Yue Zeng

Artist Statement

Mainly painting with oil, I explore abstract impressionism and fantasy styles as an outlet to express an imagined world beyond reality. Painting in these two different ways gives me the ability to convey an interpretation of life that words can not describe for me. I am always looking for ways to experiment with how the physical world can intertwine with my inner self. In my abstract work, I am inspired to revisualize everyday life. Taking the elements of shape, form and color in the objects I see all around me, I feel how they can be expanded, connected and recreated into a unique composition. I observe these patterns and playfully use bold and vivid colors to express the imaginary intertwined with reality, finding magic between the seams. In my fantasy paintings, I focus on portraits of mythical creatures and animals transfixed in the shifting colors of seascapes and landscapes. There is a natural spirit and magic to these creatures and their energy draws me in. I choose to paint these creatures as real living wildlife rather than abstractions. I weave their bodies and the surface of the landscape into each other through organic forms and flowing brush strokes, finding beauty, strength and innocence in their presence. Incorporating a saturated color palette in both my abstract and fantasy work, I create bold and striking imagery, contrasted between foreground and background, subject and landscape, and light and darkness.

What’s your background?

I graduated from State University of New York Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY-ESF) as Master of Science in Environmental Chemistry in 2012. After that I worked in chemistry industry for some time. So I was a scientist, a chemist to be specific. I consider myself as a scientist and an artist alongside since science and art never truly separated.

What does it mean to you to win the Collectors Art Prize?

It is a surprise. It feels like someone hands me a case of fresh water when I am suffering dehydration in the middle of the Sahara desert. With that case of water I feel more confident in survival.

What do you think is the role of art in the world today?

In my point of view, art is simply something we feel enjoyable, interesting and something we can emotionally relate to. When we put an artwork on our wall, the most common reason is “I like it.” When we play a game on electronic device, of course we would like the one with better pictures because it is pretty and enjoyable. Art makes us happy without any calories.

What would it be if you could change one thing about the art world?

One thing I can think about is SOP, Standard Operation Procedure. Nowadays almost every profession has its own SOP. It is highly efficient and reduces human error. However art world likes myth, all kinds of artist myth out there. Also there are tons of artists coaching courses on social media and internet that guarantee you will success with their method. It could be true but it is not crystal clear.

Early this year when I wanted to become an USA swimming official, they gave me a checklist. Once I finished everything on the checklist under supervision I had the basic official certificate as Stroke and Turn. After a year or so I can upgrade my certificate if I pass the evaluation. Then I can pursue other certificates for different roles such as Deck Referee or Starter.

What if we have something similar for people who want to be an artist? It is for everyone. It doesn’t matter where we come from, what our background is or how we learned the technique or knowledge, once we complete a certain checklist we can get a certificate for a specific category. We can level up our certificate or expand the certificate to other category. Let’s say level 1 is beginning and level 9 is more advanced. A gallery or art exhibition can make a requirement such as “we are looking for artists with this and that certificates.” Also, for each level and category certificate, there should be a minimum price guide in terms of size or time. For instance, when a client is looking for a commission work and finds an artist with more advanced certificates, surely the client would expect higher rate. The price can always go up but the bottom line should be in guidance. The whole mechanism of this system would be something like foreign language test. It doesn’t matter where and how I learned a different language. Once I prove that I can read, write, listen and speak, I am able to have a certificate. It is a proof of my ability that I can provide without any formal language degree from a college or school. The system would also serve as a road map to variety branches of art world. Let’s assume someone who wants to be an illustrator for children’s book. This person should be able to check out what certificates he/she needs. Then he/she can navigate themselves through all checklists to see what technique and knowledge they need to study. Meanwhile, another person wants to be a cartoonist, he/she will need another set of certificates which will be somewhat different from the illustrator. All information should be open source which means we don’t have to subscribe anything to understand how to approach our goal.
Well, I know it may sound wild but it would make any myth subsides. Another benefit would be for artist to stop self-doubting and destructive comparing. If an artist only has level 1 certificate in one category, he/she would not feel so bad about themselves when they look at other level 9 or level 90 artist’s work. The artist knows he/she will get there, how to get there and the minimum price for their hard work.

What are your most significant professional achievements?

So far I have been to dozens of art shows/exhibitions and some publications. But Collector Art Prize is the first time. I will mark this as my most significant professional achievement.

What do you wish to tell viewers about your work that might not come out explicitly? What do you hope to inspire with your artwork?
I hope viewers would see my artwork with their hunch. Usually when we see a picture, our brain starts to interpret the image into something we can understand instantly and spontaneously. For example, we can see form of face everywhere. That is something we are familiar with and are easy to relate to. So in my artworks both abstract and fantasy theme, I encourage viewer to “see” what their brain believes. My toddler can figure out every piece of my painting such as a bird (abstract), a fish (abstract), and bunch of giant broccoli (fantasy). That means our brain is seeing the things even without a realistic contour. It is similar to reading scrambled letters. If we keep the first letter and last letter in a word the same but mess up every letter in between, we can still read a paragraph without knowing the words are misspelled, because our brain is auto correcting everything and finding the easiest way to translate it.

Thus, please trust your instinct when viewing my paintings.

What advice would you give to the upcoming generation of artists?

No hurry but please don’t ignore the amount of work.
Artist is essentially the same as writer. For example, if I want to write a novel then I need to read as much as possible first. Take the time to learn how other authors tell a story, how they build up a character or how to set up a plot twist. Take the time to research the background or life experience for each of my characters. Take the time to write down the note when I have an idea. However, no matter how brilliant the idea is, I still need to write the story down, or, type it down word by word. In my mind it maybe chapter 3 but in reality I may only type down a few lines in page 1.
Back to artist, no matter how brilliant the idea is, I still need to sketch it and paint it. The most important thing is to finish it. Otherwise people will never know my story/artwork if I don’t finish it. The workload is real.

In what direction would you like to see your career go in the next five years?

Currently I focus on fantasy and abstract theme. I hope I can somehow merge these two styles into one piece in near future. To further establish my unique artistic voice.

Country United States

Website https://yuezengartstudio.com/