Artist Statement

I often joke that my paintings are my therapist, diary, protest sign, autobiography, and love letter—all rolled into one colorful, beautifully-chaotic mess. The funny thing is…I'm only half joking.

I approach art from a lens of healing, empowerment, and reclaiming one's own identity after experiences of systemic injustice, discrimination, and generational trauma. As a first-generation proudly-gay Korean American, painting became the way I learned to process experiences that words alone could never fully explain. It became a way to release pain, make sense of difficult chapters, and ultimately redirect the fiery energy from those soul-wringing experiences into my most powerful fuel for social justice and a deep, unwavering compassion for people whose identities have been marginalized, misunderstood, or made to feel like they don't belong.

While many of my paintings originate from deeply personal stories, my greatest hope is that viewers can put themselves in someone else's shoes and experience life from the perspective of those whose voices have too often been pushed to the fringes. I know from firsthand experience that it is often the people who have been pressured to remain muzzled who need the microphone the most.

Having spent much of my life feeling expected to stay quiet—from being threatened for speaking up about equal pay as the only gay Asian employee hired to do Diversity, Equity & Inclusion work; to surviving years of sexual assault by a campus doctor during my college years; to being persuaded at nineteen to attend a 30-day live-in gay conversion camp—I now paint as loudly and colorfully as possible.

By intentional choice, my paintings are mural-sized explosions of color, handwriting, symbolism, and layered text. Scale has become an act of reclamation. Every oversized canvas is my way of refusing to be muzzled. Every billboard-sized painting is my way of refusing to be silent.

My handwriting and text are the main characters of my work. I invented two distinct visual languages that I call PWERDS (the art of painting misspelled words) and SCWERDZ (the art of scribbling misspelled words). The backwards letters, intentional misspellings, and childlike penmanship are both a protest against the perfectionism I was raised with and an invitation to rediscover the freedom of creating without the fear or pressure of living up to someone else's standards of success.

Nearly every painting begins with a foundation of handwritten thoughts, memories, and intentions scribbled directly onto the canvas. These initial scribbles—which I call "Brayn Vomets"—become the emotional blueprint for the rest of the work before disappearing beneath layer after layer of additional text, symbols, and color. Inspired by Egyptian hieroglyphs, word puzzles, complex math equations, elaborate scientific formulas, Asian calligraphy, different languages and typography, escape room clues, and brain-turning riddles, I create my own visual and textual language that cannot be read all at once. I want viewers to slow down, search, decode, and wonder what stories might be hiding beneath the endless layers of PWERDS and SCWERDZ. I invite them to become archeologists of my work, uncovering coded messages and cryptic thoughts buried deep beneath the surface.

One of my favorite things to do is disguise serious subject matter inside playful childlike imagery and handwriting. I intentionally address serious adult topics—like discrimination, race, sociopolitical issues, and social justice—through bright colors and youthful illustrations because I love the tension that exists when something visually joyful and childlike quietly (or not so quietly) carries the weight of something much deeper.

Oh…and I should probably mention that after every completed painting, I sign it with my signature and attach a sizeable dallop of my own hair.

Yes. My own hair.

Hair is one of the few parts of ourselves that continues to exist long after it leaves our body. Including it in every painting is my way of leaving behind more than a signature. It is a reminder that each work carries a physical piece of me—a symbol of the blood, sweat, and tears poured into every painting—and serves as a certificate of authenticity that -- even AI -- could never truly duplicate.

Ultimately, I don't believe my paintings should simply hang on walls. I believe they should continue to ripple into the communities that inspired them.

That belief led me to create "143 Xperiments", a 31-page business plan mapping how each body of work could extend beyond the gallery and translate into tangible social impact. Named after one of my favorite numbers—143, a numeric code for "I love you"—the initiative outlines future partnerships with nonprofit and advocacy organizations whose missions directly relate to the stories and themes explored within my paintings. After completing the plan, I sealed it inside a yellow envelope, signed and dated the flap, tucked it away in a secret hiding spot, and made a promise to myself: I would not open it again until the vision inside had become reality.

