Even in the 1980s, Cai responded to assignments and creative practice with determination and joy. Already schooled in studio practice, she responded with strong, deeply-felt portraits that are already masterly and indications of fierce talent. She has a way of literally throwing her body, mind and soul into her painting, a method which results in passionate/poetic communications.

Cai’s college teacher in early 1980s China said, “Wherever you go; don’t give up an opportunity to learn and be inspired.” I am thinking about how that teaching method has resulted in her present practice of not only making her home an art-life center of creativity via food as art, communication as art, dealing with life issues with others as art but also her Putney School experience of taking her students to China, sort of duplicating her teacher’s axiom of going to the source!

As artist-teacher, she continues her teacher’s courage to go into the unknown to create and find inspiration. Her sensitivity is always shared, never ego-bound, but stirring inside and shining so that those close to Cai are taught by her focused art-light. Listen to what she says, a story of healing: “Then I realized that I had put myself in danger and that gave me a feeling of shock. I took that shock and started painting.”

This is a good life-art recipe, and a way to transfer pain into gain, into healing, into knowledge, a way that she practices, even now. She is a masterful artist/lifeist. Thank you, Cai, for your strong brush strokes; for your ability to translate persons to paint; for your courage to travel to the site of your vision.

Sometimes, you have to pass through a gallery, looking, smelling – almost touching – works of art, taking them in, in a very physical way, and then you step away and let the effect wash over you, feeling the pieces, sequentially, as waves of an ocean surge and ebb, pulsing, receding, for a long time after you have left the scene. Later, wanting to reconnect, you come to the work again with a whole new body – new eyes, for sure. It enters your consciousness with a different, sensuously powerful energy; and before you know it, you are swept along in the hypnotic dance of qi gong, discovering, in yourself, the steps the painter took when the painting was made.

Landscapes take us to both times and places in China, long ago. Cai’s recent venture into socially engaged art – cooking, performances, experiences, installations – seems like a radical departure from all this, but in fact, it is a natural outgrowth, in a life that has seen enormous changes, emerging out of China’s Cultural Revolution, transplantation to the States an alien culture, a new language, parenthood, teaching, food catering, tai chi and participation in a free-wheeling, mind-expanding MFA program, all at the same time. The Pink Slip Project 2012-14, Art-as-Food-as-Art, and Our Meal Table are evidence of a greater perspective, in which Art-is-Life-is-Art. Like her work, Cai is never finished, never still even for a moment. But whether her work takes her to the kitchen, the canvas, the tai chi practice, the classroom, or the street, this warrior woman finds still-points, reflections, and time-warps to share with us, wherever she goes. Cai’s life and work give credence to a line from an old song of the 60’s, “Time keeps on slippin’, slippin’, slippin’ … into the Future.” Dance on, Sister Cai!

My mother, Cai Xi, is objectively the most hardworking, versatile, and technically proficient painter I have ever known. Cai has lived a tumultuous, cross-cultural life, reflected in her enormous body of work that spans over decades in China and the US. She has created hundreds of paintings, each a visceral snapshot of her body, mind, and heart over the course of her journey. Her work has, for almost my entire lifetime, been hidden away in storage, where they’ve been collecting dust and seen only by my family. Finally, Cai is revealing the Then and Now exhibition where abstract works interact,  juxtaposed with realistic landscapes, created from the late 70s to now, meeting to form a bold synthesis of her life. No one more deserves to be seen in this way.

My mother has been more than a mother to me. She is a mentor and role model. She has inspired me to be a quiet, thoughtful leader and leads by example. She has overcome tremendous obstacles and adversity with grace. She has taught me that art is a life long gift that enriches and expresses the human spirit – a lesson I have used to fuel my own craft. I can only begin to say how lucky I am to grow up with my mother and her art coloring our house. Her paintings and her presence have forged my life, and they can change yours too. I wish I could be there in the room to witness this presentation of my mother’s legacy in all its grandeur, but I hope you’ll do that for me. Much love from California and Edinburgh