User:Ramon Markus Kadi

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Born in 1967 in Indonesia of Chinese parentage, Ramon Markus Kadi immigrated to the United States of America in 1985 and became naturalized seven years later. His father, an accomplished and well-known eye surgeon, persuaded the younger Kadi to abandon the path to medical school and, instead, to pursue a life in the Arts. (The elder Kadi himself was advised by his father to choose a career that would bring stable income to raise a family; still, he never gave up his love for art.)

In 1992 Kadi completed his undergraduate degree in Fine Arts History (with an interest in Early Christian, Byzantine, and Medieval Art and Architecture), and a minor in Fine Arts Studio. He left Vanderbilt University with the Margaret Stonewall Woolrich Hamblet Award, which stipulated for the recipient to travel for a year and to do art. He spent a year covering major cities of the United States, as well as spending six months in Europe. He ended the Fellowship year by having his first major solo exhibition at the Vanderbilt University Fine Arts Gallery. Two works from that exhibition were acquired by the Tennessee State Art Museum to be included in the permanent collection, and one work was included in the Vanderbilt University Fine Art Gallery permanent collection.

In 1996 Kadi received the highest honor upon completion of his graduate work and delivered the valedictory address at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco Commencement Exercises at the Masonic Temple. His focus was Printmaking. Since then, Kadi has exhibited primarily in California, with one traveling group-exhibition in Europe in the early 90s. In 1999 he was invited to teach at his alma-mater, the Academy of Art University. He stayed at the University until 2001, teaching basic and advanced Limited Edition Serigraphy classes, serving as advisers to undergraduate and graduate studies, as well as teaching an art history course, The History of Prints and Posters (in conjunction with production of prints and posters through the medium of silkscreen).

In 2004 his domestic partner’s company moved the entire family to Tokyo, Japan, where he and his domestic partner currently reside. Adapting to the new environment, Kadi honed his skill in photography and in digital editing of both photography and film. In 2006 he submitted his first photographic work to the Alumni Exhibition at the Vanderbilt University's Ingram Center for the Arts.

Recently, in the Fall of 2007, Kadi mounted his first major exhibition in Indonesia, at the Art Gallery at the House of Sampoerna in Surabaya. The exhibition showcased his father, who used traditional watercolor media, and Kadi, who showed his first ever digital photographic work; it was to be their first ever Father and Son exhibition.