Breakfast Club

In Chinese culture, we often say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Yet ever since I moved to the United States, I’ve noticed how many people barely have time for it. Sometimes, I find myself missing the breakfasts of my childhood — the warm buns and soybean milk sold by street vendors as early as 4:30 in the morning.

That memory inspired me to create this collection, Breakfast Club.

I first imagined an American-style breakfast: fig toast with cream cheese, banana toast with Nutella, and a cup of latte. Then a fried egg popped into my head. Of course! How could I forget the classic fried egg?

From there, I turned to a Chinese-style breakfast: a bun filled with vegetables and meat, a bowl of warm soybean milk, and three shumai. Suddenly, another egg came to mind. How could I possibly forget the boiled egg — a staple of so many Chinese household breakfasts?

For the final piece, I wanted to include an abstract work, “Morning”, just as I did in my previous Rose Garden series, where I included a random outlier among the floral paintings — a peaceful river rendered in abstraction. I enjoy having an unexpected piece somewhere in a collection, even when the works are meant to be sold together. It gives me the freedom to experiment with different styles and subjects without feeling confined to a single theme.

And that is how Breakfast Club came to life: a small collection inspired by two cultures, childhood memories, and the simple joy of breakfast.