Beauty lies in the eye of the beholder. The adage stands all the more true in the world of arts, where it is hard to distinguish great art from mediocre ones. As a curator, Katherine Hu has built a career on identifying and presenting great works of art. Here is a better look at the famed curator and her voyage in the world of art.
A Star (Curator) Who Shines Bright
For those involved in the art world, Katherine Yang Hu (commonly known as Katherine Hu) is a known name. She serves as the Director of the Curatorial Department at the Chinese Overseas Artists Association (COAA). Recently, she served as a jury at the GUYU Art Festival in China again. She has been serving as a jury for the GUYU Art Festival for two years. The art festival was a massive success and attracted huge numbers, while also selling significant numbers of artworks. Katherine has also been chosen as a featured writer for the next issue of Cosmopolitan, where she will be writing about collectible art toys.
She is a professional art curator, art appraiser, and advisor on contemporary arts. She also serves as an appraiser and advisor on Asian fine and decorative arts, digital new media arts, and motion picture arts. Katherine has worked with a long list of high-profile clients, both in primary and secondary art markets.
A Long Career
Katherine Hu is a graduate of the Comprehensive Appraisal Studies Program by the Appraiser’s Association of America (AAA). She also received her Master’s degree from the NYU Tisch School of Art. Katherine got her first chance as a curator at the China International Entertainment and Art Group. From there, she was unstoppable.
Over the years, Katherine curated dozens of art shows and exhibitions across the most famed institutions in China. Soon, she formed a reputation as one of the premier art curators in the country. The portfolio also expanded to New York, where she had spent many years working. She has served in major auction houses and galleries like Doyle, Christie’s, and Sotheby’s. Katherine also founded YH Art Advisory, her own art advisory venture.
The Life Of A Curator
Katherine Hu is quite outspoken to share insights into the life of a curator. She is always on the hunt to find unexplored artists or those with untapped potential. Katherine believes that good communication skills are an absolute must for any curator. It is important to be a good listener if one wants to understand the vision and motivations of an artist. Katherine spends hours understanding various artists and their works and then decides which works would feature in her next exhibition.
One of the important aspects of her work is also conceptualizing the themes of exhibitions. Katherine doesn’t like the bland walk-in exhibitions; she prefers offering something more to her viewers. As such, she is always challenging herself to find the next radical exhibition idea. Another peculiar aspect of her work is working with artists from different cultures, countries – and time zones! She often finds herself awake at 4 am just to have a meeting with an artist from another continent.
Finding Representation
For Katherine Hu, representation is important. Even as a young girl only mildly interested in arts, she was always surprised to see the lack of female artists in the museum. Today, as an acclaimed curator, Katherine always strives to offer more representation to marginalized groups. These include not just women, but also people from various religions, races, and ethnicities. Katherine believes that diversity only makes art more beautiful. As such, she is always on the lookout for upcoming artists from marginalized communities.
Despite the busy schedule that often leaves her with no spare time for herself, Katherine Hu loves her profession. Being a curator allows her to meet new artists with diverse perspectives, a variety of artworks, and unique insight into the art itself. While she continues to uphold her reputation as an acclaimed curator, we can expect to see a lot more of Katherine Hu and her splendid presentations of the most interesting artworks.
