramic Factory)
           Cervo, Galicia, Spain - One month artist’s residency
           Cite Internationale Des Arts, Paris, France - Four month artist’s residency
1985    Award of Distinction Crafts 19 - National Juried Exhibition, State College, Pennsylvania

EDUCATION
1987    M.F.A. New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University
           Alfred, New York
1973    B.A. Kirkland College
           Clinton, New York

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2001    BIENNIAL EXHIBITION OF PUBLIC ART, Neuberger Museum of Art, Purchase, New York
           NEW LANDMARKS - PUBLIC ART: COMMUNITY AND THE MEANING OF PLACE, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
2000    SILKWORM GRIND - Project Room Installation, Institute of Contemporary Art at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
           THE CELEBRATION OF VISUAL TRADITIONS, MetroArts Capital, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
1999    THE FINE ART OF SCULPTURE AND THREE DIMENSIONAL CRAFT: CELEBRATING THE 1999 LEEWAY AWARD RECIPIENTS, The Philadelphia Art Alliance, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
           TRIXTER MUSE Chocolate Design and text collaboration with playwrite Jeanne Murray Walker for the Philadelphia Fringe Festival
           STATIONS - Group Exhibition, Temple Gallery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
           CELEBRATION OF VISUAL TRADITIONS: PART VI REGIONAL EXHIBITION, sponsored by the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, The Cheltenham Center for The Arts, Cheltenham, Pennsylvania & Ramsey’s II, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Juror: Joanna Bigfeather
1998    A SENSE OF SELF: CONTEMPORARY ETHNIC WOMEN ARTISTS, Werefox Shadows - site installation. The Balch Institute for Ethnic Studies, Philadelphia Pennsylvania
           MADE IN AMERICA - Hopkins House Gallery, Haddon Township, New Jersey
           CULTURAL SPACE - Center for Contemporary Art, Wilmington, Delaware
           CONTEXT: ARTISTS & EVENTS - THE PHILADELPHIA FRINGE FESTIVAL, seaweed Buddha installed at Nexus Gallery concurrently with Buddha Toes installed on the Friends Meeting grounds. Nexus Foundation for Today’s Art, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Curators: Ann Ramen and Gerard Brown
           TWENTY PHILADELPHIA ARTISTS: CELEBRATING FLEISHER CHALLENGE AT TWENTY - Golden Mountain: installation. Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Curators: John Ravenal and Ann Temkin
           20 x 12: A GENERATION OF CHALLENGE ARTISTS, Fleisher Art Memorial, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
           THE FOURTH DIMENSION: UNFOLDING THE PERSONAL, Harper Collins Gallery, New York City
           CONSTRUCTIONS IN MULTIPLE HUES, The Painted Bride Gallery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
1996    ARTFRONTS - Chestnut Street store front installation, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
           NATURE MORTE: CONTEMPORARY STILL LIFE, Museum of American Art of the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Curator: Julie Courtney
           SOLO EXHIBITION: OFFERING, The Alternative Museum, New York City, New York
1995    DESTINATIONS: ART INFLUENCED BY TRAVEL OR IMMERSION IN ANOTHER CULTURE, Borowsky Gallery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Curator: Cheryl Harpar
           THE SOUND OF CLAY: A Celebration of John Cage’s Rolywholyover CityCircus. The Clay Studio, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
1994    PHOTOGRAPHY AND COMMUNITY, Asian American Arts Centre. New York City, New York
           BEYOND BORDERS - ART IN CITY HALL, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
           PICTURING ASIAN AMERICA: Community Collaboration and Site Installation, Levy Gallery for the Arts in Philadelphia, Moore College of Art and Design, Philadelphia Pennsylvania
           WOMEN’S STUDIO WORKSHOP: XX YEARS - A RETROSPECTIVE, College Art Gallery, State University of New York at New Paltz
           GUARDIANS OF THE EARTH: INVASIVE ALIENS, Site installation and planting of 285 alien trees. Rosemont College, Rosemont, Pennsylvania, Curator: Julie Courtney
           BOOKS AND BOOKISHNESS, DePaul University Art Gallery, Chicago, Illinois. Curator: Barbara Lazarus Metz
1993    OBJECT AS IDENTITY, 1078 Gallery of Chico, Chico, California. Co-Curators: Diane Tani and Flo Wong
           PICTURING ASIAN AMERICA: Community Collaboration and Site Installation, Headlands Center For The Arts, Sausalito, California
