Arthur Huang is a conceptual artist from the United States. For almost ten years, he’s called Tokyo home. He founded Art Byte Critique in 2012. You can read more about Arthur here. In this interview Arthur talks about his work, inspiration and studio practice.
Do you have a favourite color or color palette?
I tend towards monochrome in my work. This is usually black on white, but I also like other single colors on white. I like the simplicity of one color in my work which allows me and the viewer to focus on the line, shape and forms in the work.
Is there a book or a film that influenced you?
I am currently reading Alexander Chee’s How To Write An Autobiographical Novel which has been really interesting in terms of understanding how the creative process is used to explore personal issues and relationships.
What music/album are you currently listening to?
I currently have Perfume’s Future Pop and Hoshino Gen’s Pop Virus on heavy rotation.
Do you have a favourite artist?
It is hard to narrow down the list to one artist, so I will give you a list in no particular order. On Kawara, Alison Knowles, Tom Friedman, Sarah Sze, Tim Hawkinson, Julie Mehretu, Chiharu Shiota, Yoko Ono, and Matthew Ritchie.
Explain your work in up to 40 words.
Working in the gap between science and art, I am making work that explores the notion of mundane everyday memories and activities by using my body and behaviors as the basis for that exploration.
Do you pursue any themes? If so what?
Memory, the everyday, remnants, and place are among the themes that have resonated in my studio practice over the years.
Describe your studio practice? Do you have any habits or rituals when producing art?
My studio practice has two components. The first is based in the everyday. Drawing, collages, and photography have been part of my daily studio practice over the last couple years. I do not see them as an endpoint, but rather a way to keep myself engaged in my studio practice on a daily basis. The collective work from my everyday practice helps to spur internal and external dialogues about my work. It has been interesting to see this everyday studio practice lead to larger ideas and projects even though the intention of these practices has just been to engaged my eye and hand.
Describe your studio practice? Do you have any habits or rituals when producing art?
My studio practice has two components. The first is based in the everyday. Drawing, collages, and photography have been part of my daily studio practice over the last couple years. I do not see them as an endpoint, but rather a way to keep myself engaged in my studio practice on a daily basis. The collective work from my everyday practice helps to spur internal and external dialogues about my work. It has been interesting to see this everyday studio practice lead to larger ideas and projects even though the intention of these practices has just been to engaged my eye and hand.
The other component of my studio practice is project and site-specific based which allows me to work on larger ideas that stem from my everyday studio practice as well as integrate the space that is being used for exhibition. These projects tend to be dialogues between myself and the space, myself and the curator, and ultimately myself and the work.
How long have you been working in the medium used for your work for In The Details?
I have been using photography as medium off and on for the last six or seven years. I usually pursue photographic projects with a defined endpoint just as a given time period, a particular space, or a certain behavior.
What do you like about this medium and what are its challenges?
The portability and immediacy of digital photography are the main drawn for me. I do not think that I am a particularly good photographer in the traditional or contemporary sense and do not to call myself a photographer. Rather, I use photography as a tool to capture of my way of seeing which feeds into other aspects of my studio practice.
Could you talk about your creative process for responding to the theme of In The Details? Did your idea come to you right away? Did you have to experiment a lot?
I originally thought of making some new work based on either the Memory Walks Project or the Daily Drawings Project to respond to the theme. However, I had forgotten about this series of works which I completed for my “Everyday Circuits” exhibition at Gallery Camellia in 2016. I realized that this work resonates with the theme of “In the Details” and thought it would be a great opportunity to share this series of work again in lieu of my other more exhibited projects.
One of the things I would like the viewers of my work in the exhibition to take away is to take note of the spaces that we occupy. The photographs I am exhibiting are located in the unnoticed spaces of Gallery Camellia, but I hope that visitors to our exhibition will take note of the unnoticed spaces of Gallery LeDeco and make discoveries on their own. Who knows, you may find me taking photographs in the gallery when I am in the space to start a new series of works.
In The Details 
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