Nayeon Yang (she/they) is an interdisciplinary artist and social service worker based in Chicago. She moved to the US from S. Korea in 2006 at the age of 24. Experiencing the implied status of a 'foreigner' now in both countries, she explores the relations of systemic 'foreign(ness)' and 'presence' as well as capital and labor through her projects.
Yang has exhibited at different venues, including NIU art gallery, Hyde Park Art Center, Buddy at the Chicago Cultural Center, Chicago Artists Coalition, Roots and Culture, Co-Prosperity, apexart (New York City), Weston Gallery (Cincinnati), PAB Open (Bergen), Latitude 53 (Edmonton), and Rund Gallery (Seoul). Yang received an MFA in Sculpture from Ohio State University, where she had her University Fellowship and served as a Graduate Teaching Associate. She received a BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where she was a recipient of a merit fellowship, and is an alumna of residencies such as, Center Program, Hatch, High Concept Labs, ACRE, Wassaic Project, and others.
Recently, she was awarded an Individual Artists Program grant from the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, SPARK Grants from the Chicago Artists Coalition, and an Individual Artists Support Grant from the Illinois Arts Council Agency.
Featured Artworks
Inverse Proportion: Art as (not) Labor, 2023
Participatory/collaborative project: collections of artists' work hours, expenses, income, and work-in-progress videos
Image by Nayeon Yang
Inverse Proportion: Art as (not) Labor, 2023
Participatory/collaborative project: collections of artists' work hours, expenses, income, and work-in-progress videos
Image by Nayeon Yang
The Audience, 2021
Multi-channel video installation
Image by Nayeon Yang
Tomorrow's News, 2022
Two-channel video installation: four two-way mirror panels, and two projectors
Image by Nayeon Yang
A Night Visible to the Naked Eye, 2022
T-shirt sale and multi-channel video installation: Part one (t-shirt sale) in Chicago- Second-hand t-shirts made in Vietnam, Cambodia, Bangladesh,Indonesia, Guatemala, etc, five article excerpts about the exploitation of migrant workers written in Korean
Image by Nayeon Yang
A Night Visible to the Naked Eye (sample pages of brochure at the t-shirt sale), 2022
T-shirt sale and multi-channel video installation: Part one (t-shirt sale) in Chicago- Second-hand t-shirts made in Vietnam, Cambodia, Bangladesh,Indonesia, Guatemala, etc, five article excerpts about the exploitation of migrant workers written in Korean
Image by Nayeon Yang