Artist Statement and Bio April 2025
Biography
Howard Leu is a Midwest-based interdisciplinary artist. He works with lens-based and cameraless processes and photo archives to construct narratives surrounding the Asian diaspora, including his own family's immigrant journey. Leu earned an MFA from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, where he teaches photography.
His recent exhibitions include the HBUT Design Festival (Wuhan, China), Midwest Regional Juried Exhibition at Art Link (Fort Wayne, IN), juried shows at the Cedarburg Art Museum (Cedarburg, WI) and the Wright Museum of Art (Beloit, WI), where he placed 3rd in both; and his MFA thesis solo exhibition Sacred Reverie at Kenilworth Square East Gallery (Milwaukee, WI). His work can be seen in the juried Members Exhibition at the Scarab Club during the 2025 MWSPE Conference.
Photo by Kevin Miyazaki
Artist Statement
My work explores memory as an intangible space between past and present—like light refracting through the sky, or the reverie in which we shape memories from fragments. Photos and memories from childhood are reexamined to better understand overlooked narratives. They are objects that bridge time, linking personal histories with contemporary contexts. Various photo, sculpture, and fibers processes are used to best suit the narrative depicted. The work echoes from the past but speaks in the present. Although biographical, it is not biography. My aim is to create resonance that speaks to human connectiveness.
September 2025