Artist Statement
I am a witness of our history. My works are records of this history and meditate on gender, war, social justice, and human existence.
I began to pursue an artist’s career after many years of being an educator, curator, and art historian. I felt a career as an artist is the most meaningful and effective way to embrace the world around me and convey my passion in art. I strive to use my works to promote humanity and social and political justices. My painting and mixed media works are my observations and reflections of our contemporary politics, social and gender issues.
I am interested in using portraiture and figurative forms in the styles of realism and magical realism. The styles allow me to more effectively offer a critical view to examine my own social and political environments as an immigrant, Taiwanese American, and a minority woman artist. My work is also constantly shaped by my knowledge and experience as an educator, art historian and curator. Curatorial and art historical trainings enable me to adopt an analytical view to examine my work in terms of content, design and techniques.
Artists should constantly challenge themselves and explore new ways of artmaking. I experiment different techniques, styles, and subject matters for my storytelling. I have produced abstract work, screenprints, and landscape paintings that incorporate oil and ink brushwork techniques. My training in Asian art provides me perspectives and multiple techniques to draw from.
I have been working on a series of paintings on immigrants and the diaspora caused by wars, American presidents and U.S. policy on immigration. In addition, my work also contemplates the impacts of colonialism in China and Taiwan, gender inequality and feminist issues. During my residency period, I will be working on my next series of painting on immigration with a focus on Chinese railroad workers in the 19th century.
Although I started a painting career later in life, my experiences as an immigrant, a teacher, a curator, and an art historian have been offering me invaluable resources to enrich my work. I wish to continue to utilize these resources to create meaningful work in my career.
I am a witness of our history. My works are records of this history and meditate on gender, war, social justice, and human existence.
I began to pursue an artist’s career after many years of being an educator, curator, and art historian. I felt a career as an artist is the most meaningful and effective way to embrace the world around me and convey my passion in art. I strive to use my works to promote humanity and social and political justices. My painting and mixed media works are my observations and reflections of our contemporary politics, social and gender issues.
I am interested in using portraiture and figurative forms in the styles of realism and magical realism. The styles allow me to more effectively offer a critical view to examine my own social and political environments as an immigrant, Taiwanese American, and a minority woman artist. My work is also constantly shaped by my knowledge and experience as an educator, art historian and curator. Curatorial and art historical trainings enable me to adopt an analytical view to examine my work in terms of content, design and techniques.
Artists should constantly challenge themselves and explore new ways of artmaking. I experiment different techniques, styles, and subject matters for my storytelling. I have produced abstract work, screenprints, and landscape paintings that incorporate oil and ink brushwork techniques. My training in Asian art provides me perspectives and multiple techniques to draw from.
I have been working on a series of paintings on immigrants and the diaspora caused by wars, American presidents and U.S. policy on immigration. In addition, my work also contemplates the impacts of colonialism in China and Taiwan, gender inequality and feminist issues. During my residency period, I will be working on my next series of painting on immigration with a focus on Chinese railroad workers in the 19th century.
Although I started a painting career later in life, my experiences as an immigrant, a teacher, a curator, and an art historian have been offering me invaluable resources to enrich my work. I wish to continue to utilize these resources to create meaningful work in my career.
Yu L. Huang
yhuangart@gmail.com
yhuangart@gmail.com
- Fifteen years of college teaching experience
- Nine years of curatorial experience at the private and public art museums
- Five years of art appraisal practice (USPAD certified appraiser)
- Ten years of journalist experience in writing, editing, reporting and translating Chinese and Japanese materials of arts and culture
PhD track. Department of Fine Art, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY; Completed doctorate coursework. Major: Modern and Contemporary Chinese Art; Minor: Painting and Drawing.
Art Academy of Cincinnati, Painting and Drawing
M.A. Department of Art History, Major: Asian Art History
University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas
B.A. Department of Japanese Language and Literature,
National Soochow University, Taipei, Taiwan
Solo Exhibitions
2018 Dream Most Difficult, ARC Gallery, April 25 - May 19, 2018, Chicago, IL
2017 I Carry My Home, 48th Ward District Office, December 15, 2017 - January 19, 2018, Chicago, IL
2017 Transform the Unknown, Palette and Chisel Art Academy, July 17 - July 21, 2017, Chicago, IL
2016 When Art History Becomes a Vocabulary, YLH Studio, Chicago Arts District, Chicago, IL
Selected Group Exhibitions
2020 Signs of the Times, Ceres Gallery, May 29 - August 15, 2020, New York, NY
2020 Art From the Heartland 2020, Indianapolis Art Center, June 19 - August 3, 2020, Indianapolis, IL
2020 Women's History Month Special Exhibition, Viridian Artists, March 1 - March 31, 2020, New York, NY
2018 Small Works, Dec 7 - Dec 16, 2018, Women Made Gallery, Chicago, IL
2018 FL3TCH3R Exhibit: Social & Politically Engaged Art, Oct 8 - Dec 14, 2018, Reece Museum, Johnson City, TN,
2018 Pastel Point, Sep 19 - Oct 7, 2018, Cincinnati Women’s Club, Cincinnati, OH
2018 South Shore Arts--The 75th Annual Salon Show, September 9– November 8, 2018, The Center for Visual and Performing Arts, Munster, IN
2018 Masterful Moxie-The Power of Art, February 10 - March 10, 2018, Fifth Annual Culture Bridge, Scharpenberg Gallery, DANK Haus German American Cultural Center, Chicago, IL
2017 Freeport 14th annual regional juried exhibition, Freeport Art Museum, Nov 17, 2016-Feb 10, 2017, Freeport, IL
2017 We Are Enough, national juried exhibition, Oak Park Art League, Chicago, IL
2013 Member exhibition, July, 2013, Tiger Lily Press annual exhibition, Cincinnati, OH
2013 Art for Peace and Justice, May 2013, Art Academy of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH