By Albert Amateau
Joannie M. Chen, a freelance photographer whose work included special events, corporate and medical subjects, died Dec. 2 at the age of 37.
She had been ill with leukemia for two and a half years, according to her sister, Julie.
Born in Saigon, Joannie Chen came to New York as a child with her family in 1978 and attended Art and Design High School. After earning a B.S. from Baruch College, she studied fine arts at Hunter.
“Joannie developed a passion for photography in high school and started working at it as soon as she graduated,” said her sister. She started as a printer operator in a one-hour photo shop and became a darkroom technician with St. Vincent’s Hospital’s photography department, making prints for various medical journals. She then became a medical photographer with Don Allen Studios and started freelancing in 2000 with a studio in her W. 47th St. loft. She won an Art Directors Club award.
Among her corporate clients were Estée Lauder, L’Oreal U.S.A. and Osmosis Mediallab. She covered the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation Awards in 1998 and had work published in Bride’s Magazine, Cosmetic World, Out Magazine and The Advocate.
In addition to her sister, her mother, Angela Chen, of Brooklyn, her father, Philip Chen, of Manhattan and a brother, Jason Chen, survive. Greenwich Village Funeral Home was in charge of arrangements.
