Davi Cheng

Davi Cheng is artist and graphic designer from Hong Kong who combines traditional methods of drawing and painting with advanced digital design techniques.

Biography

Davi Cheng was born in Hong Kong into a Protestant extended family. Her great-grandfather had converted to Christianity in 1896 at the First Congregational Church in Territorial Arizona while working there as a laborer. He returned to China in 1902 to evangelize his family in China. Her grandfather never set foot in the United States. Cheng family of six immigrated to the United States in 1971 under her father's immigration visa, when she was 14 years old. Cheng converted to Judaism in 1997.[1]

Cheng earned a B.A. in Biological Sciences from University of California, Berkeley with the intention of pursuing a career in the medical field. Instead she gravitated toward art, making detailed sketches and drawings of wildlife. After graduating and working in business for a few years, Cheng went back to school to study computer graphic design. Aside from creating her own artwork, she also works as a graphic designer for corporations and nonprofits.

Cheng is a longtime member and past president of Congregation Beth Chayim Chadashim (BCC)[2] in Los Angeles, and part of the Be'chol Lashon (In Every Tongue)[3] international network celebrating Jewish diversity.

Cheng's work is published in Women of the Book[4] (2015), a visual Torah scroll created by 54 Jewish women artists from around the world. Cheng's original interpretation of the Torah portion parshat Pekudei, a pen and ink painting on parchment, was inspired by her Hong Kong childhood superheroes and by images of clouds in Journey to the West,.

One of Cheng's paintings, "Burning Bush I," was published on the cover of Asian Jewish Life[5] magazine (June 2015, issue 16); on The Jewniverse, "Chinese Art with a Jewish Twist (Or, Jewish Art with a Chinese Twist)"[6] by Ilana Sichel (June 8, 2015); and on My Jewish Learning, "Seamlessly Chinese and Jewish"[7] by Davi Cheng (June 1, 2015).

Cheng designed BCC synagogue's permanent stained glass window installation,[8] the centerpiece of which refers to the biblical story of the parting of the Red Sea. Along with three other artists, she also fabricated and installed all twelve panes (measuring 30" x 40" each). She has created other art works for the sanctuary, collaborating with Jerry Hanson on a set of stained glass Ark doors and a solar-powered Ner Tamid ("eternal light") made with more than a thousand one-inch glass squares.

Personal life

Cheng plays trumpet and French horn and co-founded and performs in Beth Chayim Chadashim's Klezmer band, Gay Gezunt, and also sings in the synagogue's choir. She lives with her spouse Bracha Yael Cheng in Los Angeles.

References
  1. Yael-Cheng, Davi (June 1, 2015). "Seamlessly Chinese and Jewish". myjewishlearning.com. Retrieved March 7, 2019.
  2. "About BCC". Retrieved 2015-09-13.
  3. "Be'chol Lashon | Advocating for the Growth and Diversity of the Jewish People | Home". www.bechollashon.org. Retrieved 2015-09-13.
  4. "Women of the Book: Davi Cheng: Pekudei". womenofthebook.org. Archived from the original on 2015-08-03. Retrieved 2015-09-13.
  5. "Art Work by BCC Member Davi Cheng on the cover of Asian Jewish Life magazine | BCC People". bcc-la.org. Retrieved 2015-09-13.
  6. "Chinese Art With a Jewish Twist (Or, Jewish Art With a Chinese Twist) | Jewniverse". thejewniverse.com. Retrieved 2015-09-13.
  7. "Seamlessly Chinese and Jewish". Retrieved 2015-09-13.
  8. "BCC's new home". Retrieved 2015-09-13.
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