Artist Bio

I’m Jean Huang, a Taiwan-born visual artist living in Vancouver. I work mainly in oil and gouache, painting children with porcelain-like skin and a quiet, slightly surreal presence. My scenes often look gentle at first glance, but there’s always a small twist hidden inside — something tender, something uneasy.

I grew up in Taiwan, later completed my MFA at Tufts University, and eventually settled in Canada. Moving through different cultures and roles shaped how I look at childhood and adulthood. Being an educator and a mother made me pay closer attention to the way children build their own logic, while adults keep pretending they already understand theirs.

My inspirations come from small memories, family tensions, and the odd details in everyday life. I’m influenced by Yoshitomo Nara’s raw honesty and the loneliness in his figures, as well as Mark Ryden’s polished, uncanny worlds. Their work reminds me that softness and strangeness can sit side by side, and that a painting doesn’t need to explain itself to feel true.

In my studio, I start with a thin wash to set the mood, then build the surface slowly with transparent layers. I spend time shaping gestures and expressions until they feel alive but still a little unreal. I do sketch digitally always, but the real decisions only happen on the canvas.

What I hope to share through these children is a quiet kind of recognition. Most of us carry something unresolved from childhood, even if we don’t talk about it. My paintings stay quiet, but they don’t stay polite.

When I’m not painting, I’m usually observing the children I work with — their stubbornness, logic, chaos, and sudden tenderness. They give me more ideas than they realize.

You can find my work on Instagram @jeanhuangart.