Photo by Yuri Udagawa
From the United States, Arthur Huang currently lives and works in Tokyo, Japan as a molecular biologist and artist. In 2001, he earned a M.F.A. in Painting & Printmaking from the Rhode Island School of Design. He has exhibited his work in the United States, Europe, and Japan including the Chigasaki City Museum of Art, the Nakanojo Biennale 2017 and 2019, Root Division, Berkeley Art Center, Gallery Camellia, Jill d’Art Gallery, Hasu no hana, HAGISO, the Tokyo Art Book Fair, the Spiral Independent Creators Festival, the Setouchi Triennale 2013, Southern Exposure, Printed Matter, and the Austin Museum of Art. He is also the director of the Tokyo-based artist collective, Art Byte Critique, which was established in 2012.
Arthur Huang records various mundane everyday activities and explores the changes that occur in his memory of those activities. His studio practice is based within the spectrum of science and art with an interest in exploring the area where the two fields commingle. He has been working on three ongoing projects in recent years dealing with various aspects of everyday life.
“Memory Walks Project” (since 2012) This project was inspired by the discovery and ongoing research in neuroscience on place cells which are part of the spatial memory circuitry. Since 2012, he has been keeping track of his departure points for all his daily walks. Drawing upon his episodic memory at a later date, he uses this information to create memory maps on various medium including eggshells, styrofoam balls, and acrylic discs
“Daily Drawings Project” (since 2015) He has been making drawings during his commute on trains, subways, and buses almost everyday. The drawings are not preconceived and made intuitively during his commute. These works are the product and record of influences from his procedural and sensory memories.
“Memories’ Remnants Collage Project” (since 2018) With this most recent project, Arthur Huang makes collages from paper and other products such as envelopes, wrappers, and flyers before they make their way to recycling or the trash. These collages are created everyday and combine aspects of explicit and implicit memories to record his everyday activities.
In his studio practice, he has been asking these questions and more about the projects he pursues - “What do these works mean?”, “What are the influences in making these works?” and “Why did I make these works?” There are no clear answers or even clear paths to finding answers, but through the exploration, contemplation, and integration of these seemingly disparate projects, he hopes to push the evolution of his studio practice in new and unexpected directions.
Learn more about his studio practice in these interviews and articles
“The Everyday Art of Arthur Huang” by Alex Ehrenreich, The Japan Times, April 15, 2022
“Entrevista con Arthur J Huang: La Consciencia Del Dia a Dia” by Andrea Cobo Pérez, Open University Catalonia Art Matters (in Spanish) (2018)
”Arthur Huang” by Nazish Chunara, Venison Magazine (2016)
”Arthur Huang” at ArtBookGuy.com (2014) (article no longer available)
”Art Talk with Arthur Huang” at the National Endowment for the Arts Art Works (2011) (article no longer available)
Curriculum Vitae
Solo/Two Person Exhibitions
2021
Daily Reconfigurations Annotations and Discoveries - 66 Elements, Hasu no hana, Tokyo, Japan
The Three Cornered World - Spending Each Day Meaningfully, Gallery Camellia, Tokyo, Japan
