Kit-Yin Snyder
Film Maker & Artist
Film Maker & Artist
Kit-Yin Snyder was born in Guangzhou, China and came to the United States at age 15. Her profession as an artist started in the 1970s in the area of ceramics.
For several decades, Kit-Yin worked on site specific environmental sculpture, exhibiting in numerous alternative New York area sites such as P.S. 1, Artpark, Snug Harbor and in public spaces such as Bryant Park.
She has received numerous grants for her work in environmental sculpture, from organizations including the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York Foundation of Arts and the New York State Council of Art. Her award-winning public commissions include Margaret Mitchell Square in Atlanta and “Justice”, a collaboration with Richard Haas in New York City.
In the late 1990s, Kit-Yin turned to the medium of video. This change in medium allowed her to add yet another 4th dimension to her artwork and combine visual imagery with story-telling.
In March of 2022, Kit-Yin's three-dimensional public artwork and filmmaking came together in the City of Atlanta. An excerpt from her video, Double Exposure, can now be viewed above and adjacent to the Margaret Mitchell Square where her public artwork continues to provide a space for visitors.
Film
Exploring her own roots in two countries through humor and experimental imagery, sculptor and self-proclaimed “old Chinese lady” Kit-Yin Snyder explores her own identity, being neither Eastern nor Western. This was the first film produced by Kit-Yin Snyder, when she was 68. Soon after its completion, Double Exposure was screened at the very first Tribeca Film Festival.
Double Exposure was also screened as part of Just Above Midtown: Changing Spaces at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City in December 2022.
Public Art · 1986
In 1986 Kit-Yin Snyder was commissioned by the City of Atlanta Office of Cultural Affairs Public Art Program to create a sculpture for the downtown Margaret Mitchell Square Plaza. This public artwork was awarded an Excellence in Design award in 1987.
Public Art · 1985–1992
Manhattan Detention Center, New York City
In 1985, the New York City Percent for Art Fund awarded Kit-Yin Snyder and Richard Haas a site-specific public artwork for the new Lower Manhattan Detention Center. The design was for the new public space and walk-way in the area between the historic “Tombs” detention center and a then-newly planned secondary detention center. The collaboration, from design through planning and implementation, spanned seven and a half years and was completed in 1992.
Based on the topic of justice, Kit-Yin designed and placed Seven Columns of Wisdom and Solomon's Throne. In addition, Kit-Yin created a paver design which included the Chinese characters for the words “justice” and “upright”.
“Judgement” received numerous awards as a public artwork. In 1988, Kit-Yin was awarded the Excellence in Design Award from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, and a Certificate of Merit in Recognition of Outstanding Achievement in the Arts from the New York City Office of the Council President in 1993.
Film
An experimental documentary video that contrasts the cross-cultural adventures of Marco Polo from West to East with her own from East to West. This film was partially funded by the Jerome Foundation.
Sculpture
Kit-Yin created numerous indoor and outdoor site-specific architectural installations throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Based in New York City, she exhibited in nontraditional gallery spaces, getting her start in 1979 as a Resident Artist at P.S. 1 in Long Island City. Her installations won numerous awards, grants and fellowships. In 1983, she was cited by art critic Grace Glueck in her Critic's Choice column in the New York Times.
Recognition
Selected Exhibitions & Installations