Ya-Chu Kang
Ya-Chu Kang (b. Taiwan) is a multidisciplinary artist whose practice unfolds between Taipei and Bangkok. Her work moves across materiality, embodied perception, and cultural structures, drawing upon textile histories as both medium and methodology to explore the intertwined relationships between craft, labor, and knowledge production.
Her research is situated within the conditions of migration and mobility, attending to how life experiences are shaped within ever-shifting social, economic, and cultural frameworks. The notion of "boundaries" recurs throughout her practice as a generative field—both demarcating and connective. In this context, sustainability is not merely a thematic concern, but a condition continually negotiated and reflected upon through material practice.
Kang's work spans textiles, drawing, and photography, often manifesting as spatial installations. She employs materials such as paper, yarn, natural dyes, and found or recycled objects to construct hybrid assemblages that oscillate between anatomical structures and botanical forms. These forms navigate the terrain between the body's internal architecture and the generative logics of the natural world, opening up a reconsideration of the relationships between body, material, and environment.
Kang is a recipient of the Freeman Fellowship at the Vermont Studio Center (2007), the Asian Cultural Council Fellowship (2008), and the Lung Yingtai Cultural Foundation Fellowship (2014), and was an artist-in-residence at Cité Internationale des Arts, Paris (2025). Her work is held in the collections of Jyväskylä Art Museum, Finland, and the Taiwan Art Bank, as well as in private collections across Taiwan, Thailand, the United States, and Canada. She continues to develop her practice across diverse cultural contexts, foregrounding the interrelations between material flows, embodied experience, and cultural production.
- Location France / Paris
- Year of the Grant 2024
- Residency Cité Internationale des Arts
- Work Dirt Carpet - 18
- Personal Website Ya-Chu Kang's Personal Website
I stayed for almost half a year at Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris. The residency hosts monthly events open to all resident artists. These are usually guided by the curators or by museum staff, offering insights and a chance to ask questions. This is something that you can't get if you go by yourself. It is also an opportunity to meet other artists at the residency and engage with fellow resident artists. The residency organized art lectures inviting professionals in the industry to come and talk about the French art world, such as tax and administrative matters and tips on how to work with commercial galleries and museums. Other examples include workshops on how to present artwork portfolios and talks on the French art ecosystem, so that visiting artists better understand the realities of working as an artist in France.
The best thing about Paris is that there are so many museums, galleries, and art centers. There is a huge variety of exhibitions. Textile-based artwork can be easily found. Artistic explorations of identity, subjectivity, and political correctness, together with immersive approaches to present grand artistic visions and techniques are also very common. During my time here I learned Luneville embroidery and hosted an open studio to display the sketches, paintings, and objects I researched. I presented my work Dirt Carpet - 18 during my residency and received a lot of positive feedback.
It was a very busy and fulfilling five-month stay for me in Paris. I absorbed a great deal of knowledge. Besides learning new things, I was also producing art, writing and documenting, socializing, and marketing myself as an artist. I did not get to meet French curators as previously expected to initiate potential collaborations or future exhibitions. But the residency had a lasting influence on me and will continue to help make my artistic research more complete.
Author: Ya-Chu Kang
Edited: Brix