the horrors persist, 2025, 24” x 24”, Acrylic on canvas

If you've spent time in Portland's art scene over the past few years, you've likely crossed paths with Yuyang Zhang's work, and once you have, it's hard to forget. Yuyang is a painter who draws on melodrama, camp, and the endless scroll of pop culture and internet "brainrot" to explore his experience as a queer Chinese artist living in America. His paintings take a sharp, often funny look at the gap between the American dream and how it actually plays out, while a quieter body of work turns inward, using personal objects and symbolism to explore queer intimacy and cultural identity.

It's been a busy year for Yuyang. This spring he showed in Dedication, curated by Tammy Jo Wilson at the Center for Contemporary Art & Culture at PNCA, and in THE BASED at Contrast Gallery. This summer he opened his solo exhibition, everything makes me unconscious, at Nine Gallery. Below, Yuyang talks about his favorite Portland galleries, his early-morning studio routine, the podcasts (and car review videos!) that keep him company while he paints, and the three words that best describe his work.

Ashley Gifford: What are your favorite galleries in Portland, and what keeps you coming back to them?

Yuyang Zhang: Nationale and Adams and Ollman. I always look forward to the exhibitions they put on and artists they bring in to town. I also love that Nationale is a gallery plus bookstore hybrid place where I can browse and pick up books I love while checking out exhibitions. Plus both May from Nationale and Amy from Adams and Ollman are always a delight to talk to.

AG: Tell us about your studio practice. How often are you in the studio, what does a typical session look like, and how does it fit into your day-to-day life?

YZ: I am a painter who uses melodrama and pop cultural ephemera to depict lived experiences as a queer alien and social commentary around the American fantasy and reality. In my paintings, I parody my experience as a queer Chinese outsider. I focus on pop culture and internet "brainrot" to construct melodramas that confront the gap between the American dream and its lived reality. I am also exploring queer intimacy and cultural identity through paintings of subjects and objects that hold personal meaning. These paintings contrast with my more socially critical works. They look inward, using symbolism to explore queer intimacy and cultural identity.

I try to be in the studio every day for at least an hour. My attention span is short these days, so breaking a studio session into smaller chunks works better for me. I often go into the studio in the morning before work, since I find myself much sharper during the early hours. The studio is situated in my apartment, so it is easy for me to get comfortable and slot in time to work there.

Yuyang Zhang, photographed by Gordon Patterson.

AG: What are you listening to, in the studio or out of it?

YZ: I listen to a lot of podcasts and put on car review youtube videos when I work lately. Occasionally I will also put on a TV show in the background. Some of the podcasts I like include Today Explained, The Vergecast, The Carmudgeneon Show, and Las Culturistas.

AG: Outside of making art, what brings you joy or makes your life feel full?

YZ: Walking around in the neighborhood, reading, exercising, cooking, and grocery shopping.

AG: What are your top three colors?

Dark red, dark green and brown.

AG: Describe your art in three to five words.

Melodramatic, campy, queer and covertly serious.

See more of Yuyang’s work online and on Instagram.