Today we’d like to introduce you to Shih Hao Kuo.
Shih Hao, please kick things off for us by telling us about yourself and your journey so far.
I was born in Taiwan and South East Asia, now I reside in Cambridge, Massachusetts. I always loved engulfing myself in nature yet loved strolling in and around classic metropolitan areas like Boston, and Hong Kong. My intertwined relationship with art however, had long begun with creating objects out of Lego pieces as a mere 5-year-old. It was then I discovered creating things thru my own vision, or translating it into art. That in turn, brought me to my first art class in high school, then to courses in College.
In some ways, my vision of art had always been influenced by the simplicity of the Buddhist philosophy, as well as loving the expression of color, and contrasting flows like the bustling Kathmandu. My great influencers are likes of Pablo Picasso, Vincent Van Gogh and of course Henri Matisse.
I started painting professionally in 2016, and it is now my passion and mission to share my art with the world. I create works that focus on the energy of color and strokes, with the hope of imprinting an emotional connection and emphasis into my art. My preferred medium is oil painting because it allows me to build expressions with heavy textural brushes. I find honest joy in layering with oil paint, each session fuels my excitement for the next, knowing it’s that much closer to the vision filled up in my head wanting to get out.
Can you give our readers some background on your art?
My main focus and medium is on oil painting, the color, the ability to manipulate texture had always fascinated me. It’s a type of medium that can be done methodically or completely go nuts, I guess it’s this range of ability of oil painting that keeps me working with it.
My style/angle has always been impressionist and abstract. In my earlier days I focused on abstract a lot, then now its impressionist while searching for what’s my own art stroke.
The topics that gets me going must matter for me at a personal level, whether I must learn or associate myself with it. Feeling attached and understand what I want to portray is a necessity to my painting. Once I get a grasp of the feeling I’m searching for, then I try to paint that into my work.
I hope to not only share my painting visually, but love to engage viewers at a thoughtful and mindful level. I welcome all to study and feel what I went thru during my creative process.
Do you think conditions are generally improving for artists? What more can cities and communities do to improve conditions for artists?
Life as an artist is always an uphill climb, it is always highly competitive not much of that has changed today, we are all trying to create our own style and stroke, same as always. Boston is a highly competitive city for sure! It’s a city full of artists and scholars, so to create a name here is very challenging. This city does have a very lively art history and culture, in which helps to have a large art following and potential market. I think what is most exciting is the strength of our local venues and businesses, that do their part to support artists with local platforms to showcase and display work.
I think cities like Boston and Cambridge can think of more public rotating art shows around the city. May be offer more art focused festivals in parks during the warmer seasons. I feel that SOWA was a great start to build a solid foundation for art economy, now we need to focus on broader outlet for artists that may not necessarily have a gallery or studio backing.
What’s the best way for someone to check out your work and provide support?
I use my Instagram and my blog (on my website) to communicate to the public about my inspirations and work in progress, I encourage people to support me by following my blog and place custom orders with images or topics that matters most to them.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.kuoshstudio.com
- Phone: 303.523.3262
- Email: kuoshstudio@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kuoshstudio/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kuoshstudio
- Other: www.etsy.com/shop/kuosh
Image Credit:
Artist: Shih Hao Kuo
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