2019
A Brain with a Mind of Its Own, hasu no hana, Tokyo, Japan
Daily Life Behavioral Studies: Process Project, Flower Coffee Brew Bar, Chigasaki, Japan
2017
Everyday Circuits, Gallery Camellia, Tokyo, Japan
2016
My Everyday Life, hasu no hana, Tokyo, Japan
Memory Walks - Is This The Way I Went?, HAGISO, Tokyo, Japan
2014
Tokyo Memory Walks & Kojimachi Interstices, Kojimachi Collection, Tokyo, Japan
2007
Reading, Not Reading, Coffee, and Theories, Mercury 20 Gallery, Oakland, CA
2003
Accounting for Desires, Dublin Arts Council Gallery, Dublin, OH
2002
Consumer Complexities, Louise Jones Brown Gallery, Duke University, NC
Everyday Complexities, Community College of Southern Nevada, NV
Selected Group Exhibitions
2024
Bristol Artist’s Book Event 2024, UWE Bower Ashton, Bristol, UK
Art Fair Nakanojo 2024, Former Hirozakari Brewery, Nakanojo, Japan
2023
newroll select vol. 1, Final, gallery.studio.cafe.newroll, Agatsuma, Japan
newroll select vol. 1, 新春, gallery.studio.cafe.newroll, Agatsuma, Japan
2022
Art Bonenkai Exhibition, Launch Pad Gallery, Yokohama, Japan
10: Art Byte Critique 10th Anniversary Exhibition, Launch Pad Gallery, Yokohama, Japan
OSHIIRE Department, Former Hirozakari Brewery, Nakanojo, Japan
newroll select, vol. 1, gallery.studio.cafe.newroll, Agatsuma, Japan
The Quartet, Art Platform Tokyo, ANA Intercontinental, Tokyo, Japan
2021
Tokyo Art Book Fair 2021, Online
Vancouver Art Book Fair 2021, Digital
A4 Self-restraint / Self-body, Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan
Individual Tokyo Exhibition, Gallery33, Tokyo, Japan
My Armchair, Art Platform Tokyo, ANA Intercontinental, Tokyo, Japan
Unmasked: Artful Responses to the Pandemic, Southern Vermont Arts Center, Manchester, Vermont
2020
Bye Bye 2020, Launch Pad Gallery, Yokohama, Japan
Tokyo Art Book Fair 2020, Online/Virtual
Vancouver Art Book Fair 2020, Online/Virtual
Inhabiting the Moment, Galerie La, Tokyo, Japan
The Screen and Beyond, Online Project
24 hrs project #2, Demi Cafe, Tokyo, Japan
Berkeley Art Center Members Exhibition, Berkeley Art Center, Berkeley, California
2019
Fundamental Complications, Root Division, San Francisco, California
Setouchi Art Book Fair, Tamamo Park, Takamatsu, Japan
Nakanojo Biennale 2019, Former Sawada Elementary School, Nakanojo, Japan
The Road to (and from) the Museum, Chigasaki City Museum of Art, Chigasaki, Japan
Look At Me Hungry, Berkeley Art Center, Berkeley, California
Full Circle, World of Glass, St. Helens, England
Tokyo Art Book Fair Ginza Edition, Sony Ginza Park, Tokyo, Japan
In the Details, Gallery LeDeco, Tokyo, Japan
Hot Bed 20:20 Print Exchange 2018, neo:galleryX, Bolton, United Kingdom
2018
Inktober Insanity, Launch Pad Gallery, Yokohama, Japan
Turning the Page: Manchester - Yokohama, Paper Gallery, Manchester, United Kingdom
Reading Between The Lines: Artist Books From Tokyo and St. Helens, Launch Pad Gallery, Yokohama, Japan
Art Fair Asia Fukuoka Awards 2018, Hotel Okura Fukuoka, Fukuoka, Japan
10th Anniversary, Jill d'Art Gallery, Nagoya, Japan
Let's Go To The Gallery 2018, Sukiwa Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
Future Sound + Future Vision, Launch Pad Gallery, Yokohama, Japan
Size Matters, World of Glass, St. Helens, United Kingdom
World Book Day, Eccleston Community Library and World of Glass, St. Helens, United Kingdom
2017
noise, Art Space Mu-ni, Morioka, Japan
