Paintings by Arlan Huang on view during Gowanus Arts Walk 2016 on October 16, 2016. Photo by Lia Chang
This afternoon I headed out to Gowanus to check out artist Arlan Huang’s new paintings at his studio during the 20th Annual Gowanus Open Studios weekend.
Arlan Huang and his wife Lillian Ling during Gowanus Arts Walk 2016 on October 16, 2016. Photo by Lia Chang
For one weekend each year, artists working in the former factories, warehouses and studio buildings in Gowanus invite the public to visit their studios, see their work, and talk about their process. This year 328+ artists participated in the Gowanus Arts Walk 2016 held on October 15‐16 from 12‐6pm.
Paintings by Arlan Huang on view during Gowanus Arts Walk 2016 on October 16, 2016. Photo by Lia Chang
Huang’s paintings have evolved over the years into a meditative practice where beauty is revealed at the edge of the painting’s possible destruction or dissolution. Brush marks in the forms of lines, dashes, and dots are layered until the right equation of visible and obscured form is achieved. Huang’s abstract paintings aim to capture what Allen Ginsberg called, “The dearness of the vanishing moment.” The 13 paintings below were created by Huang during his residency in the grounds of Zenkoji Temple, Japan last year. air-zenkouji.com
Paintings by Arlan Huang on view during Gowanus Arts Walk 2016 on October 16, 2016. Photo by Lia Chang
Huang finds meaning and memories in atmospheric and spatially dissolving compositions. His paintings challenge a concrete understanding of their fleeting formal structures. Hurt creates relational and autonomous forms that connect to the viewer’s physical body, while breaking the mold of painting’s rectilinear support.
Paintings by Arlan Huang on view during Gowanus Arts Walk 2016 on October 16, 2016. Photo by Lia Chang
Artist Arlan Huang in his studio during Gowanus Arts Walk 2016 on October 16, 2016. Photo by Lia Chang
Arlan Huang
Arlan Huang was born in Bangor, Maine, USA in 1948. He grew up in San Francisco, California. He currently lives in Manhattan. He is a painter and glassblower with permanent glass installations in New York, San Francisco and Japan. Recent accolades include: Joan Mitchell Creating A Living Legacy (CALL) award, 2014; Artist-in-Residence in the grounds of Zenkoji Temple, air-zenkouji.com, Japan, 2015; interviewed by Robin Clark (SFMOMA) for the CALL/VoCA talk series.
Arlan Huang’s Studio
168 7th Street 2A
Brooklyn, NY 11215
718-499-1584
Visitors are encouraged to create their own self‐guided tours during this FREE event. The Arts Gowanus website features an Online Directory of Artists of all participating artists with samples of their art and includes an interactive map. Visitors can select artists to visit by perusing this directory or pick up a printed map throughout the neighborhood during the GOS 2016 weekend.
Paintings by Arlan Huang on view during Gowanus Arts Walk 2016 on October 16, 2016. Photo by Lia Chang
With the landscape of Brooklyn slowly changing for working artists, Gowanus remains one of the largest communities of visual artists, musicians, glassblowers, textile artists, graphic designers, and craftspeople. Today, Gowanus Open Studios is not only an opportunity for visitors in the tri‐state area to experience the diverse collection of creativity in the neighborhood, but also a symbol of artistic resilience in the face of unbridled real estate development and hyper‐gentriication. In addition to hosting Gowanus Open Studios, Arts Gowanus is working year‐round with city and local elected oficials to find ways to keep artists in Gowanus.
Lia Chang. Photo by Garth Kravits
Lia Chang is an actor, a multi-media content producer and co-founder of Bev’s Girl Films, making films that foster inclusion and diversity on both sides of the camera. Bev’s Girl Films’ debut short film, Hide and Seek was a top ten film in the Asian American Film Lab’s 2015 72 Hour Shootout Filmmaking Competition, and she received a Best Actress nomination. BGF collaborates with and produces multi-media content for artists, actors, designers, theatrical productions, composers, musicians and corporations. Lia is also an internationally published and exhibited photographer, a multi-platform journalist, and a publicist. Lia has appeared in the films Wolf, New Jack City, A Kiss Before Dying, King of New York, Big Trouble in Little China, The Last Dragon, Taxman and Hide and Seek. She is profiled in Jade Magazine and Playbill.com.
Lia Chang Photography 