Ten Relevant Works of Art by Asian American Artists
Written by Kimberly Saenz | May 20, 2026
For AAPI Heritage Month, we are pleased to feature ten works of art, both historical and contemporary, created by Asian American, Pacific Islander, and Native Hawaiian artists. While art still has the attention of the masses following the most recent art history inspired Met-Gala, let us take our attention away from Jeff Bozos-funded events, and instead focus on the artists listed below.
1. Stroking the Cat, Xu Beihong, 1924, oil on canvas
Xu Beihong, sometimes referred to as Ju Péon, (1895-1963), was born in Jiangsu Province, China. A groundbreaking painter and educator of 20th century China, his signature subject was the horse, but his oeuvre spanned epic Chinese themes; he traveled extensively, learning and teaching Western techniques upon his return to China. Known as the father of modern Chinese painting and one of “The Four Great Academy Presidents,” he balanced tradition while implementing modern and multicultural methods of painting. In this tenebrous oil painting, we present Stroking the Cat, which he painted while attending the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. This hyperrealistic portrait tenderly pictures Xu, and his wife Jiang Biwei, (who was an artist herself), as she holds their poised, white cat in her arms.
2. Bride’s Toilet, Amrita Sher-Gil, 1937, oil on canvas
Born in Budapest, Hungary to a Punjabi Sikh father and a Hungarian Jewish mother, Amrita Sher-Gil, (1913-1941), was a pivotal painter of the Modernist movement in India. She is sometimes called the “Indian Frida Kahlo,” but in the interest of respecting her life story and accomplishments, she is her own icon here. The above painting is inspired by the traditional Ajanta murals, (ancient cave murals or rock-cut pictorial paintings), and like much of her work, pictures women of rural India. She began painting from the age of five and studied at the École des Beaux-Arts when she was only 16. Although her diverse background and technical skill were made up of both traditional and European methods of painting, she often expressed longing for India and would eventually return there to continue her art. Another richly colored and detailed painting of hers entitled, Young Girls, resulted in her recognition as the youngest artist and first Asian up for election as an Associate of the Grand Salon in Paris in 1933.
3. My Man,Yasuo Kuniyoshi, 1943, casein on board
Another preeminent 20th century modernist painter, photographer, and printmaker, Yasuo Kuniyoshi, (1889-1953), was born in Okayama, but emigrated to New York alone, still only a teenager. His use of playful and eccentric scale, proportion, and color is juxtaposed by moody, intimate scenes, such as in, My Man. This painting depicts a woman embracing a sailor, perhaps a goodbye embrace, painted at a time when many people, including Japanese Americans, enlisted and served in war efforts. Having assimilated into American life and culture during the tumultuous World War II, Yasuo Kuniyoshi was denied US citizenship and labeled an “enemy alien” following Pearl Harbor, leading to a shift in the subjects and the tone of his work. Despite this, his artwork aided American propaganda efforts, and he continued to strive for citizenship. Upon considering his removal from this list following research into his propaganda work for the Office of War, instead he remains, to present the opportunity to consider dual identities, the political landscape, the effects of war, and lastly, whether anyone is immune to propaganda and WHY it matters.
4. Untitled (Dragon), Rabindranath Tagore, 1st half of 20th c., watercolor on paper
A polymath of the Bengal Renaissance, Rabindranath Tagore, (1861-1941), was a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer, and painter. With an extensive and elite familial upbringing, and his studious investment in history, astronomy, science, Sanskrit, and poetry, it is no surprise that he became a notable personality in Bengali literature, music, and Indian art. However, his knack for painting actually came much later in life. He was in his sixties when he pursued drawing and painting, but this did not prevent him from successfully exhibiting his work. It is believed that his color selections, (often dark backgrounds with pops of deep-hued pinks, purples, and blues), are a result of color-blindness. This was likely to be less of a hindrance than a tool, as it made for the eye-catching color combinations and silhouettes visible in this dragon watercolor! This last note is unrelated to his painting, but still a relevant and cool tidbit: Rabindranath Tagore became the first non-European, the first Asian, and the first lyricist to receive a Nobel Prize in Literature in 1913.
5. Cargo Cults: (Basket Woman), Stephanie Syjuco, 2013-16, pigment print
Born in Manila, Philippines in 1974, and shortly after immigrating with her mom at the age of three, Stephanie Syjuco is now a conceptual artist in California. Her mediums include photography, sculpture, installation, performance, and digital art. (Basket Woman), is a piece from her Cargo Cults series, which replicates the style of ethnographic studio portraits made of people in the 19th and 20th century Philippines. The intention poses questions about portraiture, and the camera’s ability to flatten, objectify, and/or erase cultural differences. She highlights the commodification and exotification of, (but not limited to), Pacific Island tribes in her series title, the inclusion of textiles with visible tags, and color-correction bar on the left-hand side. Syjuco packs a punch, as she forces us to consider fast fashion, underpaid factory workers, cultural appropriation, and the commodification of human beings — primarily women.
