Yowshien Kuo 郭耀賢 United States, 1985

Yowshien Kuo (b. 1985) is a multidisciplinary artist based in St. Louis, United States. Growing up between the American Midwest and Taiwan—straddling two cultures, orbiting between one world and another, permeated the deeper recesses of what would inform his artistic language.

His surreal, colorful paintings are made up of fine brushstrokes and a smooth acrylic finish. Kuo’s work is layered with symbols that embrace multi-faceted interpretations from both Eastern and Western traditions, a practice that reflects his personal experience as a Taiwanese American with historical references and criticism to comment on social and racial inequality, cultural constructs, sexuality, and the human condition.

Kuo earned his Master of Fine Arts from Fontbonne University in 2014 and has exhibited at The Contemporary Art Museum in St. Louis, including the Teen Museum Studies Gallery and as a recipient of the 2022 Great Rivers Biennial Award. He also exhibited at The Tucson Museum of Art in Arizona in 2022, and The Bates Museum of Art in Maine in 2024. His work has been acquired into the collections at the Cantor Arts Museum at Stanford University, and the Dallas Museum of Art.