BIOGRAPHY
Hyun Young Yang is an interdisciplinary artist born in South Korea. Yang expands her artistic reach beyond the two-dimensional space of canvas to three-dimensional work, video and interactive art.
Her artistic practice started basically from the point that what we see is not everything. She has more interest in expressing what is invisible, rather than simply drawing what is seen as it is. In this regard, skull images are often seen in her works. She says that underneath the clothes, there are flesh and muscles, and underneath them, there are bones, which are the most basic elements that humans can stand, walk, eat, and laugh.
Such her interest has expanded to subjects such as human essence and identity. This is why she focuses on exploring the meaning of human life in relation to her personal experiences and visualizing it. She does not limit her use of materials and methods in expressing them. It challenges her work to be more diverse and interactive. Her work based on this is an extension of how she sees her life—and as such, all lives. It questions viewers about how they see their lives and how they are going to unfold. Such questions, that is, self-reflection, are induced through interaction with the work by making viewers encounter the instability of life through various materials and methods. For this, she expresses psychological emotional states—the anxiety, doubt, frustration and confusion felt by human beings—with visual strategies such as distortion and reflection.
EDUCATION
| Bachelor of Fine Arts | Drawing & Painting Minor in Integrated Media | OCAD University, Toronto, ON, Canada | 2018—2023 |
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| Art Education for the Gifted in Art | BlueDot Design Gifted Education Centre, Seoul, Republic of Korea | 2003—2004 | |
GROUP EXHIBITION
| • Girl Dinner | Abbozzo Gallery, Toronto, ON, Canada | Jan—Mar | 2024 |
| • Outdoor/Indoor | Worth Gallery, Toronto, ON, Canada | Jan | 2024 |
| • Emerging Now | Bau-Xi Gallery, Toronto, ON, Canada | Jul | 2023 |
| • Toronto Outdoor Art Fair 62 | Nathan Phillips Square, Toronto, ON, Canada | Jul | 2023 |
| • Silent Shout | The Ada Slaight Gallery, OCAD University, Toronto, ON, Canada | May—Jun | 2023 |
| • GradEx 108 | OCAD University, Toronto, ON, Canada | May | 2023 |
| • Creativity in the Time of COVID-19: Art for Equity and Social Justice | Michigan State University, Lansing, MI, United States | Apr | 2023 |
| • Iridescence | The Ada Slaight Gallery, OCAD University, Toronto, ON, Canada | Jan—Feb | 2023 |
| • CPAMO: The multi-Arts Festival & Conference | The Ada Slaight Gallery, OCAD University, Toronto, ON, Canada | Nov—Dec | 2022 |
| • Metamorphosis | OCAD University, Toronto, ON, Canada | Nov | 2022 |
| • Abstract Group Exhibition | OCAD University, Toronto, ON, Canada | Oct | 2022 |
| • I AM HERE: Home Movies and Everyday Masterpieces | Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, ON, Canada | Apr—Aug | 2022 |
| • SU Spring Festival 2022 | OCAD Student Union, In-person & Virtual Event | Mar—Apr | 2022 |
| • Still Life 2021 | the John B. Aird Gallery, Online Exhibition | Jan ~ | 2022 |
| • Culture's Compass 2021 | Humber's Centre for Creative Business Innovation, Virtual Gallery | Jul—Aug | 2021 |
| • Looking Out While Looking In | OCAD University & State University New York Geneseo, Virtual Gallery | Jul ~ | 2021 |
| • SU Spring Festival 2021 | OCAD Student Union, Online Event | Apr | 2021 |
| • Time and Tide | Art Gallery 118, Online Exhibition | Apr—May | 2021 |
| • First Year Drawing Exhibition | The Ada Slaight Gallery, OCAD University, Toronto, ON, Canada | Nov | 2018 |
COLLECTIONS
| Holiday Collection | Toronto Outdoor Art Fair, Toronto, ON, Canada | Dec | 2023 |
PUBLICATIONS
| "Pinwheel" | SU Spring Festival, OCAD University | Digital Catalogue, p.21 | May | 2021 |
ARTIST TALKS / PRESENTATIONS
| Outdoor/Indoor | Worth Gallery, Toronto, ON, Canada | Jan | 2024 |
AWARDS / GRANTS
| Toronto Outdoor Art Fair | Worth Gallery Award | Jul | 2023 |
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| OCAD University | Eric Freifeld Award | May | 2023 |
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| OCAD University | TOAF Career Launcher Award | Mar | 2023 |
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| OCAD University | Bursary for International Students | Dec | 2021 |
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| OCAD University | Catherine Daigle Scholarship | Jul | 2021 |
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| The National Student Art Competition of Korea University | Gold Medal | Jun | 2007 |
EXPERIENCE
Teaching
| 오늘 Art Academy | Seoul, Republic of Korea | Part-Time teaching assistant | 2016—2017 |
| 아틀리에 Art Academy | Seoul, Republic of Korea | Part-Time teaching assistant | 2010 |
| 홍익 Art Academy | Seoul, Republic of Korea | Part-Time teaching assistant | 2008—2010 |
| 동그라미 Art Academy | Seoul, Republic of Korea | Part-Time teaching assistant | 2008—2009 |
Painter
| 더베스트 art event company | Seoul, Republic of Korea | Part-Time mural & face painter | 2012—2015 |
Commisions
| Public commission | 서울에너지지킴이, Seoul, Republic of Korea | Banner design for a non-governmental organization | 2015 |
| Private commission | Seoul, Republic of Korea | Logo design for a bodybuilder business card | 2014 |
| Private commission | Churro Ville cafe, Seoul, Republic of Korea | Charcoal drawing mural, Interior | 2009 |