Ya-Ting Kao 高雅婷

 YA-TING KAO

Fueled by her curiosity of history and ancient cultures, Kao is invested in finding connections between her personal experience and broader historical narratives to draw imaginary maps that outline those relations. She is interested in questions like “what forms one’s identity?” and “what changes it?”.  She has worked with various media such as painting and installation, often incorporating found images, press photos, domestic photos, and drawings, to frame up the uncertainty of self-identity. Recently, she introduced new fiber-based materials and techniques to her work. She chose the time-consuming and repetitive methods of tufting, flocking, beadwork, and embroidery to construct narratives of individual experiences and identity changes.

In her most recent series, drawing from her personal life experiences, the artist seeks to address the realities and mythologies around motherhood and dreams, highlighting the feminine narratives and inner emotions within social structures. Kao weaves a worldview that encompasses mysterious origin stories, references from ancient cultures, and emotional energy. She intertwines her own pregnancy experience with research on myths, beliefs, dreams, DNA studies, and the deities of motherhood from various prehistoric cultures. An extension of her existing painting practice, Kao aims to evoke tactile sensations by introducing techniques such as tufting, embroidery and patchwork.

Ya-Ting Kao (b. 1981) received her M.F.A in painting from Taipei National University of the Arts in 2021. Her solo exhibitions The Imitation of Faith and Dorothy Crash both received Tai-Hsin Art Award nomination. She was chosen for the Asian Artist Scholarship of Vermont Studio Center in 2012 and for the M.I.T project in ART TAIPEI art fair in 2011. She had solo museum exhibitions at Chiayi Art Museum, Chiayi, Taiwan; Hong-gah Museum, Taipei, Taiwan; Kuandu Museum of Fine Arts, Taipei, Taiwan; The Museum of Contemporary Art Taipei; National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts, Taichung, Taiwan; Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts, Kaohsiung, Taiwan; Keelung Fine Art Museum, Taipei, Taiwan; amongst numerous other gallery exhibitions. Her work is in the collection of the Taoyuan Museum of Fine Art, Taoyuan, Taiwan; National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts, Taichung, Taiwan; and Shung Ye Museum of Formosan Fine Arts. Kao works and lives in Taipei.

Exhibition