North entrance passageway.

The Glory of Chinese Descendants, 2000
Foon Sham
Plexiglas, wood, aluminum, neon lights
30' l x 8.3' h

The wall sculpture serves as a gateway to historic Chinatown. The thoughtful use of materials evokes images of everyday objects found in traditional Chinese culture including, fans, chopsticks, rice paper and lanterns. The artist sought to pay homage to early Chinese descendants who settled in the Nation's Capital.

This project was made possible in part by the DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities.

Born in Macao, China in 1953, artist Foon Sham arrived in the United States in 1975. Over the years, he studied at several notable colleges, ultimately receiving a B.F.A from the California College of Arts and Crafts, Oakland, California in 1978 and an M.F.A. from Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia in 1981. A large portion of Mr. Sham's body of work consists of varying size sculptures which utilize a diverse array of hard woods, orchestrated in organic forms. The Glory of Chinese Descendants, commissioned for WMATA in 2000, deviates from the majority of his work in terms of materials used.