6. The Shores of Light, Reuben Tam, 1960, oil on canvas
Reuben Tam, (1916-1991), was an abstract landscape painter, educator, poet, and graphic artist. He was born in Kapaa, Hawaii, where he returned prior to his death, but he did travel to attend art school in California and New York, eventually teaching as well. In 1945, he was associated with the Downtown Gallery, the very first contemporary art gallery established in New York that was exclusive to living American artists. He is best known for his landscapes and seascapes, much like The Shore of Light, an abstract seascape that shares a pastel sky reflected on the water’s surface as waves glisten towards the shore. A less thematically heavy artwork that transports us to a calm, pensive moment by an iridescent sea, perhaps portraying the clear waters and thriving environment of his home state.
7. Small Bird (Kotori), Kaoru Kawano, 1957, color woodblock print
Kaoru Kawano (1916-1965), was born in Hokkaido, Japan, where he attended art school and lived out his life. His prints were accepted by the Japan Print Association in 1944, and in the years proceeding, he exhibited his work globally. Often working with sōsaku hanga (creative prints), and often implementing the color red, his subjects typically consisted of children, animals, women, and nature. He was another artist who bridged the gap between traditional Japanese woodblock prints and a modern approach to form. Evident in the ethereal, Small Bird (Kotori) — a simplified, but textured depiction of a child holding a bird on her palm. He provides us with another opportunity to escape from harsher realities and enjoy the tranquility of nature. Whoever bought this print of Girl with Flowers, spotted at Brave Books in EP, TX; we are living vicariously through you.
8. Zen for TV, Nam June Paik, 1963, 1974 version, manipulated television set, black and white, silent
Meet the “Father of Video Art,” Nam June Paik (1932-2006). He is known internationally for his video sculptures, installations, performances, and for his videotape and television productions. Born in Seoul, Korea, his family fled the Korean War to Hong Kong and Japan, but he continued his studies in Germany, where he became a member of the Neo-Dada Fluxus movement, (an art movement, inspired by the intent of Dadaism, using modern visual and audio materials, popular imagery, and absurdist contrast). Paik was one of the first artists to use televisions, broadcasts, and the very first portable camcorder, exemplified in Zen for TV. This particular set actually arrived broken, compressing the signal into a flat line. He used this opportunity to reference Buddhism, blurring the contextual line (pun-intended) of Euro-Americanism by alluding to the meditative Asian philosophy of Buddhism. He is also partly responsible for the shift in electronic moving-image making via his collaboration with Shuya Abe to create the Paik-Abe Video Synthesizer.
9. East Meets West: New York, New York, Tseng Kwong Chi, gelatin silver print, 1979, printed 2020
In this series, East Meets West, by Tseng Kwon Chi (1950-1990), he adopted the persona of the “Ambiguous Ambassador.” He is pictured in front of several American landmarks wearing a Mao suit (the uniform of the Chinese Communist Party). New York, New York was selected for its angled perspective of the Twin Towers as they once stood. A conceptual performance artist and photographer, born in Hong Kong, China and emigrating to Canada as a teenager, he studied photography at the École Supérieure d’Arts Graphiques in Paris. He became active in New York, where he commented on race, culture, and nationality through satirical and subversive performances and photographs.
10. M-246 Semi Automatic Weapon, Khawr Al Amaya Oil Terminal, Iraq, An-My Lê, 2007, photograph, inkjet print
Sorry, not sorry to end on such a targeted note. An-My Lê is a Vietnamese American photographer, author, filmmaker, and professor. Born in Saigon, Vietnam in 1960, and removed from Vietnam in 1975 as An-My Lê by American soldiers, making her a teenage, political refugee of the United States. Needless to say, her experience with displacement informed the artist she is today. She continues to explore the US military and its conflicts with other countries. In this photograph, she is juxtaposing weaponry and other military related imagery with the idyllic view of the vista. She is known for overlapping the geopolitical landscape and the natural landscape to comment on the effects of US imperialism. She earned degrees in Biology and French studies from Stanford, and earned an MFA in Photography from Yale.
M-246 Semi Automatic Weapon, Khawr Al Amaya Oil Terminal, Iraq, An-My Lê, 2007, photograph, inkjet print