noise, gallery TEN, Tokyo, Japan
Tokyo Art Book Fair 2017, Terrada Warehouse, Tokyo, Japan
Nakanojo Biennale 2017, Sawatari Gallery, Nakanojo, Japan
Endless Dialogue, hasu no hana, Tokyo, Japan
Parplume University and Yoichi Umetsu, Watari Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo, Japan
New Face! Jill d’Art Gallery, Nagoya, Japan
Surface(s), Nishimachi Artist Space, Tokyo, Japan
Art Nagoya 2017, Westin Nagoya Castle, Nagoya, Japan
bricolage, Art Space Mu-ni, Morioka, Japan
2016
Art Inspired by Neuroscience, Setagaya Monozukuri School, Tokyo, Japan
Flatbed at 25, Flatbed Gallery, Austin, Texas
bricolage, gallery TEN, Tokyo, Japan
Tokyo Art Book Fair 2016, Kyoto and Tohoku University of Art and Design, Tokyo, Japan
Neuroscience Art and Book Fair, Daikanyama Tsutaya, Tokyo, Japan
On Coloring, Pushdot Studio, Portland, Oregon
2015
Kanna Fall Art Festival, Onishi, Japan
Tokyo Art Book Fair 2015, Kyoto and Tohoku University of Art and Design, Tokyo, Japan
Kojimachi Loves Arts, Kojimachi Collection, Tokyo, Japan
Tokyo Art Crossing Berlin Artists’ Book Program, neurotitan gallery and Motto Berlin, Berlin, Germany
cARTography: personal metaphors and mindful maps, Ryan James Fine Arts, Kirkland, WA
9th Japanese Young Artists’ Books Fair, Printed Matter, St. Marks Bookshop, and Kinokuniya Bookstore, New York, NY
9th Young Artists’ Books Fair, Books Kinokuniya Shinjuku South Store and Beco Cafe, Tokyo, Japan
2014 AIAV Fellowship Artists Exhibition, Akiyoshidai International Art Village Gallery, Yamaguchi, Japan
2014
Zine Exhibition 5, Ginza Modern Art, Tokyo, Japan
Kanna Fall Art Festival, Onishi, Japan
Tokyo Art Book Fair 2014, Kyoto and Tohoku University of Art and Design, Tokyo, Japan
Spiral Independent Creators Festival 15, Spiral Hall, Tokyo, Japan
Thank You For Failing, Asian Resource Center, Oakland, CA
2013
Tokyo Spidering, HAGISO, Tokyo, Japan
Setouchi Triennale 2013, Ogijima, Japan
2012
Transits and Returns, Mercury 20 Gallery, Oakland, CA
6 x 6 x 2012, Rochester Contemporary Art Center, Rochester, NY
2011
A Sensory Feast, Kearny Street Workshop/SOMArts Cultural Center, San Francisco, CA
2010
Collection Selections: Flatbed Press, Austin Museum of Art, Austin, TX
Selections from Flatbed Editions, Flatbed Press, Austin, TX
Annual Art Auction, The Lab, San Francisco, CA
2009
25th Anniversary Live and Silent Auction, The Lab, San Francisco, CA
Present Tense Biennial, Chinese Culture Center, San Francisco, CA
Bookish, Adobe Bookshop Backroom Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2008
OverLoad, Athens Institute of Contemporary Art, Athens, GA
RISD Northern California Alumni Biennial, Oakland Art Gallery, Oakland, CA
The Prison Project, Intersection for the Arts Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Ingest, Athens Institute of Contemporary Art, Athens, GA
2007
Post-Postcard 11, The Lab, San Francisco, CA
Postcards from the Edge, Visual AIDS/James Cohan Gallery, New York, NY
Grounded? Southern Exposure, San Francisco, CA
Inscribere, Chandra Cerrito Contemporary, Oakland, CA
20 Views, Mercury 20 Gallery, Oakland, CA
Art and Text, Contemporary Quarterly Project Space, www.contemporaryquarterly.com
20 Artists from Mercury 20 Gallery, Stave Wine Lounge, Napa, CA
Artists’ Valentines, Barbara Anderson Gallery, Berkeley, CA
2006
Small Works, Mercury 20 Gallery, Oakland, CA
2005
New York Editions and Artists Book Fair, Starett Lehigh Building, New York, NY