Art has never been my finish line. It is simply the beginning—a starting point to spark conversations, invite curiosity, and challenge what we've been taught to accept as "normal" and "true." I hope my work helps magnify the stories of others—especially those who have been silenced by systems of inequity or made to feel alone because of their uniquely beautiful differences. By magnifying their voices and stories through my paintings, I hope to contribute to a future where those voices and stories are no longer pushed to the margins, but are recognized as essential to shaping a new "normal" and "true" – one that is rooted in equity, justice, belonging, and compassion.

Curriculum Vitae

Contemporary Painter · Social Justice Artist

Education

2025–26

Painting and Drawing, Arapahoe Community College — Certificate of Completion

2012

Film & Television, Critical Studies, University of Southern California — Bachelor of Arts

2012

Film & Television, Production, University of Southern California — Bachelor of Arts

Solo Exhibitions

2026

This is My Diary (…& I hav a lot to say!) #UNmuzzld, Jantzen Gallery, Littleton, CO

2022

Inside My Crazy Beautiful Neurotic Brain, Art Gym, Denver, CO

Selected Group Exhibitions

2026

Illuminate Littleton, SHIFT, Littleton, CO

2026

Art & Design Exhibition, Aspen Grove, Littleton, CO

2026

Bemis Art Exhibition, The City & County of Littleton, Littleton, CO

2025

Shared Visions (in collaboration w/ Colorado Center for the Blind), Colorado Gallery of the Arts, Littleton, CO

2024

The Artists of GRACE Art Exhibition, Globeville Riverfront Art Center, Denver, CO

2023

Fall Artist Group Show, OZ Gallery, Thornton, CO

2023

The Artists of GRACE Art Exhibition, Globeville Riverfront Art Center, Denver, CO

Awards & Grants

2026

Faculty Selection Recipient, Arapahoe Community College, Littleton, CO

2026

Bemis Art Exhibition, Starred Selection Recipient, The City & County of Littleton, Littleton, CO

2015

Lifechanger of the Year Award, Life Goes On Foundation, San Francisco Bay Area, CA

2012

Rock Hudson Scholarship Recipient, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA

Artist Talks & Speaking Engagements

2026

Art Talk Guest Speaker, Arapahoe Community College, Littleton, CO

2021

Guest Speaker & Art Teacher, Grand Canyon National Park School, Grand Canyon, AZ

2018

Guest Speaker, Kamehameha Education Technology Conference, Honolulu, HI

2016

Guest Speaker, Castro Valley High School, Castro Valley, CA

Teaching Experience

2022–23

Film & Video Production, High School Teacher, Grand Canyon School District, Grand Canyon, AZ

Community Engagement

2025

Colorado Center for the Blind Art Collaboration, Colorado Gallery of the Arts, Littleton, CO

Created tactile art pieces centered on the sense of touch for a collaborative exhibition with the Colorado Center for the Blind.

2020–22

Community Compassion Project, Cherry Creek Mortgage Company, Denver, CO

Created a video series addressing sociopolitical issues surrounding the 2020 pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement — spotlighting Black women-owned nonprofits serving the homeless on LA's Skid Row, supporting local restaurants, distributing food and masks in Denver, donating art and educational supplies to Oakland schools, recognizing teachers with surprise rewards, and gifting holiday presents to children in low-income neighborhoods.

2018

Caribbean Coral Reef Restoration Project, XPRIZE, Los Angeles, CA

Supported a team of researchers and marine biologists competing for the XPRIZE grant to restore Caribbean coral reef; their research evidenced coral's capacity to absorb CO₂, and the team won the competition over 20+ teams worldwide.

2018

Homeless Support & Basic Necessities Tour, Founder, Colorado / Nevada / California

Created a cross-country campaign to support homeless populations and share their personal stories to humanize their experiences while providing basic necessities.

2018

Alzheimer's Awareness & Media Recognition, Founder, Denver, CO

Served as a caretaker for a man with late-stage Alzheimer's dementia and, at his request, organized a televised news story documenting his life.

2017–20

KIN LOV GRA, Founder, Los Angeles, CA

Founded a fashion label to support undocumented workers in Los Angeles and guarantee them a fair living wage.

2017–20

Volunteer & Homeless Support, Love Thy Neighbor Volunteer, LA Skid Row

Volunteered with a nonprofit founded by a formerly homeless woman providing basic necessities to homeless populations on LA's Skid Row.

