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I am a visual artist and development economist based in Princeton, New Jersey, and part of the Princeton Makes artist co-op.
My paintings translate personal images to a range of realizations- from abstracted color and form to visual narratives of figures and landscapes. I draw upon my experiences growing up as a “third culture kid”, between Hangzhou, China and Manila, Philippines, as well as being frequently between cultures and places, as a first generation immigrant in the US. My recent paintings are based on childhood photographs of moving to the Philippines at age four.
From the starting point of the photograph, I tweak the composition and color to evoke the mood or memory behind the photo rather than recreate with accuracy. In a given painting, I am caught between two pursuits: how I may have viewed this experience as a child and how to imbue it with meaning and relevance now. Painting becomes a dual process of longing and excavation: accessing the childhood mind and processing those snapshot experiences and relationships through my current psychology, which alters elements of the original photo. I use acrylic and/or oil paint and vary the water or medium content of each brushstroke, resulting in different thickness of paint and transparency– through adding, blending, wiping, scraping away, and building up. Expressive brushstrokes evoke the textures of memory- at once sharp, elusive, and layered.
For inquiries and opportunities, please email: crystalhuang33@gmail.com