NOVEMBER FEATURED ARTIST - CORAL NOEL YANG

Coral Noel Yang is an Auckland based, Taiwanese born, award winning artist specialized in expressive figurative and abstract paintings with oil and acrylic. Before pivoting to full time painting during Covid in 2020, Coral worked as a film and animation director/producer for 15 years. Her passion for Aotearoa nature, Chinese/Japanese heritage, and living and working across the US, Europe and Asia inform her works.

Growing up under the tutelage of her mother, a premier artist in Taiwan, Coral is rooted in the Asian water-ink tradition and is inspired by the kinesthetic experience, gestural mark-making and intuitive expression in the painting process. She endeavors to bring narrative storytelling from her film background to create works that evoke imagination. Her genres cover female portraits, floral works, undersea coral landscape and experimental abstracts. Her works are characterized by expressive style, vibrant colors, joyful ambience that transport the audience to a realm of possibilities. Her original works are collected in New Zealand, Australia, Taiwan, North America and Europe.

Coral’s solo art shows include “Follow the Bliss” 2021, “Forgotten Origins” 2022 at Snells Beach Little & Local Cafe Bistro, and “Spread Your Wings” at The Art of Newmarket 2022. She has been active in group shows and received the People’s Choice Award at Kumeu Arts Awards 2021.

Coral’s visual art training includes an M.F.A in Cinematic-TV Production from the University of Southern California and Art History from Whitman College in the USA. She has also trained at Browne School of Art on Live Portrait, Mixed Media and Contemporary Watercolor.

Coral is currently exhibiting at the Mairangi Arts Centre, in an exhibit entitled "Open Sanctuary". Her work will be on display until 15 November.

This is a collection of intuitive abstract works Carol created in 2022. Inspired by her art residency at Gulf Harbour where she enjoyed frequent visits to Shakespear Park and got absorbed into the haven for native wildlife amidst sheltered bays, wetlands, regenerating native forests, cliffs and a lookout with spectacular views.

Of her work for "Open Sanctuary" Coral says: " I realized mostly in retrospect what I was trying to capture onto the canvasses - something like a new leaf, unfurled in the spring breeze,

Like the smile of a baby dreaming away in strong arms,

Like the shellfish exposing its vulnerable flesh, soft and tender,

Like the newborns' skin, pink and young and transparent."