2017

Homeless Support Campaign, I'll Be There Project, Los Angeles, CA

Partnered with the I'll Be There Project to provide basic necessities and human connection to people experiencing homelessness through intentional acts of kindness.

2015–16

I Will Walk Campaign, Founder, Pacific Crest Trail, United States & Canada

Hiked from Mexico to Canada to raise money for an $80,000 exoskeleton enabling a paralyzed stranger to achieve his dream of walking again.

2013

White House Screenings for Accessible Food Access, Participant Media, Los Angeles, CA

Organized White House screenings of the film A Place at the Table to raise awareness of food insecurity and support legislation for affordable access to healthy food.

2012

Educational Curriculum for Water Rights, Participant Media (Last Call at the Oasis), Los Angeles, CA

Created the "Water Bill of Rights" campaign providing tools to calculate personal water usage and raise awareness of clean water access and consumption.

2010

Documentary Program Coordinator & Volunteer, Sundance Film Institute, Los Angeles, CA

Supported the Documentary Film Program providing grants and support for filmmakers and artists from underrepresented communities.

2010

Climate-Crisis Campaign for An Inconvenient Truth, Participant Media, Los Angeles, CA

Coordinated a campaign reaching US politicians to advocate for climate legislation supporting the data in the Academy Award-winning film An Inconvenient Truth.

2010

Advocacy Screening Parties for Food, Inc., Participant Media, Los Angeles, CA

Coordinated viewing parties to raise awareness of food-industry practices in the United States for the Academy Award-nominated film Food, Inc.

2010

Advocacy Screening Parties for Waiting for Superman, Participant Media, Los Angeles, CA

Coordinated viewing parties to raise awareness of inequities and resource gaps in under-resourced schools for the Sundance Best Documentary winner Waiting for Superman.

2009

Dolphin Hunting Awareness & Reform for The Cove, Participant Media, Los Angeles, CA

Coordinated a texting campaign petitioning against mass dolphin hunting and supporting marine-life conservation for the Academy Award-winning film The Cove.

Press & Publications

2026

UpcomingEugene Yoon, Local Artist Feature in Heart of the West, PBS Rocky Mountain Colorado

2025

Appreciating art beyond sight at the Shared Visions Exhibition, Littleton Independent — Nov 14, 2025

2018

Meet Eugene Yoon: The East Bay humanitarian leverages fashion to help those in need, Diablo Magazine — Sep 25, 2018

2018

After a Grand Act of Kindness to Change One Life, East Bay Man Strives to Touch Thousands More, NBC San Francisco Bay Area — Jun 14, 2018

2018

Running creates lasting memories for family of Denver man with Alzheimer's, Fox Denver — May 27, 2018

2017

Local man takes on 2nd kindness project with KIN LOV GRA, ABC Los Angeles — May 17, 2017

2017

Two years after huge act of kindness, man shows it can be a calling, CBS National News — Apr 17, 2017

2017

Man Finds a Career in His Calling to Be Kind, Good News Network — Apr 13, 2017

2017

Robotic legs give the paralyzed a new view of their world, CNET — Mar 17, 2017

2016

Eugene Yoon Feature on the T.D. Jakes Show, Oprah Winfrey Network

2015

A Walk with a New Friend, CBS Sunday Morning — Dec 20, 2015

2015

Good Samaritan launches charity walk to aid a total stranger, CBS National News — Dec 18, 2015

2015

Strangers' kindness allows paralyzed man to walk again, ABC Los Angeles — Nov 17, 2015

2015

Man hikes Pacific Crest Trail to raise money to help paralyzed man walk, People Magazine — Nov 5, 2015

2015

Eugene Yoon Hikes Pacific Crest Trail, Raising Thousands for a Stranger, Exoskeleton Report — Nov 2, 2015

2015

Castro Valley Man Walks the Length of California So That a Friend May Take His First Steps in Years, NBC San Francisco Bay Area — Jul 14, 2015

2015

900 Miles Down, 800 to Go, The Sheet — Jul 10, 2015

2015

Man hiking California to help paralyzed man walk, ABC Los Angeles — May 28, 2015

2015

Eugene Yoon Feature, CBS Oregon

2015

Eugene Yoon Feature, CBS Bakersfield

Contact

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