Today we’d like to introduce you to Peishan Huang.
Hi Peishan, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I always thought that becoming an artist is something that was bound to happen. My father graduated from an art school and changed his career path to being an architect. He told me the reason for that is raising a family required a lot of money. I was raised with an idea that it is hard to make money as an artist, and my parents always prevented me from studying art. They wouldn’t let me attend painting classes, they wouldn’t let me take art exams for college, and they wouldn’t allow me to choose an art-related major in my college. I was always a good kid according to my parent’s expectations until my self-awareness grew and I became more and more clear about what I really wanted to pursue. So I gave up my guaranteed grad school opportunity in China and came to the US to study MFA.
At first, I thought I was just escaping from my old life to the art world I loved. My original plan was that I would continue to work in a combination of marketing and creative work after graduating with MFA. But in my second year at grad school, it became clear to me that who I am now is who I want to be, even though I have no money, I have an uncertain future, and I am a nobody, I love myself, love what I was doing, and looked forward to my growth. So I became an artist.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
The process is tough, but every time I think that many people like me are facing similar difficulties but everyone is trying to go on, there is no reason for me to give up.
The initial problem I encountered was poor art foundation. Since I had no art education, I had little about art history before, and I couldn’t draw or paint. Although this problem has not been solved to date, I learned that my strength are using a camera and building a subject by my hands. So I chose to build my strengths and avoid my weaknesses.
I am facing financial problems like many others now because I choose to be a freelancer in the future, which means my income will be unstable and so will my life. I know I will need time to work out my finance but I am grateful my family is willing to support me at this time.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’m an artist living and working in Brooklyn, NY. My practice involves a variety of mediums including photography, moving images, sculpture, and installation. I specialize in using mixed mediums to speak about content. Early lens-based training develop my visual language. My aesthetic is expressed through the colors, textures and poetic emotions of the materials and the narrative given to my work through them. I’m concerned with the issues faced by the minority groups in which I live and have also been discussing the relationship between urban systems and nature in her work over the past two years. My recent work focuses on the multiplicity of relationships between space and objects and people, and I add fictional writing to new series of works and go on to use a surreal approach to my practice. My works have been exhibited internationally, including Three Shadow Photography Art Center in Beijing, China, Time Museum in Chengdu, China, ULTRAMONTANE Museum in Hangzhou, China, Advertising Museum of China in Beijing, China, Museum 54 in Shanghai, China, MP Birla Millennium Art Gallery in London, UK, theBLANC Art Space in New York, USA, Decker Gallery in Baltimore, MD, USA, Richard Riggs Gallery in Baltimore, MD, USA. I have received Mount Royal Commencement Award (2022) and Gold-Stern Emerging Artist Award (2022). I have also completed Guerrilla War Artist Residency (2020) in Shanghai, China.
Before we go, is there anything else you can share with us?
Like many people, I left my small town and live in a big city. The process of moving between different cities has made me think and realize more about my hometown and my people. I was born and grow up in Dali, Yunnan Province, China and I belong to Bai ethnic group. The daily life I once took for granted resurfaced in my mind, and they shone brightly, making me miss my hometown more and feel a deeper sense of belonging to my people. These thoughts and feelings also transformed into my creative ideas, and I can feel a sense of responsibility for myself every time I finish a step. I hope more people from ethnic groups can bring their unique culture to the public.
Contact Info:
- Website: huang-peishan.com
- Instagram: peishan_h_h /_peishan_huang_
Image Credits
Personal photo: by Shuwan Chen