           THAI SPACE: Site Installation. Faculty of Sculpture, Painting, and Graphic Arts Gallery, Silpakorn University, Bangkok, Thailand
1992    7 SCULPTORS, Grave Sweeping: Site Installation. Cheltenham Center For The Arts, Cheltenham, Pennsylvania
           ARTIST’S BOOKS AND SCULPTURAL BOOK OBJECTS, Fine Arts Gallery, State University of New York at Oneonta, Oneonta, New York
           WORKS ON PAPER 1992, Beaver College Art Gallery, Glenside, Pennsylvania, Juror: Robert Storr
1991-93    HARD CHOICES/JUST REWARDS II. Exhibition of ‘89-’90 Pennsylvania Council Visual Arts Fellowship Recipients. Johnstown Art Museum, Blair Art Museum, University of Pittsburgh, Everhart Museum, Edinboro University, Westminster College, University of the Arts/Philadelphia
1991    BIENNIAL ‘91. When Fishing For Treasure Don’t Pull Out A Girl: Site specific installation. Delaware Art Museum, Wilmington, Delaware, Juror: Lucy Lippard
           CHALLENGE EXHIBITIONS. Feeding Ancestral Ghosts: Site installation, Samuel Fleisher Art Memorial, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
           FOCUS PENNSYLVANIA: THREE RIVERS ARTS FESTIVAL, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Juror: Patrick Murphy
           IN OUR CIRCLE. Hyphen Held: Site installation, James A. Michener Art Museum, Doylestown, Pennsylvania, Jurors: Peter Blume and Edward S. Cooke Jr.
           THE ASIAN EXPERIENCE IN PHILADELPHIA, Iron/Ash Bowl: Site specific installation, Painted Bride Art Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Curator: Hiroko Kawai
1991    WORKS ON PAPER 1991, Spruance Art Center, Beaver College, Glenside, Pennsylvania, Juror: Laura Trippi
           ARTISTS CHOOSE ARTISTS. Ancestral X: Site specific installation, Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Curator: Julie Courtney
1990    PERSPECTIVES FROM PENNSYLVANIA. TEMPORAL SCULPTURE: SITE WORKS, Wood, Steel, Rice: Site specific installation, Carnegie Mellon Art Gallery, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Curator: Elaine King
           CHINESE AMERICAN SPIRIT MIXER. Installation Collaboration with writer Lewis Hyde. The Headlands Center For The Arts, Sausalito, California
           944 BARRACKS: Site specific installation. The Headlands Center For The Arts, Sausalito, California
           WILKES-BARRE: SENSES ON SITE. Cabana pickets: Site specific installation. Sordoni Art Gallery, Wilkes University, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, Curator: Kevin O’Toole
           PHILADELPHIA ART NOW - Reading Space: Site specific installation. Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
           24TH UNIVERSITY OF DELAWARE BIENNIAL, WORKS ON PAPER. University Gallery, Newark Delaware, Juror: Jane Livingston
1988    ALTERED SITES - Going Green: Site specific installation. Horticultural Center, Fairmount Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,Curator: Marsha Moss
1987    THREE RIVERS ARTS FESTIVAL. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Jurors: Andrea Gill, Annegreth Nill, and Paul Smith
1985    ARCHITECTURAL CLAY/CLAY IN ARCHITECTURE. Jane Hartsook Gallery, New York City, New York
           CRAFTS 19 - National Juried Exhibition. Zoller Gallery, State College, Pennsylvania, Juror: Michael Monroe
           THREE RIVERS ARTS FESTIVAL. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania - Juror: John Perreault
           AMERICAN CLAY ARTISTS: Philadelphia ‘85. Port of History Museum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Juror: Jack Troy
           ARTISTS’ INVITATIONAL. The Clay Studio Gallery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
1984    SOLO EXHIBITION. Marian Locks Gallery East, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
1983    CRAFTS 18 - National Juried Exhibition. Zoller Gallery, State College, Pennsylvania - Juror: Kathleen Nugent
           SOLO EXHIBITION - Quinnipiac College, Hamden, Connecticut
1982    WHAT’S NEW IN CLAY I - National Juried Exhibit. University of Houston, Houston, Texas
           FROM EAST TO WEST/CONTEMPORARY ORIENTAL ARTISTS. Cheltenham Center For The Arts, Cheltenham, Pennsylvania
1980    SOLO EXHIBITION. Marian Locks Gallery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
1976    CONTEMPORARY CRAFTS EXHIBITION. Delaware Art Museum, Wilmington, Delaware-Juror:Lloyd Herman
1975    CONTEMPORARY CRAFTS EXHIBITION. Delaware Art Museum, Wilmington, Delaware-Juror: Paul Smith

