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WORD PLAY

FEB 7-27

MAY YANG



Opening Second Friday, Feb 7, 5-8pm

Continuing through Feb 27, 2025.

Gallery hours after opening: Thursdays 5-8pm, Saturdays 1-5pm

Liggett Studio is a located at 314 S Kenosha, Tulsa, OK 74120


Artist Statement

I investigate language and communication utilizing a vocabulary drawn from typography and

handwriting. This work takes the form of colorful abstract paintings.

Growing up as a first-generation Asian American in Oklahoma, I encountered cultural contrasts

and communication barriers within my own family, further amplified by language differences.

My frustrations fueled my artistic journey, and art became my method for processing and

reconciling these intercultural challenges.


My artistic process is influenced by my background in printmaking. I begin with digital

sketches, trace the finished compositions onto panel, then complete the final painting. Words

exist at the heart of each work I create. These source words are digitally cut, resized, and

obscured into new compositions, resulting in paintings that are vibrantly colored, active in

composition, and reminiscent of a hidden language. The physical act of painting serves as a

cathartic and compulsive ritual. The act of continually redrawing the composition (digitally, in

tracing, and finally in paint) is integral to the process, mirroring the degradation of

communication over time.


I view my artwork as a springboard for shared conversation, helping bridge gaps of isolation by

reaching people on an intuitive level.


Artist Bio  

May Yang is a Tulsa based artist, printer, designer, and business owner. She uses typographic  and calligraphic elements as the building blocks to creating colorful, abstract paintings. 


May graduated from the Maryland Institute College of Art in 2008. While there, she interned for  Dolphin Press & Print, the school's print workshop, where she assisted in printing editions for  Jon Rappleye, Jane Kent and Faith Ringgold. Continuing her interest in collaborative  printmaking, May attended the Tamarind Institute of Lithography in Albuquerque, New Mexico  and earned her Professional Printer’s Certificate. May has participated in a number of juried  and invitational group shows including IPCNY New Prints, OVAC’s 24 Works on Paper, and  Momentum Tulsa Spotlight.  

Following a long hiatus from creating personal work, May fell in love with painting murals and  found it to be a gateway to developing a creative practice again.  


Outside of her art, May owns Flash Flood Print Studios, Tulsa’s artist-led, community driven  print shop.

May Yang – mayyang.com 


"made possible with support from the Artist Creative Fund



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