Undergraduate Alumnus Oscar yi Hou (CC '21) in Solo Show 'A sky-licker relation'

Alumnus of the Undergraduate Visual Arts Program Oscar yi Hou (CC ’21) is featured in the solo show A sky-licker relation at James Fuentes Gallery. A sky-licker relation is the artist’s first in-person solo show following an exhibition of his works on paper at JamesFuentes.Online earlier this year.

Following in the tradition of other great portrait artists such as Alice Neel and Jordan Casteel, yi Hou’s paintings “record... the relationship shared between the sitter and the artist." The vibrant canvases “offer a testament to living alongside others. Made over the past year and a half, these works mark the importance and influence of nearness; the being-with of a queer lifeworld.” 

The artist’s work functions within a large web of relations and references. The show’s name derives from Aimé Césaire's poem "Cahier d'un retour au pays natal," which yi Hou first came across in Frantz Fanon’s Wretched of the Earth. A hybridity of identity is also at play in these works which fuse “the Chinese calligraphic tradition with graffiti seen on the streets of New York.” This show announces a bright new voice on the art scene.

Oscar yi Hou received his BA at Columbia University. His work has appeared at T293 Gallery, Rome, Italy; Half Gallery, New York; Rachel Uffner, New York; and Kohn Gallery, Los Angeles; among others.

A sky-licker relation is on view through September 26, 2021.