January 2026
in the Center Gallery

-an exhibition of paintings by Izabellah Chan, an emerging artist whose work explores memory, identity, and belonging through intimate scenes of place and personal history. Chan is a first-generation Chinese American artist with degrees in Studio Art and Emerging Media from the University of Central Florida. Her paintings draw from lived experience, focusing on family dynamics, cultural duality, and the quiet tension of moving between worlds. Working in acrylic on canvas, paper, wood, and handmade jean paper, she uses material as meaning - linking heritage, labor, and the landscapes that shape who we become.

This body of work reflects moments of connection and loss, rooted in rural American settings and filtered through the perspective of someone who both belongs and stands apart. Chan has received multiple national scholarships and awards, including recognition from the Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival, and has held curatorial and exhibition internships with City Arts Orlando and the Albin Polasek Museum. She is visiting Murphy as part of a broader tour to learn from art communities across the country and will be present to speak with visitors during the opening reception at 5:30 Friday evening, January 9, at the Cherokee County Arts Council.