Today we’d like to introduce you to Kelly Zhong.
Hi Kelly, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I was born to a family of Chinese immigrants and thus pursuing a career in the arts was not something typical Asian parents would approve of. However, instead of cornering me to seek a career that was considered traditionally more “safe,” my parents encouraged me to pursue my passion for the arts. I obtained my BFA summa cum laude from the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) where I majored in General Fine Arts with a minor in Art History and a concentration in Curatorial Studies. After graduation, I continued with my art practice and exhibited my artwork at galleries including Maryland Art Place, the Sidney Larson Gallery, Seymour Art Gallery, Richmond Art Gallery, among others. My work is also in various private collections throughout Los Angeles, Washington D.C., Vancouver, Canada, and Florence, Italy.
I recently obtained my master’s degree in Museum Studies at New York University. Due to the pandemic, I had to complete my first year entirely online. It was a strange and difficult year learning and debating with my peers about the museum world while barely any institutions were open to the public. Yet, we made the best out of our situation and I made many meaningful connections during my program. For example, I had the opportunity to present a workshop at the annual National Partnership for Educational Access (NPEA) 2022 conference.
Currently, I am continuing to exhibit my artwork and strengthen my professional experience as a writer. I am co-writing a forthcoming book on 15 contemporary Latin American visual artists. It is a super exciting project and I really enjoy interviewing all the artists in the publication. I believe it is important to not only create artwork but also effectively communicate your thoughts and ideas to the world.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
My biggest challenge was experiencing imposter syndrome throughout various points in my career. It is also something that I still struggle with and am actively working to overcome. I was exhibiting my work in various exhibitions, but I had a difficult time believing in myself and I always felt like my work was not good enough. As well, it was a challenge trying to connect with my peers and faculty entirely over zoom during the first year of my master’s degree. I definitely experienced the worst of my imposter syndrome during this time, and I constantly felt like I was not as intelligent nor articulate compared to my classmates. However, I learned to be resilient during this time and was able to push past many of my insecurities through the support of my friends and family. I think the pandemic also taught me ways to foster connections with people and I gained many important interpersonal skills that I now use.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
My art practice investigates the role of relationships and the various forms they manifest within ourselves and others. My drawings express my emotions, thoughts, and reflections that I have experienced throughout various points in my life. I view my artwork as informal self-portraits – drawings that reflect parts of myself without ever showing actual facial features. Instead, I utilize body language to convey how I am feeling in certain events. From this ambiguity, I invite viewers to reflect on similar experiences and cast their own perspectives on the situation.
Do you have any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
A childhood memory that immediately comes to mind is one from when I was in first grade. I believe this event kickstarted my passion for drawing and I often think back to this memory when I reflect on my art practice. When I was a child, I was the shy and quiet student in all my classes. It was very difficult for me to make friends and I often felt like I did not fit in. However, my favorite time of the school day was during art period, and it was the only time where I felt comfortable and excited to be learning how to use new art materials or learning a new drawing technique. For one of our art periods that year, my teacher introduced us to oil pastels and taught us how to draw tulips. She walked us through the basic process of laying down the foundation for the flower on black paper but let us decide how we wanted to apply the colors and encouraged us to create our own unique flower. I decided to draw a more abstract tulip, opting to apply stripes of white, blue, pink, and green on the petals. I remember being super satisfied with how my drawing turned out, but I would never have guessed what happened next. A few weeks later, I was with my parents at the library located in my city’s community center. As we were walking through the center, I suddenly saw my drawing displayed amongst other drawings in our city’s annual student art exhibition. My parents and I stared in shock at my work hung before us and it was my first introduction to the concept of exhibiting your artwork. I felt super proud of having my artwork in the exhibition and through this small accomplishment, I gained confidence to participate during class and take more initiative to speak with my classmates during school. This exhibition opportunity also set my personal drive to create even more art and push myself to improve my drawing skills. I wanted to exhibit my artwork for even more people to see and connect with. Thus, I believe this experience in many ways is the beginning of my journey to pursue a career in the arts.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.behance.net/KellyZhong
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/k.zhongg.jpg/