Embedded: Living With Technology, Athens Institute of Contemporary Art, Athens, GA
Are the Best Things in Life Free? Variations on a Theme: Money, City of Brea Art Gallery, Brea, CA
2004
Postcards from the Edge, Visual AIDS/Brent Sikkema Gallery, New York, NY
Process, Dorsky Gallery Curatorial Programs, Long Island City, NY
In2Words: Numbers, Target Gallery, Alexandria, VA
2003
Library of Discards, Mills College, Oakland, CA
Postcards from the Edge, Visual AIDS/Galerie Lelong, New York, NY
Product: Comments on Consumer Culture, Athens Institute of Contemporary Art, Athens, GA
2002
[re]Readings: Artists' Books Now, Gallery Lux, San Francisco, CA
Repurpose, Southern Exposure, San Francisco, CA
73rd Crocker-Kingsley Exhibition, Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, CA
Post-Postcard 6, Southern Exposure, San Francisco, CA
Ink & Clay 28, Kellogg Art Gallery, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, CA
2001
MFA Thesis Exhibition, RISD Museum, Providence, RI
Print Matrix, Johnson Center and Fine Arts Galleries, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA
Driving Prints, Olive Tjaden Gallery, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
Hand-Pulled Prints IX International Juried Print Exhibition, Stonemetal Press, San Antonio, TX
Mixed Moxie, Printmaking Council of New Jersey, Somerville, NJ
Residencies
2019
Nakanojo Biennale, Nakanojo, Japan
2017
Nakanojo Biennale, Nakanojo, Japan
2014
Akiyoshidai International Art Village, Akiyoshi, Japan
2008
Hambidge Center for the Arts and Sciences, Rabun Gap, GA
Selected Bibliography
Beete, Paulette, "Art Talk with Arthur Huang," National Endowment for the Arts Art Works Blog, May 11, 2011
Bliss, Sharon, Kevin Chen, Steve Dickison, editors, Prison/Culture, City Lights Publishers, 2009
Buckwalter, Timothy, “Savvy Shopper,” The Monthly, August 2007
Cheng, DeWitt, “Bicoastal Banquet,” East Bay Express, March 12, 2008
Chunara, Nazish, "Arthur Huang", Venison Magazine, Winter 2016
Coon, Chelsea, “The Power of Human Connections: Reflections on the 6th Nakanojo Biennale,” The Artling, October 25, 2017
Corbin, Michael K., "Arthur Huang: Commuting," The Art Book Guy, 2015
Mahoney, James W., “Reviews, Southeast, Athens, GA: Embedded: Living with Technology” Art Papers, September/October 2005
Menchaca, Paul, “Dorsky Gallery Cuts Red Tape, Gives Curators More Freedom,” Queens Chronicle, October 28, 2004
Nakanojo Biennale 2017 Guide Book Cover
Phillips, Julie, “We Eat What We Are,” Athens Banner-Herald, January 17, 2008
Rossiter, Erin, “ATHICA Explores the Clutter of Our Lives With ‘Overload’,” Athens Banner-Herald, September 13, 2008
Spicer, Jakki K., “In the Galleries,” East Bay Express, April 25, 2007
Spicer, Jakki K., “In the Galleries,” East Bay Express, August 22, 2007
Swanhuyser, Hiya, “Insider Art”, SF Weekly, March 19, 2008
Taylor, Ann, "Present Tense Biennial: Chinese Character", SF Station, August 6, 2009
Taylor, Robert, “Oakland Art Galleries Creating Quite a Stir,” Contra Costa Times, August 9, 2007
Walkup, Kathleen, “Arthur Huang: Quantifying the Quotidian,” Ampersand, Spring 2005
West, Nick, "On Drawing," Genso, July 21, 2017
Education
2001
M.F.A. with Honors in Painting/Printmaking
Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI
1994
B.A. with Honors in Biochemistry/Molecular Biology
University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA