YEN YEN CHOU

 Yen Yen Chou is an artist based in Taipei and Brooklyn. She graduated from Pratt Institute with an M.F.A. in Painting and Drawing in 2018. Yen Yen has participated in a number of group exhibitions at spaces including The Boiler | Pierogi Gallery, Brooklyn, NY; Tiger Strikes Asteroid, Brooklyn, NY; A.I.R. Gallery, Brooklyn, NY; Chinatown Soup, New York, NY; Gallery Cubed, New York, NY; and Prince Street Gallery, New York, NY. She has also curated shows at SPRING/BREAK Art Show New York City and Tutu Gallery in Brooklyn, NY.

Hi Yen Yen! Thanks for joining me for Mint Tea. To begin, what’s your favorite tea? If you don’t drink tea, what kind of coffee or drink do you enjoy the most?

I drink coffee more often than tea. I love a good foaming cappuccino or just a strong black coffee. I sometimes drink tea during the weekends with my parents because my dad makes oolong and other kinds of green tea for me and my mom. So I like both, but I drink coffee more often.

Could you tell me about your background and your practice?

I grew up in Taipei, Taiwan, and then in undergrad, I studied learning and materials of design, which is something between education and graphic design. During my sophomore year, I went to Oklahoma for an exchange student program, and there I took two semesters of classes with other graphic design students. It was there that I actually took an acrylic painting class, and I really enjoyed it. The professor, he also encouraged me to pursue making art, and recommended to me that maybe I can consider going to New York for grad school. So I went back to Taiwan and applied for grad school, and I went to Pratt, in Brooklyn, New York, for an MFA in painting and drawing for two years. That's kind of how I got into art and how I started working and living in New York. Now I make more watercolor, here in Taiwan. I used to make more acrylic paintings, which I hope I can get back to soon, because I still have some of my stuff in New York.

For my work, I would say it's like an imaginary world that starts from my obsession with food, especially with sweets and snacks. Because I think they're something that we don't necessarily need in our lives, but still, we want them, and we eat them, and we find so much joy, sometimes for me by just looking at their packaging. That's why I also collect food packaging. I remember growing up in Taiwan, I would go to supermarkets and bakeries with my parents and look at all the colorful and eye-catching sweets and breads and pastries. I find it curious that I still want to eat them, even though they don't always taste as good as they look. At the at the same time, the more I look at their shapes, and the more I look at them, they kind of become more and more abstract and they will turn into something else. Could be like a plant, an animal, or a face, or other objects. And sometimes they remain as shapes, waiting for me to discover and connect them with other thoughts in my mind, or something else that might pop up anytime. So by making the paintings and sculptures of them, I started to explore the ideas of obsession and repetition, and the relationship between the natural and the artificial, kind of seeking different ways to see things in our daily lives.

What projects are you working on right now?

Right now, I have been doing this ongoing series called “Cloudscape.” They're smaller watercolor paintings, and for me they're kind of like a visual diary, and the moments I want to remember. Also I'm working on bigger watercolor paintings about sweets and food, like cakes and pancakes. I'm kind of just creating my own world using my imagination, since food is how I enter that world of unknown for me. I'm also trying to make sculptural paintings, because I like to work flat on paper with watercolor, but I also want to see if I can combine with something three-dimensional. I'm using air dry clay for now, and we'll see how that goes, because I haven't really painted on the surface yet.

I am the most familiar with your sculptures and watercolor paintings. Can you talk about how and why you choose to work with the media that you do?

Watercolor, for me, I think it's more straightforward, and it feels more direct when you paint with it. I like that the surface is flat, but because of the paint, you can still create like depth from a watery paint. Also, it’s just faster for me to work with, because I find that when I paint on canvas, I got sometimes intimidated. I kind of give myself a lot of pressure when painting on canvas because I just want it to be perfect and I hope it turns out the way I want it to turn out. But the process is always messy, and it really takes me a lot longer to work on canvas than working on paper with watercolor. That's also why I choose to work with watercolor for now, but I definitely want to make larger paintings on canvas, because it's harder to use a really big paper and make big watercolor works.

The sculptures, I think it’s because I'm interested in so many things, and I want to try so many things out. For me, I can't use the day just painting. I need something else to accompany my other ideas. I think for the sculptures, it really helps expand my practice, and I feel like sculptures can achieve something that you can't do in painting. And the same with painting, some things you really can’t make in sculpture, but you can make it in a painting. So I feel I really need to make both, something three-dimensional, something two-dimensional. Still trying to find a balance and also trying to mix the two together.

