Yowshien Kuo (b. 1985) is a Taiwanese American artist currently lives and works in St. Louis, MO. Yowshien’s practice blends memoir, history and criticism to investigate social and racial inequality, cultural structures, sexuality, and the human condition with reflections on being Asian American. Primarily working in painting, the imagery is intentionally playful, colorful, and flattened to draw viewers in to discover bitter truths veiled by presentation of a comical world that appears fiction. Kuo’s practice is a response to the loss of individuality to those who identify as Asian or other, and the psychological alienation that appears innocuous within the confines of normalcy. Kuo often uses his own body as a vessel to depict both the delusions of escapism and power. Drawing inspiration from trending media, reality shows, movies, and the art history canon in an effort to question authenticity, inclusion, and ownership.