Charles Yuen American, b. 1952

Biography

 

Charles Yuen’s early encounters with the emotional potential of art began an enduring interest. After graduating with a BFA from the University of Hawaii (1975), his place of birth, Yuen made his way to New York City, collecting a MFA from Rutgers University (1981) in the process. Inspired by cultural differences in his new environment and an excitement over newly discovered ways of analyzing visual phenomena, Yuen dove into art making’s potential as social critique and personal fulfillment. Part catharsis and part poetics, Yuen has been investigating fluid definitions of realism and irrationality, advocating a subjective logic for humanist expression.

 

Now living in Brooklyn, NY, he has received the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship (2018), Adolf and Esther Gottlieb Foundation (2011), Joan Mitchell Foundation (2006), Artists’ Projects: New York State Regional Initiative (1993), and an Artist in Residence (1983-4, Asian Arts Institute and New York State Council on the Arts). Numerous solo exhibitions include Slippery Harmonics of Imagined Phenomena, Pierogi Gallery, Brooklyn, NY; Between Here and Now, and Itinerant Visualist, both Pamela Salisbury Gallery, Hudson, NY; Crypto-somatic Incantation, Studio10, Brooklyn, NY; Casbah Paintings, Art in General, New York, NY; Psychographic, Metaphor Contemporary Art, Brooklyn, NY; Future Paradise, 490 Atlantic, Brooklyn, NY; You Are the Center of the Universe, Valentine Gallery, Queens, NY; Point Arabesque, Asian American Arts Center, New York, NY, and other more generically named shows at Elizabeth Harris Gallery, New York, NY; Leo.Tony Gallery, New York, NY; Robert Henry Fine Art, Brooklyn, NY; ADA Gallery, Richmond, VA; and the Downtown Gallery, Honolulu, HI.

 

Additional group exhibitions, mostly in the New York City area, have been in museums and galleries including: Brooklyn Museum of Art, Newark Museum (NJ), The Armory Show NY (Pierogi), New Museum, Artists Space, Anhui Modern Art Museum (Hefei, China), Hunterdon Museum of Art (NJ), Columbia University Teachers College, Luise Ross Gallery, Kathryn Markel Fine Arts, Leslie Heller Gallery, Robert Steele Gallery, Franklin Furnace, Exit Art, Livestock Gallery, Blum Helman Warehouse, Catherine Gallery at Basement Workshop, Tweed Gallery, and more.

 

Reviews of Yuen's art have appeared in numerous publications including Hyperallergic, Art in America, ArtCritical, the New York Times, Time Out, Brooklyn Rail, Cover, Art Papers, Two Coats of Paint, Arte Fuse, House and Garden, as well as many community papers and culturally oriented blogs. 

 

Viewing art as a project connected to a social and civic vision, Yuen has also participated community based activities including a founding membership in Godzilla, an Asian American Arts Network; and many other political and cultural advocacy exhibitions.

 

Charles Yuen lives and works in Brooklyn, NY.

Exhibitions
Art Fairs
News
Works
  • Charles Yuen, Clustered Landscape, 2020
    Charles Yuen
    Clustered Landscape, 2020
    India ink and florescent paint on paper
    11.25 x 7.625 in (28.6 x 19.4 cm)
    Sold
  • Charles Yuen, Felled, 2020
    Charles Yuen
    Felled, 2020
    India ink and florescent paint on paper
    10 x 13.5 in (25.4 x 34.3 cm)
    Sold
  • Charles Yuen, Floating in a Sea of Accident, 2020
    Charles Yuen
    Floating in a Sea of Accident, 2020
    India ink and florescent paint on paper
    7.625 x 11.25 in (19.4 x 28.6 cm)
    Sold
  • Charles Yuen
    Charles Yuen
    Eventualization, 2023
    Oil on canvas
    54 x 66 in
    Signed verso
    Sold
  • Charles Yuen, Dragon Fly, 2020
    Charles Yuen
    Dragon Fly, 2020
    Oil on panel
    9 x 12 in
    Signed verso
    Sold
  • Charles Yuen, Internal Organs
    Charles Yuen
    Internal Organs, 2023
    Oil on panel
    12 x 9 in
    Signed verso
    Sold
  • Charles Yuen, Late Snow, 2023
    Charles Yuen
    Late Snow, 2023
    Oil on panel
    9 x 12 in
    Signed verso
    Sold
  • Charles Yuen, Forest Through the Trees, 2022
    Charles Yuen
    Forest Through the Trees, 2022
    Oil on panel
    9 x 12 in
    Signed verso
    Sold
  • Charles Yuen, Event Horizon, 2023
    Charles Yuen
    Event Horizon, 2023
    Oil on canvas
    48 x 40 in
    Signed verso
    Sold
  • Charles Yuen, Phase Shift Pink, 2016
    Charles Yuen
    Phase Shift Pink, 2016
    Oil on panel
    12 x 9 in
    Signed verso
    Sold
  • Charles Yuen, One Handed Juggler, 2023
    Charles Yuen
    One Handed Juggler, 2023
    Oil on panel
    12 x 9 in
    Signed verso
    Sold
  • Charles Yuen, Something, 2023
    Charles Yuen
    Something, 2023
    Oil on panel
    12 x 9 in
    Signed verso
    Sold
  • Charles Yuen, Subterranean Blossoms, 2023
    Charles Yuen
    Subterranean Blossoms, 2023
    Oil on panel
    9 x 12 in
    Signed verso
    Sold
  • Charles Yuen, Touch Memory, 2023
    Charles Yuen
    Touch Memory, 2023
    Oil on panel
    12 x 9 in
    Signed verso
    Sold
  • Charles Yuen, In Out Up Down, 2023
    Charles Yuen
    In Out Up Down, 2023
    Oil on canvas
    54 x 66 in
    Signed verso
    Sold
  • Charles Yuen, Tree Spirits, 2023
    Charles Yuen
    Tree Spirits, 2023
    Oil on panel
    9 x 12 in
    Signed verso
    Sold
  • Charles Yuen, Back and Forth, 2023
    Charles Yuen
    Back and Forth, 2023
    Oil on panel
    9 x 12 in
    Signed verso
    Sold
  • Charles Yuen, Swimmer, 2023
    Charles Yuen
    Swimmer, 2023
    Oil on panel
    9 x 12 in
    hand signed reverse
    Sold