What’s your painting process like? What inspires your images? 

Drawing is really important for me, and I think it’s the most important thing, because I need to write my ideas down or draw them so that I know what to do. Sometimes, I Google for some of the reference photos, for real food. I also take pictures – I have a lot of pictures in my phone that I use as a reference or an idea, like maybe someday I will use that for my next work. I just draft them on paper, and for the smaller watercolor paintings, I don't really do a color draft, I just think of what kind of mood that I want the work to have, and then start from there. Before the bigger watercolor paintings and some of the acrylic paintings, I would do a color draft in Adobe Illustrator to see if the colors work together. I think that helps, because you get to change different colors and see how they react and how it makes the work look.

I see images of pancakes, ice cream cones, and cake slices in your works. What about those specific foods were you attracted to?

I would say for pancakes and ice cream, I think it starts from when I was little. When I think about ice cream and sweets from the Western world that I desire, I think about how before, I thought the Western world was better, and I kind of wanted to know more about it. Also, I just really like to eat pancakes, whether I’m in Taiwan or when I go to New York, I really like to eat pancakes. And in general, I just like their shapes more than their taste. There's something actually sculptural and architectural to me, because they're all made of basic shapes, like circles and triangles. And I think from there, because they're all basic shapes, I see them a lot in my daily life as well, so I kind of connect the two, connect the food and imagine it turn into something else or create a world out of it. I love taking pictures of the outside of cake shops. You see different shapes of the cakes and different flavors, and I really love that.  Also for snacks, I collect packaging, because I really like how the shapes and patterns come together when you put all of them together.

What is your favorite kind of pancake, and flavor of ice cream? I am obsessed with ice cream myself.

The ice cream that I like is from Van Leeuwen. I don't have that very often because they're more on the expensive side for me, but I do love that Van Leeuwen. I love the Earl Grey tea flavor and honeycomb. Those two are my favorite. For the pancakes, I like to have them plain with whipped cream and syrup. Sometimes I like chocolate chip, if it's gooey inside.

Can you talk about any other imagery or symbols that you like to work with?

Things that are related to nature, like clouds, and raindrops, and recently flowers, and rainbows, and also mushrooms, those are some of the recurring subjects in my work. I love like the idea of the clouds and how they look, because whenever I look into the sky, I can also imagine them becoming different things. This ever-changing nature definitely gives me freedom to transform the shapes, but it also reminds me of the unpredictability of our life. In the “Cloudscape” series, I kind of assemble, floating and cloud-like shapes and try to remember and document the fleeting moments in life, whether they're like sweet, or bitter, or clear, or ambiguous. For raindrops, it’s kind of the same because I feel like we're all connected, we all need nature a lot more than we think we need. So by exploring the artificial and the natural world, I try to find connections. I'm really interested in the potential of all things to become something else. That's why I'm trying to do, and by using my imagination and observing the world around me and collecting different things, I'm kind of just creating my own world, but through food or nature.

Can you tell me about your sculpture process? How did it start?

When I was at Pratt, I took this foundry class, which was super cool. That professor, because we had to make a mold, he introduced us to this company called Smooth-On. They have a lot of different mold-making materials and sculptural stuff. I decided to make a huge pancake sculpture when I was preparing for my exhibition solo exhibition at Chinatown Soup in November 2019. I wanted it to really feel like a pancake, so people can touch it. I thought of that material, but I had never used it before. So I went to The Compleat Sculptor in Manhattan. They sell all different kinds of all different kinds of materials for making sculptures, so I bought it and I tried it. It's two liquids, and when you mix the liquids together, they expand, and the one that I chose expands 10 to 15 times. I really mix the liquid, and then pour them on a plastic sheet, because you can peel it all off from the plastic sheet. So I was kind of really making pancakes. The process was really fun. For the ice cream ones that hang on the wall, I also mix some pigments that the company makes specifically for adding in the foam. It's easier to pour like a round shape, because you just pour from the middle, but to pour the ice cream cone triangle, I think I did it by making a little wall using a plastic sheet, so that it would stay in that shape. So that's how I started using that flexible urethane foam.

Can you talk about the relationship between your painting practice and your installation and sculptural works? How does working in multiple media affect your practice?

