Ines Sun

Ines Sun was born and raised in Taiwan with a strong Chinese heritage. She grew up with Chinese brush paintings of flowers and birds surrounding the household, and her grandfather practiced Chinese calligraphy. Later, her father continued the calligraphy practice after her grandfather passed away. Sun has followed the tradition and made her calligraphy a part of her art practice.

Sun came to New York City for her Master's Degree at NYU in 1992 and enrolled at the Art Students League of New York for Oil Painting in 1995. Later she went to the Chinese Academy of Art to study Chinese calligraphy and brush painting in 2007.

Before the trip to China, she pioneered tea culture in New York City and ran a successful beloved tea business, Wild Lily Tea Room, in Chelsea for ten years. The New York Times food writer Florence Fabricant first introduced Sun's endeavor and called it "a serene oasis."

Sun has practiced Chanoyu, the Japanese Tea Ceremony. Her diligent pursuit of tea and the experience of hosting tea tastings have inspired the TeaHouse Installation, which first appeared in 2011 at the Dumbo Arts Festivals. Sun has exhibited internationally to advocate Equanimity through the TeaHouse Project. One participant at one time writes calligraphy and drinks tea in silence. The artistically designed tea hut acts as a shelter from the mundane world.

Sun’s TeaHouse was one of the highlights for Summer Tea 2019 and 2020. During the pandemic, her calligraphy writing project Heart Sutra Collectives was part of the Spring Tea and Summer Tea 2021 to help the community heal and re-anchor from the tragic event. Summer Tea 2020, Spring Tea 2021, Summer Tea 2021 are all partly sponsored by Brooklyn Art Council.

Sun published her autobiography, 5.4 Luck, in Taiwan and exhibited the Lotus oil painting series for the first time in her home country. She works and lives with her family in Brooklyn.

Ines is an active community collaborator of Tea Arts & Culture. She was involved in the Summer Tea 2019 and 2020 with her TianDiChaWu. Her Heart Sutra collectives were featured at Spring Tea 2021 at 6/16 Green community Garden and Summer Tea 2021, Autumn Tea 2022, and Summer Tea 2023.