SELECTED PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
1983-present    Assistant Professor of Art, Community College of Philadelphia
1983    Adjunct Instructor of Art, Philadelphia College of Art, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
1979-83    Adjunct Instructor of Art, Community College of Philadelphia

GUEST LECTURES AND WORKSHOPS
2001     Installation Workshop, Freie Kunstschule, Berlin, Germany
           Guest Critic and Speaker, The Graduate School of Fine Arts. University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
2000    Artist Dialogue, Institute of Contemporary Art at the University of Pennsylvania
           The Creativity Process - panelist. Camden County Cultural and Heritage Commission, New Jersey
           Selections: Juries and Jurors - panelist. Woodmere Art Museum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
           Visiting Guest Lecturer. Faculty of Fine Arts, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand
1999    Artist Lecture, Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing, China
           New Land Marks Symposium. Public Art Proposal Presentation with The Friends of the Japanese House and Garden International Symposium at the Philadelphia Museum of Art,
           Artist Lecture at The Fabric Workshop and Museum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
           Guest Speaker: Artists and Community. Artist Guild at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
           Photography Installation Workshop, The Spence School, New York City, New York
1998    Symposium Speaker. Golden Mountain: Asian American Cultural Assimilation and Diversity. Delaware Center for Horticulture, Wilmington, Delaware
           Public Art Panelist, Pennsylvania Convention Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
           Asian Artists panel Discussion with Rirkrit Tiravanija. Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
           Guest Artist Lecture, The Spence School, New York City, New York
           Artist’s Gallery Talk, Institute of Contemporary Art at the University of Pennsylvania
1997    Artist Lecture. International House of Japan Artists’ Forum, Tokyo School of Arts, Tokyo, Japan
1996    Guest Critic, Sculpture Department Annual Review. University of the Arts, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
           Guest Speaker, Asian /Pacific American Program. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
           A Visual Interpretation of Cultural Space. Cafe of the Mind -sponsored byThe Free Library and the Community College of Phila.
           Artist Lecture, NATURE MORTE: CONTEMPORARY STILL LIFE. Museum of American Art at the Pa. Academy of Fine Arts
1995    Guest Speaker, Pubic Art/Public Space: Transnationalism and New Community Discourses. Asian American Center, Queens College, New York City, New York
           Artists Panel: The Spence Teaching Institute, The Spence School, New York City
1994    Visiting Artist Gallery Talk, Moore College of Art and Design,Philadelphia Pennsylvania
1993    Visiting Artist Lecture, University of the Arts, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
           Visiting Artist Lectures:Silpakorn University, Bangkok, Thailand; Chiang Mai Rajabhat Institute, Chiang Mai, Thailand; and Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand
1992    Sculptural Books Workshop, Women’s Studio Workshop, Rosendale, New York
1991    Visiting Artist Lecture, University of the Arts, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
           Artists Panel Discussions, Delaware Art Museum, Wilmington, Delaware
1990    Real and Imagined Space in Books: Workshop, Women’s Studio Workshop, Rosendale, New York
1989    Philadelphia Artists’ Talk: Installation. Levy Gallery for the Arts in Philadelphia, Moore College of Art and Design

COMMISSIONS
2000     MOSS GHOSTS. Site Installation for Marsha and Jim Moss, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
1994    CHINA WEDGE. Permanent Site Installation. Pennsylvania Convention Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
1973    COSTUME DESIGN FOR MINOR THEATER. Hamilton-Kirkland Colleges, Clinton, New York

SMALL PRESS EDITIONS
ALLNIGHT SNOWFALL, Mei-ling Hom 1991. Limited edition. Print collaboration with poet, Patricia Vigderman. Produced at the Women’s Studio Workshop, Rosendale, New York.
IN THE MORNING..., Mei-ling Hom 1990, edition of 108 sculptural artist’s books produced at the Women’s Studio Workshop, Rosendale, New York.

PUBLICATIONS
Toshio Ohi, NCECA Newsletter Spring 1985 Volume 8, Number 4