I think that I get to think about all the aspects of, let's say, a pancake. I can think about all the different possibilities to display a work with pancakes or develop an idea based on what kind of material I want to make it with. Maybe I want to make it in a painting, but I can also make it into a sculpture, and from the sculpture maybe I have another idea, and then I'll make another painting, and then I go back to sculpture. Yeah, so I need both of them to kind of support each other. But still, painting and drawing is still the core of my practice. I will say sculpture is more like an experiment for me.

What is your favorite color? Does it find its way into your artworks?

Well, my favorite color changes from time to time. Right now, I will say blue is my favorite. I like grayish blue, but in my work, the colors are more vibrant. When I'm making work, I tend to use as many colors as I can, I think because I like to see how they interact with each other. But at one time, pink was my favorite color, so it changes.

Is there a new medium that you would like to try or to work in more?

Yeah, I would like to experiment more with the foam and see if I can make a shaped foam painting, sculptural paintings. Also the air dry clay that I mentioned, because I want to have the color be like watercolor, but on a three dimensional form. And I actually took a slipcasting class when I was at Pratt, so I made I've made a ceramic cast teapot before, and I really enjoyed doing that. Someday I would like to make more molds and do more testing.

Where are you located now? Do you think your location influences your practice? 

Right now I'm currently at home in Taipei. I think that change of location has definitely influenced my practice since what I see every day is different. The food I eat is different and the snacks I see at 7-Eleven are different. I don't think it's going to show in my work immediately, the difference, but I think, for me, well, we change all the time.

How do you think the food culture is different in Taipei?

I think food really connects people, and we enjoy the moment when we're having something very delicious. Have you watched like, mukbang videos? I'm also very interested in that, like, why do people do that, and how do they display their food? I think it's a really important cultural thing. I know food is important everywhere, but especially in Taiwan. When people say, “Oh, what do you recommend? What's good about Taiwan?” I always say that we have really good food, like people really care about food here. We're proud of our night markets and stuff. I think that's also why I got really interested in snacks and more specifically interested in sweets and pastries.

How do you stay connected to your community?

Well, I made a lot of good friends when I was at Pratt, and now we still talk to each other and show works to each other. For example, me and my friend, Rachel Cohen, who's a really great artist, we both curated a room at SPRING/BREAK Art Fair last March. I think that's how we keep connected. Also, I try to look at the works of the other artists on Instagram, and hopefully, if they're in New York and they have a show, I will go see their show, and maybe talk to them.

What’s your favorite tool?

I appreciate a good brush, like a thin brush when I do the details. And also, like a silicone palette knife, I really like using them to mix colors, because that's what we used at Chinatown Soup when I was there.

What is the space where you do your work?

So, definitely the supermarket. I love going to supermarkets and taking pictures for documentation. Yeah, because I can't buy everything. Right now I'm working at my home studio. It’s basically my room that I once shared with my older sister when we were little. I'm doing mostly works on paper, so I don't need a really big space.

Do you have any ritual that helps you get into the zone?

Well, in the morning, I make myself a coffee, and sometimes I play some music. Other than that, I just get into work.

When do you know when you are finished with your artwork or a body of work?

As I'm making like a watercolor painting I know it's finished when the whole image looks balanced to me. And for the larger paintings, the same, but for the larger work I have a colored draft, so I know when I'm really done because I have something more specific to look to look at.

Who are your favorite practicing artists?

Well, there are really so, so many, but the big names: Claes Oldenburg, I really love his ice cream and cake sculptures. Julie Curtiss, I love her work and she's super nice. I'm a big fan of hers and I talked to her at first time at the open studio where she was doing a residency at Sharpe-Walentas. Nicolas Party. This artist Kevin McNamee-Tweed, he made ceramic works on slabs. I just love all of his work because it reminds me of watercolor. Matthew Palladino, I love, love, love his watercolor works. He paints nature and plants and stuff like skeletons together. And also ASMA. Mary Herbert, who makes works using soft pastel, I believe, on paper. And this artist Ebecho Muslimova, she makes these big paintings, and I think her paintings feel really good. And last one Mark Librizzi, his drawings and paintings are also good, and he also makes furniture, like chairs. So I really love his work. I love looking at other people's artwork.

What gives you the feeling of butterflies in your stomach?

Well, when talking to an artist who I had admired for a long time, like Julie Curtiss. Yeah, I was so nervous, but also very happy after talking to her. I love discovering new snacks, too, so let me know if you find anything interesting.

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