Tseng Kwong Chi (American, 1950–1990) was a photographer active in the East Village art scene of the 1980s. Born in Hong Kong, Tseng studied traditional Chinese painting and calligraphy as a child, before relocating to Canada with his family at the age of 16. He then studied painting and photography at the L’École Supérieure d’Arts Graphiques at L’Académie Julian in Paris, France, and eventually settled in New York City in 1978.
Tseng became interested in travel and the phenomenon of Asian tourists in Western culture, and developed the artistic persona known as the "Ambiguous Ambassador." Similar to his friend and influential artist
Cindy Sherman, Tseng inserted himself into his images, dressing up in the stereotypical Mao suit, dark eyeglasses, and name tags that read "SlutforArt." The images, known as the
Expeditionary Self-Portrait Series a.k.a.
East Meets West, were set against famous landmarks, from the Statue of Liberty and Disney Land to Notre Dame. He also created a series of works in black and white and color, which featured his artist friends and influences, including
Keith Haring (he later became Haring’s official photographer) and
Andy Warhol, as well as other aspects of the vibrant East Village art scene of the 1980s.
Tseng died from complications related to AIDS at the age of 39. His work is the public collections of the San Francisco Museum of Art, the Guggenheim Museum in New York, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, and the Rubell Collection in Miami, among others. Tseng’s photographs were shown publicly in China for the first time at the 2004 Shanghai Biennale.