Two new works by James K. Y. Kuo

Chinese-American artist James K. Y. Kuo (1920-1995) was an art professor at Rosary Hill and Daemen College for 37 years and received awards for his teaching and his artwork. Kuo worked in a variety of media, including lyric abstract painting, printmaking, ceramics, and jewelry. In 1997, BPAC presented a solo exhibition, James K. Y. Kuo: A Retrospective, which was organized in collaboration with Daemen College, where additional work was shown in celebration of Daemen's fiftieth anniversary. Martje More, who represented Kuo's work, was an exhibition consultant. This exhibition investigated the influence of nature and philosophical thought on his art. Philosophically, the artist stated, “Painting pictorial images, or the graphic symbols of ideas, are not mere reproductions of tangible objects. They are symbols of an inner life.” While there were already six works by Kuo in the collection (paintings and works on paper), these are the first to represent his work in metal and ceramics.

Nancy Weekly
Head of Collections and the Charles Cary Rumsey Curator

Email Nancy at weeklyns@buffalostate.edu.

Nancy Weekly is the Head of Collections and the Charles Cary Rumsey Curator for the Burchfield Penney Art Center, the world’s only museum dedicated to American watercolor master Charles E. Burchfield and artists of the Buffalo Niagara region. She also serves as an adjunct lecturer in Museum Studies for the Department of History and Social Studies Education at Buffalo State College.